“Sustainability is about running a business well”

Meet Ali Peck, Head of Communications and Engagement at a net-zero committed pension fund.

We hear how an £8bn public sector pension fund, responsible for around 100,000 members, thinks about climate change not as a moral add-on, but as a material financial risk. Flooding, heat, supply chains, stranded assets – if investments aren’t resilient, pensions aren’t either.

We explore the fund’s net zero commitment, and why fiduciary duty now means actively understanding and managing climate risk in portfolios that span everything from global equities to UK infrastructure.

Ali gives a rare behind-the-scenes view of how a small communications team operates at serious scale – covering the full marketing mix, being deliberately vocal, and using transparency to influence asset managers, suppliers, and even other city pension funds around the world.

We also get into the realities of reporting: imperfect data, evolving frameworks, and the challenge of explaining complex investment decisions in plain English – without slipping into greenwashing or going quiet.

The conversation widens to divestment versus engagement, the limits of “just pulling out”, and why LPFA has also committed real capital to climate solutions – backing renewables, infrastructure, and technologies that support the transition.

Finally, Ali shares a grounded take on sustainability inside large systems: real change comes from working both inside and outside the system, using transparency, pressure, and persistence – and from engaging employees, members, and partners rather than relying on top-down declarations.

A thoughtful, practical episode on influence, money, risk – and how communications can be used to drive change where it really counts.