La Caisse publishes its 2025 Sustainable Investing Report
Sustainable investing had a tough time in 2025. Climate commitments faced numerous challenges, while the term “DEI” unfortunately became a subject of debate, just like “ESG” before it. Politicizing these abbreviations hides some underlying realities—global warming is undeniable and social inequalities exist—that both matter and endure. Realities that should be addressed quickly, for the common good.
So it often felt like we were backsliding on various fronts in 2025.
But not at La Caisse.
Staying true to our convictions despite the headwinds, which have grown stronger, is something we can all be proud of.
Sustainable investing is inseparable from a long-term approach
Working for a long-term investor is both a challenge and an advantage. Because short-term pressures and the emotions stirred by the many crises of recent years can tempt you to overreact.
Yet now more than ever, we need to gain some perspective and analyze the underlying trend, to look beyond short-term upheavals and polarized opinions.
Our duty to ensure the financial security of our 48 depositors, who represent over 6 million Quebecers, is all the more important in these challenging times.
Climate is always front of mind
For several years, our climate strategy has been our calling card. It has gone through various phases. The first, in 2017, immediately set us apart. Next, in 2021, when we raised our targets and launched new initiatives, such as the transition envelope, showing the world our ability to innovate.
Then, in 2025, we reached our targets ahead of schedule. But our portfolio has decarbonized faster than the real economy. With nearly 80% of our assets already low carbon, we announced a new, even more ambitious approach: $400 billion in climate action by 2030 to accelerate the decarbonization of companies and the economy.
With this new ambition, we’re looking to invest in companies that incorporate the climate into their business models, thereby encouraging our portfolio companies to implement clear and credible decarbonization plans, regardless of their sector. We also seek to proactively invest in climate solutions—companies, activities or technologies that help reduce carbon emissions. In fact, our approach has been recognized by the Canadian group Shift: Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health, which placed La Caisse first in its annual rankings.
Our strategy must generate value and enable us to manage the physical risks of climate change for our depositors’ portfolios.
And the evidence is clear: since the inception of our climate strategy, our energy positioning has generated a return of over 10% against the 8% return of a comparable segment of the MSCI ACWI index, with the difference representing almost $4 billion more for our total portfolio.
A performance-driven culture thrives on diverse perspectives
While our new climate strategy was the main innovation this year, we still firmly believe that equity, diversity and inclusion have an impact on our organization’s performance. They enable us to bring different perspectives to the table, debate the issues and make better decisions.
The good news is that the data on our gender equality are improving, a reflection of our sustained efforts in this area. Almost half, or 48%, of our employees are women, compared to 41% five years ago. We have even obtained EDGE Lead certification for our efforts in this area.
In addition, 28% of our employees in Québec and Canada identify as members of visible or ethnic minorities or as Indigenous people, representing an increase of more than 20% over the past five years.
And that’s not counting the influence we can have collectively: three quarters of our actively managed public companies have more than 30% women on their Boards—an impressive 85% increase over the same period. This progress, though significant, must encourage us to continue honouring our commitment.
The road ahead will not be easy
We’re clear about one thing: the road ahead will have its twists and turns. Key and essential themes, such as AI, will undoubtedly raise environmental and social concerns.
Faced with these challenges, we must keep our long-term perspective and seek to deal with these considerations as best we can.
Our sustainability convictions remain strong, because they’re based on tangible elements. On underlying trends. On the ability to generate performance while acting responsibly for future generations.
I would like to thank our teams, who see sustainability as not just a concept, but an everyday responsibility. Not to mention our depositors, who support us in our ambitions and with whom we maintain an open and ongoing dialogue.
In these highly turbulent times, I sincerely hope that both our ideas and our results will inspire others to move forward on these fundamental issues, not only for the world we live in, but also for the generations to follow.
Charles Emond
President and Chief Executive Officer