Our climate work and goals

Mitigating climate change is an integral part of our investment operations. For us, sustainability is a means of securing long-term investment returns while making sure that climate risks and opportunities are taken broadly into account in our investment decisions. As investors, we want to build a world that is sustainable also for future generations.

We invest in companies, funds and real estate that take climate-related risks into account in their operations. We look for investees that create products to replace fossil fuels and develop new technologies for cutting emissions.

Climate change mitigation has been a goal of Varma’s investment activities since 2016.

We report on the progress of our climate targets in our Annual and Sustainability Report.

Read more about our Environmental Policy.

Climate-friendly allocation in the investment portfolio

One of our climate actions is the creation of a climate-friendly investment allocation. The climate allocation includes investments that take into account the impacts and opportunities of climate change. We invest in solutions that help mitigate climate change and companies that enable a change towards lower carbon dioxide emissions. The allocation’s share of our investment portfolio is increased in line with our targets.

Climate allocation

  • The share of climate-friendly investments in the portfolio 36.8 %
  • Value 21.9 bn €

Our climate targets

We aim for a carbon-neutral investment portfolio by 2035. This means that the volume of carbon dioxide emissions generated by investments in Varma’s portfolio equals the volume captured by them from the atmosphere. 

At the beginning of 2024, the climate allocation accounted for 36.8 per cent, i.e. EUR 21.9 billion, of our investments.

Our goal is to reduce the investment portfolio’s absolute greenhouse gas emissions by 25 per cent by 2025 and 50 per cent by 2030 (compared to the level at the end of 2021).

We aim for the electricity and heating in our properties to be fossil-free by 2025 and 2030, respectively.

Since 2015, we have excluded from our direct investments companies with coal- or lignite-based operations accounting for a significant share of their net sales, production capacity or production. We do not invest in companies with operations of this kind accounting for more than 10 per cent of their net sales, production capacity or production

We will exit from all thermal coal investments by 2025 and from oil exploration by 2030.

Our achievements so far

-11%

We have reduced the absolute emissions of our investments by 11 per cent compared to 2021. 

-61%

The carbon dioxide emissions from our real estate’s energy use are down 61 per cent compared to 2015.

29%

Of our fund investments, 29 per cent are already in funds whose investment strategies take climate change into account. 

Committed to the SBT initiative

By signing the Science Based Targets (SBT) initiative, we have wanted to increase the transparency of our operations and ensure that our climate actions are aligned with global targets and our agreements. We will establish our science-based targets during 2023.

Read more about Varma joining the SBT initiative.

Climate targets for real estate

Properties’ climate friendliness plays a key role in combatting climate change. Varma is modifying the office premises and flats under its ownership to make them carbon neutral – the heating in some of our rental homes is already carbon neutral.

Read more about the environmental impacts of real estate in our Annual and Sustainability Report.