Sustainability at BeFrank
At BeFrank, we believe in a fair pension. That’s why we invest pension capital in businesses that treat people and the environment with respect. Did you know we also have a carbon-neutral pension scheme? Through the scheme, CO2 emissions are offset by planting new trees. We would be happy to tell you more about our sustainability strategy.
Sustainable Development Goals
BeFrank is committed to contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals. The goals were set by the United Nations in 2015 with a view to ending extreme poverty, inequality, injustice and climate change.
17 of the Sustainable Development Goals align particularly well with our products, services and beliefs. Below you can see which goals we are most committed to.
The carbon-neutral pension scheme
We invest employees’ pension capital in investment funds with relatively low CO2 emissions. Employers can also choose to offset the CO2 emissions from investments. We then plant new trees on depleted land. That makes us unique!
Planting trees to offset CO2
How does tree planting work?
- First of all, we calculate a customer’s carbon footprint using data from investment funds.
- Our partner Land Life Company applies a model to this process.
- Using the model, we work out how many trees are required in a given area to offset the CO2.
- Together with local people, Land Life Company plants the trees where they are urgently needed.
Employers and employees receive structural information about the planting results. Your pension capital thus makes a real impact.
Interested in our carbon-neutral pension scheme? Please feel free to contact us. We will be happy to tell you more!
ESG criteria
At BeFrank, we invest employees’ pension capital as sustainably as possible. In doing so, we factor in ESG criteria. ESG stands for Environmental, Social and Governance.
We also aim for good returns at an acceptable level of risk and attractive cost. However, we are also well aware that everyone is different. That’s why we offer different levels of socially responsible investing (SRI). This allows employees to indicate their own preferences.
SRI on three levels
BeFrank has three forms of investment: passive, active and SRI (impact) investing. Whichever form an employer chooses, we invest in businesses that treat people and the environment fairly.
In the Sustainable Lifecycle, we only invest in companies, governments and organisations that have demonstrated their impact on the world. We use Triodos funds, where all investments must have a positive impact on people and society. As a result, we deliberately avoid investing in various major sectors. This is known as ‘impact investing’. For more information, take a look at the sustainable choices we make in each lifecycle.
Our Active and Passive Lifecycles also help create a more sustainable world. We do not invest in companies and countries that fail to comply with national and international legislation. These lifecycles also exclude companies and countries involved in unacceptable activities, such as arms trade and tobacco.
Pressurising companies
We sometimes have to pressure companies into making sustainable choices. Our asset managers do that by:
- Voting at a shareholder meetings and therefore having a say in the company’s existing and future policy.
- Holding companies accountable for their behaviour and activities. We call this ‘engagement’.
Lifecycles: varying sustainability
Our three lifecycles have varying levels of sustainability. The more sustainable the lifecycle, the stricter we are in excluding companies from our investments.
A visible impact
The Sustainable Impact Dashboard on the personal pension page shows employees exactly what impact they are making through their pension capital.
An honest organisation
In addition to SRI, our organisation engages in various sustainability initiatives. Find out more about honest organisations here.