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The development of UPP’s Organizational Sustainability Strategy ensured UPP collectively examined the issues that impact our operations, identify those which are likely to have the most significant impact, and develop plans to address them accordingly. In other words, it’s how we make sure we’re performing well on the issues that matter to the organization.
This Strategy is an important step in the creation of long-term value through improved service and investment outcomes for our members, our primary focus at UPP.
Our ambition: to identify and focus our resources on sustainability risks and opportunities relevant to UPP, supporting our purpose of investing with integrity and serving members with care.
Important sustainability topics
The following includes sustainability topics of importance to UPP’s operations and how we actively manage, govern, and report them.
Procurement and vendors
Partnering with organizations with aligned sustainability culture and values. This includes applying consistent and fair procurement practices for vendors, and assessing and monitoring the alignment of their organizational practices to UPP’s sustainability priorities
Objective: refine criteria for evaluating climate change, equity, diversity, inclusion, and reconciliation practices of vendors and monitoring performance over time.
Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Reconciliation
Creating an inclusive, respectful working environment for all employees and honouring the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #92.
Objective: establish and implement a 3-year Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Reconciliation roadmap to make everyone accountable, build diversity within teams, equip and promote inclusive leadership, create equitable, bias-free and inclusive culture, and leverage EDI and reconciliation to enhance performance.
Cybersecurity
Safeguarding computer systems, networks, and data from unauthorized access, attacks, and the manipulation of individuals through social engineering tactics.
Objective: maintain enhanced security operating centre processes, operational governance and controls, implementation of scalable cloud platforms and controls, and ongoing security awareness.
Public policy
Ensuring public policy advocacy activities are conducted in the best interests of UPP’s members, beneficiaries and stakeholders and in a transparent, ethical and professional manner.
Objective: establish advocacy priorities for public policy, including a three-year government relations workplan.
Employment
Maintaining a vibrant work culture and positive employee experience through attracting, acquiring, and retaining practices, working conditions, and consultative practices with employees.
Objective: establish our purpose, vision and values, build a strong employer brand with a compelling employee value proposition, establish and grow employees’ understanding of the total rewards program, and gather and incorporate employee feedback in an ongoing manner.
Business ethics
Acting ethically in every aspect of UPP’s operations, including interactions with government and other organizations, treatment of employees, and relationships with participating organizations and members.
Objective: maintain ongoing employee training and annual attestation process for Code of Conduct and related policies.
Additional sustainability topics
The following includes additional sustainability topics our stakeholders are interested in and how UPP plans to manage them.
Greenhouse gas emissions
Objective: measure, report, and reduce UPP’s direct GHG emissions, and indirect emissions where possible, toward achieving net-zero operational emissions by 2040. For more information on how we manage GHG emissions in our portfolio, read our Climate Action Plan.
Employee health, safety and wellness
Objective: maintain effective and competitive employee wellness and benefits offerings and maintain ongoing workplace health and safety evaluations, implementing recommendations as needed.
Waste
Objective: measure, report and reduce waste generated directly by UPP and, where possible, within our procurement practices.
Local community contributions
Objective: develop an employee giving program to support employees in engaging with and contributing to our local communities and embed employee giving into UPP’s culture.
Employee learning and development
Objective: support employees in pursuing further education, acquiring new skills or enhancing existing knowledge and establish leadership development and employee development plans.
Tax
Objective: take a principled approach to tax that supports the tax framework of countries where we invest, by refining tax principles and tax risk management approach.
Governance and board effectiveness
Objective: conduct Trustee skills assessments, annual Board and Trustee effectiveness evaluation, annual Committee composition and mandate reviews, and ongoing education and training.
Supporting our business objectives
To support UPP’s business objectives, we are focusing our resources on key factors that can create risk or impact decision making.
1
Putting our core values into action
Organizational sustainability is closely tied to UPP’s core values. The Strategy ensures we’re making intentional and tangible progress on our bringing our values to life, day in and day out.
2
Becoming a partner of choice
Demonstrating high performance related to our organizational sustainability goals builds trust and credibility with our partners and future partners alike.
3
Talent aquisition
Employees play a key role in bringing our sustainability-related values to life, in turn providing guidance and security to their work. This clear connection to UPP’s purpose and core values supports talent attraction and retention.
4
Supporting the creation of long-term value
Addressing systemic challenges relevant to our operations is a key part in keeping pensions sustainable for generations to come.
Explore more
Investing responsibly
As a long-term investor, learn how we take meaningful action to create sustainable value through evidence-based practices — a fundamental lens through which we derive and protect value for members.
Climate action
Learn about the action we're taking to achieve our net-zero target and manage climate-related investment risks and opportunities, while helping drive the broader global transition to a resilient net-zero world.
Stewardship
Learn about our work within the financial sector to encourage fair and efficient public policy, regulations, and market systems that support a well-managed transition to a net-zero world and UPP’s broader sustainability objectives.
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