European pension funds and socially responsible investment

The concept of socially responsible investment (SRI), which states that pension funds should not only get a good return on their investment but also use their influence over companies to increase social and economic welfare, has gained ground in the past decade. This article provides an overview of European pension funds and SRI, focusing on the implications for trade unions. It describes the European pension fund landscape, surveys national and international SRI initiatives and looks at SRI policies among the largest European pension funds. For trade unions, the current state of SRI raises important questions: (i) how can the monitoring of company behaviour be improved, particularly in areas of core concern for trade unions and their members; (ii) how can SRI ‘best practice’ be diffused to more pension funds and to other types of financial investors; and (iii) to what extent is there a conflict between SRI and maximizing financial returns and, if there is a conflict, how can this conflict be resolved? The article discusses these problems and possible solutions.