As we look back over the past year, delivering on the ambitious agenda outlined in our Blueprint for responsible investment has been the focus of much of our work.
One of our first priorities was to empower asset owners. In recent months, we have produced two significant guides for them: one focusing on helping them craft a clear and explicit investment strategy and another on improving the manager selection, appointment and monitoring process.
Another core aspects of the Blueprint is work on climate change. As part of our climate commitments, we introduced for the first time new, completely voluntary climate related indicators to our reporting framework based on the TCFD recommendations. Out of the 1514 reporting signatories this year, we had a total of 459 signatories (28% AO, 72% IM) opting into climate change and submitting information. We thought this was quite a good result and higher than we were expecting. These results underscore how many of our signatories are keen to disclose how they are tackling the transition to a low carbon economy.
Apart from climate activities, we are continuing to focus our efforts on working with institutional investors to create a more sustainable financial system and mapping the PRI’s work to the SDGs.
One of our longstanding commitments has been to bring the PRI closer to our signatories through more regional support. Last year, we hired a first-ever head of China to meet the growing interest in responsible investment that we see not only in that country but also in other countries across the region, most notably in Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong. Not content to stand still In Europe, we’ve added a head of Benelux and a head of Nordic, CEE and CIS.
Accountability is another priority in the Blueprint. Following considerable consultation and discussion, the PRI is implementing minimum requirements for signatories. We will work closely with those who are not meeting the requirements in order to help them improve their performance. Failure to meet these requirements by 2020 would result in delisting.
But, in order to further move responsible investment forward, it is equally important to recognise leadership. We will highlight and share good practices being carried out by our signatories. At this year’s PRI in Person in San Francisco, we will be announcing the establishment of Leadership Awards, the first of which will be awarded at PRI in Person 2019 in Paris.
I look forward to working with our signatories to accomplish the plans laid out in the Blueprint
There is still much that we want to accomplish with regard to the Blueprint and other ESG-related activities. I look forward to working with the PRI senior management team and of course, with our signatories, on expanding these initiatives in the coming months. Thank you for your support.
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