Fund scoops top award

Merseyside Pension Fund has scooped the award for ‘Best Environmentally Sustainable Investment’ at the Local Government Chronicle (LGC) Investment Awards held in London.

The night brought together the best local authority finance teams to reward and recognise the most innovative initiatives and deserving individuals in the local authority pensions and investment sector.

The award won by Merseyside Pension Fund was given largely in recognition of the outcomes of a number of 'green' investments the Fund has made in some of its properties to improve their environmental performance. These have delivered cash savings for the Fund with lower gas and electricity bills, water consumption, improved recycling rates and greater environmental awareness by tenants.

Cllr Pat Glasman, the Chair of Merseyside Pension Fund, accepted the award at the ceremony and said: "I'm delighted that once again the Fund has been recognised for its work on sustainable investment. Sustainability is a core feature of our investment philosophy, in large part because we know it can bring benefits to us as investors over short, medium and long-term horizons."

Earlier in 2013, the Fund received two 'Green Apple' awards for its success in reducing its own environmental footprint through projects at two buildings which it owns - Castle Chambers and the Cunard Building.

The Castle Chambers project saw a reduction in power usage of almost 50% (48.29%) due to the installation of measures such as low energy lightbulbs, online energy management systems and sensors to indicate when lights could be automatically turned off, as well as other general good housekeeping.

The Cunard Building project offered a new food waste composting service for tenants, to reduce the amount sent to landfill.

The LGC Investment Awards are 20 years old now and are the only awards devoted to acknowledging and rewarding exceptional achievement in local authority pensions and investment. They recognise accomplishments across different markets and for the quality of their funds, service and corporate governance.