Amsterdam Business School (ABS) researchers Ans Kolk and Arno Kourula are part of this national consortium, and bring in their expertise in the area of business and sustainability. ‘Our contribution focuses on how sustainable business models, particularly those relevant to the energy transition and climate adaptation and mitigation, can be or are already integrated in investment strategies of pension providers’, says Kolk.
Together with researchers from other institutions such as Maastricht University, the University of Groningen, Erasmus University and VU Amsterdam, the team is exploring how pension funds can contribute to a more sustainable economy.

Sustainable investments and pension participants

The Dutch pension and insurance sector, which manages more than €2,000 billion, can play a crucial role in the sustainability transition by investing more sustainably and by stimulating companies to operate more sustainably. However, cooperation between pension providers, pension participants and companies remains limited due to a lack of communication and mutual understanding. This project contributes to this societal challenge by investigating what the pension sector may and can do, and what participants want.

Practical insights

The project combines insights from finance, law, psychology, business studies, sustainable management, marketing and economics. In addition to scientific knowledge, the aim is to provide actionable knowledge for policymakers, companies and pension providers, so that they can better deal with challenges related to sustainable investments. There will also be attention for communication about sustainability towards pension participants.