Photo Shutterstock Acting on the advice of WUR employees, the retirement fund ABP is to phase out investments related to deforestation in Brazil. The fund aims to invest in more sustainable businesses. Concerns remain, however.
The ABP is a retirement fund for employees in education or government service, of which WUR is a -mandatory- member. The fund has been the somewhat regular target of criticism, and WUR employees have protested its investments on several occasions.
Several critical WUR employees joined forces in the ‘Grey Hair, Green Forests’ group in 2021 to protest ABP’s investments in livestock and mining businesses in Brazil, whose extensive and illegal deforestation practices are at odds with a business charges with earning employees’ pensions, say WUR staff. Moreover, the ABP failed to include unequivocal criteria in its policy describing how deforestation, carbon emissions and biodiversity loss may be avoided.
‘Protests had an effect’
Grey Hair, Green Forests has since partnered with Fossil Free, in which 13 protest groups are united, including ABP Fossil Free, Scientist Rebellion and Extinction Rebellion Netherlands. Together, they want the ABP to move towards 100 per cent sustainable investments. Ria Hulsman, region manager for Latin America and the Caribbean at Corporate Strategy & Accounts, represents WUR at meetings with the ABP. ‘The good news is that investments in meat businesses Marfig and Minerva have been reduced, indicating that our protests had an effect. However, ABP continues its investments in meat corporation JBS, which means our concerns persist. Furthermore, we advised the ABP to formulate a biodiversity policy, and said policy has yet to be finalised.’
Fossil
In a reaction, the ABP states that, in addition to selling the Minerva and Marfig shares, fossil investments have been reduced from 15 billion to six billion. The fund aims to reduce its investments in fossil fuels to no more than 20 per cent of the total turnover. Hulsman: ‘That will take too long. We advise the ABP to cease investments of liquid assets in the agricultural sector in agro-industrial businesses related to artificial fertilisers or chemical and synthetical pesticides such as by Bayer. Moreover, WUR employees want to know whether we have, or can be given, a choice in what retirement fund we want.’
