(July 1, 2013) — Pensioenfonds Zorg en Welzijn (PFZW) has added tobacco products to the list of companies it excludes from its investments, after it was unable to reconcile its views with various problems with the sector.
The Dutch pension fund giant entered into discussions with tobacco companies after expressing its dislike of the employment conditions, the use of child labour, and the way the marketing and selling of tobacco products is aimed at young people.
PFZW came to the conclusion that the manufacturers were not able to assuage its fears, as the problems were typical to the sector. In combination with the difficult relationship between tobacco products and the care and welfare sector, the fund ultimately decided to exclude all tobacco producers.
“Although smoking is a personal choice, we have always recognised and highlighted the associated problems. We could not come to any other conclusion other than that these investments are unsuitable for us,” Peter Borgdorff, director of PFZW, said in a statement.
“Excluding tobacco producers was, therefore, the only correct option in respect of both our policy and the care and welfare sector in which our participants are active.”
The €135 billion pension fund isn’t the only one to dump tobacco manufacturers this summer: Norway’s local government pension fund KLP and the Norwegian Pension Fund Global both dropped Huabao International Holdings and Schweitzer-Mauduit International in June this year.
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