Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health

What Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health does

Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health (operating as 'Shift') is a Canadian non-profit advocacy organization founded in 2019 that works with pension plan members and beneficiaries to press Canada's largest public pension funds on climate-related financial risk. The organization is structured as a project on MakeWay Charitable Society's shared platform, which provides operational, governance, and charitable infrastructure, and is funded entirely by private charitable foundations and individual donations; it does not accept contributions from financial institutions or corporations. Its target universe is the 11 largest Canadian public pension managers (CPPIB, OMERS, OTPP, HOOPP, BCI, CDPQ, AIMCo, IMCO, OPTrust, UPP, and PSPIB), which collectively manage over CAD $2.7 trillion in assets.

Shift's core outputs are research publications and community organizing campaigns rather than software or technology products. Its flagship asset is the annual Canadian Pension Climate Report Card, an independent benchmark of climate policy quality across the 11 named pension managers, now in its fourth edition (2025, released January 2026). It also publishes the Climate Pension Quarterly newsletter (20 issues since September 2021), CPPIB Watch quarterly tracking of CPPIB-owned fossil fuel companies, and thematic reports such as 'Entrenched Interests: Fossil Fuel Ties On Canada's Pension Boards' (June 2025). The organization mobilizes pension contributors to engage with their funds on climate risk, fossil fuel divestment, and Indigenous rights through petitions, letter-writing, and shareholder engagement.

The business model is donation-based: there is no product, no pricing, and no revenue disclosure. A small team of 1–10 staff distributed across Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver executes the program, governed by a Steering Committee chaired by How-Sen Chong. Distribution is exclusively domestic (Canada) and channels include the shiftaction.ca website, email newsletters, recorded webinars, and earned media in outlets such as Corporate Knights and National Observer. The organization has no patents, no funding rounds, no M&A activity, and no disclosed technology infrastructure.

Name

Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health

Legal name

Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health

Website

https://shiftaction.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health is a Canadian non-profit advocacy organization that supports pension beneficiaries by researching and publicizing climate-related financial risks across Canada's 11 largest public pension funds, which manage over $2.7 trillion in assets.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pension climate advocacy and research

NAICS

Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

akta.pro primary industry

Climate Change Mitigation & Adaptation (BPAGAGAF)

Keywords

• Pension climate advocacy
• Sustainable investment research
• Climate policy analysis
• Fossil fuel divestment
• Pension fund engagement

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations: Shift is entirely funded through support from private charitable foundations and individual donations. The organization does not accept donations from financial institutions or corporations. Shift operates as a project on MakeWay's shared platform, which provides operational supports, governance, and charitable expertise.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Shift is a non-profit advocacy organization that mobilizes Canadian pension plan members and beneficiaries to engage their pension funds on climate-related financial risk. It produces independent research and benchmarking, including the annual Canadian Pension Climate Report Card evaluating 11 of Canada's largest pension managers, the Climate Pension Quarterly newsletter, and CPPIB Watch tracker of fossil fuel investments. The organization also runs advocacy campaigns pressing pension funds to align investments with climate goals and Indigenous rights.

Product overview

Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health is a charitable advocacy organization (a project of MakeWay Canada) focused on climate action and pension protection. The organization does not offer a software product, platform, or technology service. Instead, it provides research publications, advocacy campaigns, newsletters, and stakeholder engagement tools focused on analyzing Canadian pension fund investments and their alignment with climate goals. Its offerings consist of public reports, campaign materials, and communication platforms for pension beneficiaries to engage with their funds on climate issues.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Canadian Pension Climate Report Card: Annual independent benchmark evaluating the quality, depth and credibility of climate policies and strategies for 11 of Canada's largest pension managers.
• Climate Pension Quarterly
• CPPIB Watch

