Calpers board OKs diversity, environment policies

SAN FRANCISCO, April 21 (Reuters) - The board of Calpers, the biggest U.S. pension fund, approved plans on Monday to put more emphasis on how diverse corporations' boards are and what environmental risks companies pose when it assesses corporate management and governance.

Additionally, the board of the California Public Employees' Retirement System, best known as Calpers, endorsed a bill before California lawmakers that would specifically create, for publicly held companies that do business with the state, a standard on disclosing information about climate change-related activities.

"Calpers is a leader in corporate governance, and I am pleased Calpers will help lead an effort to increase women and minority representation on corporate boards, and explore ways to ensure boards contain a wide range of talent and expertise," said board member and state Controller John Chiang.

"As institutional investors, we need solid information about a company's environmental risks and opportunities so that we can grow our bottom line while shrinking our carbon footprint," Chiang added.

Chiang said environmental policies the board approved would allow Calpers, a leading activist among pension funds on corporate governance, to influence how financial analysts, portfolio managers and companies evaluate climate risks and to encourage consistency in how companies disclose those risks. (Reporting by Jim Christie; Editing by Gary Hill)