A council pension scheme has become one of the first to invest in a new ‘green’ fund which supports low carbon technology.

Cheshire Pension Fund is investing £500m in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Central Climate Factor Fund which was launched this week by nine local government pension funds in the Midlands. The fund will move away from companies with greater carbon emissions and fossil fuel reserves and specifically toward those with green revenues.

Cheshire Pension Fund is the pension scheme for more than 100,000 members across 300 mainly public sector employers, including Cheshire West and Chester Council, Cheshire East Council, Halton BC and Warrington MBC, Cheshire Police and Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service and other employers in Cheshire. The Fund is administered by Cheshire West and Chester Council.

Cllr Myles Hogg, chairman of the Cheshire Pension Fund, said: ‘Our priority is our financial duty to pay the pensions of our 100,000 members and this fund will contribute well to that aim. We also know climate change is an important issue for us all so we were keen to support this fund. We welcome the fact that the new fund boosts investment in companies generating green revenues as these companies will be the leaders in shaping our future.’

Cheshire Pension Fund and West Midlands Pension Fund are the first two investors in the LGPS Central Climate Factor Fund, which launched on 10 October and manages £2.1bn.

The LGPS Central Pool is made up of nine local government pension funds, including Cheshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Worcestershire, West Midlands and the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority.

Mike Weston, chief executive of LGPS Central, said the new green fund ‘enables us to align our shared sustainable investment ethos with our long-term investment goals.’