Membership proposal passed at 8 out of 11 Danish pension fund AGMs.
One of the hot topics at the general meetings of the Danish pension companies in April 2026 was whether the pension companies should be more active in the public debate on climate action.
At 11 general meetings, members proposed that pension companies should strengthen so-called “systemic active ownership” to promote the green transition.
Whereas the pension companies have so far regarded the efforts regarding “active ownership” as something that is exercised solely or primarily against the companies in which the pension companies own shares, the members behind the proposals want to expand the active ownership to also focus on dialogues with politicians in order to get them to strengthen the framework for creating more green investments.
Result
Slighty different in form and wording, the membership proposal was passed with the support of the board of directors at the AGMs of the following Danish pension funds:
- P+, Pension fund for academics
- PKA (The Social Workers’, Social Pedagogues’ and Office Staff Pension Fund)
- ISP Pension
- PKA (The State Registered Nurses’ and Medical Secretaries’ Pension Fund)
- PKA (The Health Care Professionals’ Pension Fund)
- Pensionskassen Jordbrugsakademikere & Dyrlæger (PJD)
- Pensionskassen Arkitekter & Designere (PAD)
- Lægernes Pension
The proposal was not passed af the AGMs of AP Pension, Velliv and AkademikerPension. Neither did it receive support from the board of directors.
About the membership proposal
Extension of an open letter to all Danish pension companies
The mentioned member proposals are strongly inspired by the content of the open letter that 16 Danish youth organizations sent to the 16 largest Danish pension companies in the autumn of 2025, and which was subsequently discussed between youth organizations and industry representatives at a seminar in Copenhagen in January 2026.
The letter had three clear requests, one of which was now discussed and voted on at the general meetings of a number of the pension companies.
Call for strengthened green political advocacy
The members’ proposals vary in form and wording, but their primary requirement is that the pension companies should formulate a clearer policy or strategy for their green political advocacy. The pension companies should also make these specific activities more visible via their website, newsletters and social media, and they should account for the implemented measures in the annual responsibility report.
Pension companies have a unique role in supporting long-term green transition
The topicality of the proposal is reinforced by the fact that the current US administration’s denial of climate change has made it difficult to increase green investments, despite the fact that climate change continues to accelerate. Therefore, there is now an extra great need for pension companies, which typically have a long-term focus, to strengthen their efforts to promote an ambitious climate policy nationally and globally.
With their fortunes, the Danish pension companies possess enormous power to influence politicians. They should put that power into play, not least to promote green investments.
In addition, the pension companies themselves have set goals for their green investments. Goals that can only be met if the green investments are supported by politically determined framework conditions.
Global green transition protects our pension savings in the long run
With the acceleration of climate change comes enormous damage all over the world, and leading financial institutions and regulators are already warning that climate risks pose a major societal as well as financial risk.
Climate change affects investments at a systemic level, i.e. broadly across sectors and all types of investments throughout the world, and the consequences can be very severe with the current course towards a global warming of 2.5-3 degrees.
Climate change therefore also threatens the investments that Danish pension companies manage for Danes, and a rapid global green transition is the safest way to protect our pension savings.
Green political advocacy should be regarded as a mandatory task
Pension companies express that it can create problems to appear too political. However, there is much to suggest that it should actually be considered an obligation under the law on “fiduciary duty”, because an accelerated green transition will help protect pension savings, especially in the long run.
Most pension companies already exercise various forms of green political advocacy, including through the industry organization Forsikring & Pension and as members of the investor coalition IIGCC. Several pension companies also assess that the proposal is already covered by their current policy, and a few pension companies have even chosen to add a special account of their efforts in this area in their recently published responsibility reporting.
By filing these proposals, members are asking for more of these kinds of initiatives.