Desjardins Group Pension Plan
Responsible investment
For the Desjardins Group Pension Plan (DGPP), responsible investment (RI) is a cornerstone of our approach. Taking into consideration environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors helps us manage risk and analyze opportunities for plan members.
How we approach responsible investment
For the DGPP, responsible investment means balancing financial performance and social responsibility by incorporating ESG criteria into investment decisions. This approach is part of Desjardins’s mission and aims to create long-term value for all plan members.
Backed by strong governance, a targeted influence strategy and cross-sector engagement, responsible investment helps us better account for systemic risks and identify new investment opportunities that are consistent with the portfolio’s strategy, objectives and long-term approach.
Governance that supports responsible investment
A solid governance structure guides the plan’s RI strategy and drives long-term performance.
A cross-sector approach
Implementing an RI approach involves several DGPP teams. Responsibilities are shared between the committees, the DGPP Division, the investment teams, the RI specialists, the legal affairs team and the investment risk management team. This cross-sector approach supports consistent implementation and reporting follow-up.
The roles of committees
Several committees are involved in the oversight and monitoring of plan activities. Each committee plays a specific role in managing, governing and incorporating responsible investment considerations.
As the DGPP administrator and pension fund trustee, the DGRC’s role is to provide financial management and administration for the plan by taking appropriate measures to protect the rights of plan members, and to safeguard and grow assets. The DGRC has mandated the DGPP Division to support it in its various responsibilities. It also entrusts the Investment Management Committee with the responsibility of managing DGPP assets.
The main asset management responsibilities are delegated to this committee, which selects investments and monitors investment performance and compliance.
The RI Committee’s role is to promote RI best practices. It monitors the annual action plan and RI performance indicators. It provides the DGRC and its Investment Management Committee with the strategic governance documents needed to reach the plan’s RI objectives.
Our policies and governance documents
The DGPP has a number of governance documents in place to steer its responsible investment activities. They define the principles, processes and mechanisms that guide how decisions are made and monitored.
The DGPP’s Responsible Investment Policy provides a clear and flexible framework to help incorporate ESG criteria into our asset management, while taking into account the markets we invest in.
This directive facilitates the implementation of the DGPP’s Responsible Investment Policy. It also provides details on how ESG factors can be incorporated, as well as positions on climate change and on the exclusion of certain industries (tobacco, vaping, coal and non-conventional weapons).
As a shareholder, the DGPP has a policy on the exercise of proxy voting rights. It sets out the principles and positions that guide how we vote on corporate governance decisions and certain social and environmental issues. In accordance with this policy, the DGPP analyzes and votes on all proposals submitted to meetings of the companies held in the portfolio.
Between July 1, 2024, and June 30, 2025, the DGPP disclosed its voting intentions at more than 2,000 shareholder meetings. See the summary of votes (PDF, 2.9 MB) cast at the companies held in the portfolio.
See the Policy on the Exercise of Proxy Voting Rights (PDF, 3.73 MB)
Influence strategy
The DGPP works with partners and recognized RI stakeholders to refine its expertise and share RI management practices. In a manner consistent with its RI leadership and Desjardins Group’s commitments, the DGPP takes part in strategic collaboration initiatives, when deemed appropriate.
DGPP collaborations
Principles for Responsible Investment
A UN-backed global initiative that aims to promote sustainable and responsible investment practices (signed in 2018).
Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB)
An independent organization providing ESG performance data and peer benchmarks in the real estate and infrastructure asset sectors (member since 2022).
ESG Data Convergence initiative
A partner committed to streamlining the private investment industry’s historically fragmented approach to collecting and reporting ESG data (member since 2023).
Incorporating ESG factors into investment decisions
The DGPP incorporates ESG considerations into every step of the investment process, from planning asset allocation, analyzing and conducting due diligence on investment opportunities, to monitoring managers and portfolios. It assesses the materiality of ESG issues using recognized frameworks, including the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).
It also analyzes climate change scenarios involving both physical and transition risks. This approach aims to support informed decision-making and remains aligned with the plan’s fiduciary responsibility.
There are clearly defined expectations for external managers in terms of responsible investment. However, they may be implemented differently depending on each manager’s strategies, mandates and capabilities.
Responsible investment is considered at every step of the investment process.
Investment positions and exclusions
The DGPP currently excludes from its investment scope:
- Companies in the tobacco and vaping industry
- Companies involved in the thermal coal sector
- Companies associated with the manufacture of non-conventional weapons or weapons of mass destruction
These exclusions are in line with the plan’s Responsible Investment Policy (PDF, 519 KB) and support asset management aligned with its long-term objectives and fiduciary duty.
Transparency commitments
Climate report
Every year, the DGPP publishes a report on the plan’s climate governance, strategy, risk management, metrics and targets. This report is based on the recommendations of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), an internationally recognized framework that aims to improve the transparency of climate-related financial reporting. The report includes information on the DGPP’s goals of reducing its carbon intensity and investing in renewable energy. It also provides a review of climate change scenarios involving physical and transition risks and the resulting opportunities for the plan.
PRI Transparency Report
As a signatory of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), the DGPP regularly publishes a transparency report that presents its responsible investment approach, governance and processes.
This report assesses how signatories apply the principles of responsible investment, particularly in terms of governance, strategy and incorporating environmental, social and governance factors into their financial decision-making.
It presents the DGPP’s responsible investment approach, governance and processes for the reporting year for each asset class in the portfolio.
Summary results of the DGPP’s 2025 PRI assessment report
The PRI assessment framework provides scores by module, based on the asset class and theme covered. These results provide a reference point for signatories to benchmark their practices against thousands of signatories around the world.
| Category | DGPP score |
| Policy, governance and strategy | 79% |
| Public equity – Active management | 85% |
| Fixed income – Passive management | 85% |
| Fixed income – Active management | 85% |
| Private equity | 95% |
| Real estate | 95% |
| Infrastructure | 95% |
| Verification measures | 80% |
For all categories assessed, the plan’s scores are higher than or equal to the market median, as calculated by the PRI for the 2025 reporting cycle.
Several modules have seen substantial progress since 2023. Private equity, real estate and infrastructure have increased the most. These results show that the responsible investment initiatives implemented over the past 2 years have been appropriate and effective. They also strengthen the DGPP’s position among its international peers.
Read the DGPP’s 2025 PRI Transparency Report (PDF, 720 KB)