Stockholm (NordSIP) – The UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) has reinforced its ability to be in a position to evaluate the progress, or lack thereof, made by signatories towards implementing the Six Principles of the PRI, according to Mandy Kirby, PRI director of reporting and assessment, in a recent op-Ed for top1000funds.com.
Following a public commitment to strengthening accountability measures at last year’s ‘PRI in Person’ conference, the PRI reporting and assessment division will now seek out feedback on the basic criteria developed with input from the reporting and assessment advisory committee, the signatory stakeholder engagement committee and the board for finalised criteria, the findings of which will be made public at the end of 2017.
Signatories failing to meet the basic criteria agreed upon here based on 2018 reporting data will be placed on a private watchlist, with the intention of helping signatories to meet the criteria through collaboration with engagement and support. Those failing to demonstrate progress over two years will be delisted entirely.
Conversely, the PRI is set to recognise achievers and leaders in responsible investment by developing a leadership board that will highlight and share good practices carried out across the signatory base.
PRI Director, Reporting & Assessment
(www.unpri.org)
The PRI has also introduced a new web-based data platform, the “Data Portal”. This will enable asset owners and investment managers to have access to a wealth of data on responsible investment across regions, types of asset owners, signatories and a host of other characteristics in a single place. For example, asset owners will be able to collect and easily review information on investment managers. The concept behind the “Data Portal” is to support the sharing of best practices and encourage signatories to work together by giving them easy access to each other’s data.
In related news, PRI data from 1200 reporting investors last year shows that climate is firmly on the agenda of its signatories. 74% of asset owners reported climate change to be a long-term trend affecting their investments, while the majority of investment managers also identified climate change risk as a material concern.
The PRI will also be aligning its reporting framework to the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) as of next year, which should facilitate voluntary compliance for signatories. The TCFD recommendations provide managers and asset owners with the ability to assess the material financial impacts of climate change in their investment processes, offering guidance on disclosures in order to further evolution in good practice on disclosures and reporting.
“Voting and stewardship activity will continue to be essential for the stability of the financial services sector,” said Kirby. “By continuing to enhance and improve our reporting framework, the PRI believes it can play a valuable role in improving the dialogue between companies and investors about the real drivers of long-term performance, risk and return.”
Read the op-Ed here.
Picture: (c) Oleg Belov – shutterstock
