In brief: Cbus exits Net Zero Asset Owners Alliance

ESG continues to be one of the defining investment trends in private markets, but one bugbear among investors has been the burden of reporting performance in relation to a range of different benchmarks.

Australian superannuation fund Cbus, which has approximately A$59 billion ($38 billion; €39 billion) in assets under management, confirmed its departure from the Net Zero Asset Owners Alliance, a coalition convened by the UN that was itself part of the Mark Carney-led Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero.

Cbus was the first Australian institution to join the NZAOA in 2020, at the same time as it set a target to reduce absolute portfolio emissions by 45 percent by 2030.

A Cbus spokesperson told affiliate title Responsible Investor that it was standing by that target, adding: “We made the difficult decision to focus our resources on internal climate change activities. We support the important work that the alliance is doing and wish all members the best in their endeavours.”

Cbus was joined in its departure by Austria’s Bundespensionskasse, which also cited resourcing issues in complying with the alliance.