Products and services

• Canadian Pension Climate Report Card Annual independent benchmark evaluating the quality, depth, and credibility of climate policies and strategies for 11 of Canada's largest pension managers (CPPIB, OMERS, OTPP, HOOPP, BCI, CDPQ, AIMCo, IMCO, OPTrust, UPP, and PSPIB). Published as a downloadable report for pension members, researchers, and the public.
• Climate Pension Quarterly Quarterly email newsletter covering developments in Canadian pensions and climate, distributed to subscribers via Shift's email list.
• CPPIB Watch Quarterly update tracking investments of CPPIB-owned fossil fuel companies and their climate alignment, delivered to subscribers as part of Shift's email communications.
• Entrenched Interests: Fossil Fuel Ties On Canada's Pension Boards Research report analyzing fossil fuel industry ties among directors of Canada's public pension fund boards, published as a downloadable report on Shift's website.

Quantifiable outcome

• Shift's advocacy contributed to federal public servants calling for removal of Imperial Oil director from PSPIB Board of Directors
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• MakeWay Charitable Society (MakeWay Canada)coreOthersShift is a project on MakeWay's shared platform, which provides operational supports, governance, and charitable expertise for changemakers. MakeWay is a national charity that builds partnerships and solutions to help nature and communities thrive together. This operational partnership enables Shift to focus more time and resources on achieving greater impact.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Emerging players

• Green Economy Canada: Canadian nonprofit hub supporting green-economy businesses and policy. Senior Manager Laura McGrath was previously Network Engagement Manager there — overlapping community-organizing methodology, though narrower in focus than Shift's pension mandate.

Direct peers

• Indigenous Climate Action: Canadian Indigenous-led climate advocacy organization. Steering Committee Chair How-Sen Chong previously worked at Indigenous Climate Action, and Shift's mobilization of pension members behind Indigenous-rights shareholder proposals aligns directly with ICA's mission.
• The Atmospheric Fund: Toronto-based climate investment and policy organization; CEO Julia Langer sits on Shift's Steering Committee. TAF operates city-scale climate finance work that parallels Shift's focus on climate-aligned investment in Canadian institutional capital.
• Stand.earth: Canadian-headquartered environmental advocacy organization running climate-finance campaigns on fossil fuel financing and corporate accountability, comparable to Shift's focus on pressuring Canadian institutional investors on climate. Steering Committee member How-Sen Chong previously worked at Stand.earth.
• 350.org: Global grassroots climate advocacy organization running divestment and fossil-fuel campaigns, including in Canada. Closely comparable mission of mobilizing constituencies to pressure financial institutions and governments on climate.
• Environmental Defence Canada: Canadian environmental advocacy NGO running climate, energy, and fossil fuel campaigns. Directly comparable to Shift — Shift's Director Adam Scott and Senior Manager Patrick DeRochie both previously worked at Environmental Defence Canada's Climate & Energy program.
• Corporate Knights: Canadian sustainable-business research and ranking firm that publishes sustainability rankings including of pension funds. Highly comparable — Steering Committee member Toby Heaps is CEO and co-founder of Corporate Knights, and the firm has direct overlap with Shift's pension benchmarking work.
• Leadnow: Canadian digital advocacy organization running campaigns on climate, democracy, and economic justice using online mobilization tools. Campaign Specialist Cheryl Randall previously managed digital campaigns at Leadnow, indicating direct methodological overlap.

Regional players

• Ecology Ottawa: Ottawa-based environmental advocacy nonprofit running climate campaigns and organizing. Campaign Specialist Cheryl Randall previously worked at Ecology Ottawa; comparable campaign-organizing model though focused on municipal Ontario policy.

Others

• MakeWay Charitable Society: National Canadian charity operating a 'shared platform' that houses multiple environmental and social-change projects — Shift itself is a project under MakeWay. Directly comparable as a peer ecosystem partner and operational backbone, though not a campaign peer in the traditional sense.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ActionShift
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shiftaction

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shift Action for Pension Wealth and Planet Health