The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) is a membership organization of European asset management firms and other activist investors that use the assets they have under management to promote left-of-center environmental policies. ¹

IIGCC is one of the five founding member organizations of the Climate Action 100+ investor-led corporate influence campaign and continues to direct and coordinate with its activities. ²

Background

Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change was created in 2001 by investment professionals at the Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited (USS), which is the largest private pension group in the United Kingdom. ³ [not]e “Our History.” IIGCC. Accessed April 5, 2025. https://www.iigcc.org/our-history.[/note] IIGCC was incubated in the Climate Group, which is an international network of businesses and other groups that advocate for environmentalist policies. It has received significant funding from left-of-center organizations including the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. ^{4 5} IIGCC became a standalone company in 2012. ⁶

In 2006, IIGCC hosted a conference in Paris, France at which the keynote speaker was former U.S. Vice President Al Gore. ⁶

Leadership

Stephanie Pfeifer has been the CEO of Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change since 2005. She is a finance industry professional, and in 2022 she received an Order of the British Empire for her “services to climate finance.” ⁷

As of 2025, IIGCC’s board was largely comprised of representatives of European asset management firms and major pension funds, including the Brunel Pension Partnership, Danish pension fund PKA, Impax Asset Management, Federated Hermes, Amundi Asset Management, APG Asset Management, Phoenix Group, Storebrand Asset Management, Railpen, Allianz Investment Management SE, and the Church of England Pensions Board. ⁸

Membership

In its 2023 annual filing with the U.K. government, Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change claimed 429 members from 24 countries, representing GBP £55 trillion (approximately $73 million) in assets under management. ⁹

As of 2025, there were 11 European firms in the top 50 of the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute’s rankings of the world’s largest asset managers. ¹⁰ Nine of those firms – Amundi Asset Management, BPCE-Generali, DWS, Schroders PLC, Ostrum Asset Management, M&G PLC, Union Investment Institutional GmbH, Janus Henderson Investors, and Bailie Gifford & Co. – were members of IIGCC. In addition, major American asset managers such as BlackRock, Vanguard, Fidelity, Invesco, Franklin Templeton, Goldman Sachs, and T. Rowe Price were IIGCC members through their European operations or subsidiaries at the time. ¹¹

In 2025, many major pension funds in Europe were also members of IIGCC, including the national government pension funds of Switzerland and Finland, the primary trade union pension fund of Denmark, large municipal government employee pension funds including those for London and Greater Manchester, and the pension funds for major employers including the BBC, British Rail, the U.K.’s National Grid, BT, BAA, BAE, HSBC Bank, UBS, Reed Elsevier, Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays Bank, Swiss Re, and Tesco. ¹¹

Activism

Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change performs research into corporate policies and activities and publishes guides that encourage investors to build “climate-aligned” portfolios. ¹² Its goal is to direct capital to companies that align with its preferred environmental outcomes, and away from companies that do not. ¹³

IIGCC also advocates before governments, including the European Union, to promote left-of-center environmental policies. ^{13 14}

IIGCC pressures companies to adopt policies and modify their operations toward IIGCC’s preferred environmental outcomes, both directly and by encouraging its investor members to do so as well. This includes identifying ESG-related shareholder resolutions at a targeted set of companies and encouraging its members to vote in favor of those resolutions. ¹⁵

Criticism

Observers and industry experts have questioned whether Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change’s investing principles and proxy voting guidelines do much to change the investment decisions of many of its members. ¹⁶ One 2023 analysis found that major asset managers were largely willing to vote for corporate shareholder resolutions regarding disclosure of climate-related information, but much less likely to support resolutions that required meaningful action from companies. ¹⁷

1. “IIGCC – the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change.” IIGCC. Accessed April 5, 2025. https://www.iigcc.org/.
2. “Climate Action 100+.” IIGCC. Accessed April 5, 2025. https://www.iigcc.org/climate-action-100.
3. “USS Announces Net Zero Ambition.” USS, May 4, 2021. https://www.uss.co.uk/news-and-views/latest-news/2021/04/05042021_uss-announces-net-zero-ambition.
4. “The Climate Group – UK.” MacArthur Foundation. Accessed October 27, 2024. https://www.macfound.org/grantee/the-climate-group-uk-38297/.
5. “The Climate Group – North America.” MacArthur Foundation. Accessed October 27, 2024. https://www.macfound.org/grantee/the-climate-group–north-america-10114648/.
6. Our History.” IIGCC. Accessed April 5, 2025. https://www.iigcc.org/our-history.
7. Deshmukh, Atharva. “IIGCC CEO Stephanie Pfeifer Receives OBE for Role in Climate Finance’s Growth” Net Zero Investor, July 3, 2022. https://www.netzeroinvestor.net/news-and-views/briefs/iigcc-ceo-stephanie-pfeifer-receives-obe-for-role-in-climate-finances-growth.
8. “Our Board.” IIGCC. Accessed April 5, 2025. https://www.iigcc.org/our-board.
9. “Audited Report of the Directors and Financial Statements for the Year to 31 December 2023.” Companies House UK, August 23, 2024. https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/07921860/filing-history/MzQzMzYwMjA3MGFkaXF6a2N4/document?format=pdf&download=0.
10. “Top 100 Asset Manager Managers by Managed AUM.” Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. Accessed April 5, 2025. https://www.swfinstitute.org/fund-manager-rankings/asset-manager.
11. “Our Members.” IIGCC. Accessed April 6, 2025. https://www.iigcc.org/our-members.
12. “Our Programmes.” IIGCC. Accessed April 6, 2025. https://www.iigcc.org/our-programmes.
13. “Policy.” IIGCC. Accessed April 6, 2025. https://www.iigcc.org/policy.
14. Furness, Virginia, and Kate Abnett. “Investors with 6 Trillion Euros Warn EU Not to Weaken Green Rules” Reuters, February 3, 2025. https://www.reuters.com/markets/europe/investors-with-6-trillion-euros-warn-eu-not-weaken-green-rules-2025-02-03/.
15. “2025 Proxy Season.” IIGCC. Accessed April 6, 2025. https://www.iigcc.org/corporate/2025-proxy-season.
16. Baker, Russell. “The Problem with ‘Universal Owner Theory’ for Climate-Conscious Funds.” Investment Magazine, March 5, 2024. https://www.investmentmagazine.com.au/2024/03/the-problem-with-universal-owner-theory-for-climate-conscious-funds/.
17. Baker, Russell. “Asset Owners and Managers Diverge on ESG Voting.” Investment Magazine, January 25, 2024. https://www.investmentmagazine.com.au/2024/01/asset-owners-and-managers-diverge-on-esg-voting/.