Desjardins Group has announced that all 17 of the Desjardins SocieTerra funds and portfolios are now 100 per cent free of oil production and pipeline holdings, reducing exposure to fossil fuel producers and specialized transporters from five per cent to zero per cent in the funds.

“The Desjardins SocieTerra lineup no longer has any shares in companies that earn a significant portion of their revenue from extracting or producing oil, natural gas or thermal coal, or from specialized oil and gas transportation, including pipelines, oil refining, or coal-based energy production,” the company said in a statement. “This is another step forward in the energy transition for SocieTerra and demonstrates Desjardins’ continued leadership in the move toward a low-carbon economy.”

The company says it reviewed its positions in certain sectors in recent months, in order to pull out of those which no longer fit with its sustainable development goals. The funds are divesting their holdings in tobacco and vaping companies as well.

“We’re committed to completely divesting from the thermal coal industry by the end of the year,” says Desjardins Group president and CEO, Guy Cormier. “And since tobacco and vaping products harm both consumer health and the environment, we’re eliminating our holdings in that industry as well.”