Exploring Net Zero Commitments With Mass Mutual

May 2023 – 2 min read

Barings has worked to align with MassMutual's net zero goals.

Client request: In spring of 2021, MassMutual announced net zero initiatives for both their operations (by 2030) and their investment portfolio (by 2050). Since then, Barings has continued to work with MassMutual to research already defined net zero frameworks by the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance and SBTi, concentrating on alignment with MassMutual’s portfolio goals for carbon reduction and feasibility from an investment management perspective.

What we did: In 2022, we continued to assess and analyze third-party net zero frameworks based on outlined methodologies and calculations, data availability and coverage for the variety of asset classes and carbon-intensive sectors in MassMutual’s General Investment Account (GIA). We conducted feasibility studies for the implementation of initiatives for Barings’ portfolio management for the different net zero initiative plans that were in scope. One of the ongoing challenges has been relevant data coverage. Barings worked with MassMutual and their external consultant to identify potential solutions, including whether data coverage could be increased with MassMutual onboarding a new vendor of carbon data (which they were testing for reporting purposes).

Outcome: Our findings concluded that data coverage could not be supplemented much more beyond Barings’
existing data providers. Our considerations regarding methodology and lack of feasibility of portfolio management implementation for the studied frameworks, also led to MassMutual deciding not to commit to either framework at this stage and to use elements of both to support mapping out their net zero goals. Going forward, we will continue to work with MassMutual to guide net zero target setting for their GIA.

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