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The COVID-19 crisis has presented an opportunity to reshape a future which is green, inclusive and sustainable. Through the recovery and the years that follow, PRI will be working with investors to help realise this more prosperous reality. This will include an emphasis on moving beyond risk and return to include real-world impact, a focus on social issues and more ambitious stewardship practices as well as strong action on climate. This session outlines how the PRI is calling on the global investor community to help in building back better.[vc_quotes layout=”accordion” 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title=”Speaker” el_class=””][vc_quotes layout=”accordion” 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title=”Moderator” el_class=””][vc_empty_space height=”10px”]
The world has finally woken up and realised the importance of sustainability. We have the opportunity to leverage the crisis to build back better.
‘The SDGs are the business plan and North Star for the world. We don’t need a new plan, we just need to execute on and invest in the existing plan.’
We are accelerating into the era of Responsible Investment 2.0 or 3.0, which means shifting the dialog from risk/return to risk/return/real world impact.
In the past, social issues have been treated as the poor cousin of ESG and this cannot continue to be the case. Many investors are still unclear on how best to fulfil their responsibilities on human rights. PRI’s aim is to raise awareness of human rights obligations, as has been done with climate over the past 5 years.
Legal frameworks need to evolve to help investors implement sustainability outcomes.
Further work is required around data to ensure we can better measure risk and impact.
We aim to usher in a new ambitious era of stewardship. We cannot engage on everything so let’s get on the same page and focus on the most pressing systemic issues facing the world. Asset owners and corporates can help by signing up to the net zero commitment.
PRI’s next evolution of reporting will focus more on outcomes, not just process.
PRI wants to be a big tent organisation that works with all parties, not just the leading parties. Nonetheless, PRI intends to raise its minimum standards for ratings and new signatories.
I’m not sure we will hit the targets across all 17 SDGs in the next decade but I’m confident we will make significant progress for people and planet.
One of the most important, upcoming challenges at CalSTRS is how the fund should evaluate Chinese investments from a human capital and environmental standpoint, says Chris Ailman, chief investment officer at the giant pension fund.
Five years on since the SDGs were launched, an increasing number of investors are putting capital to work to earn returns alongside helping solve global scourges like the climate crisis, poverty and inequality. Sarah Rundell looks at New York Common Fund and Denmark's PKA among others.
The European Union's rescue plan will give a huge boost to an already thriving market for green bonds and other instruments that promote sustainability. But investors need to be wary: green comes in many shades.
How can investors work together to combat inequality? In this podcast episode Amanda White speaks to the president of CalPERS, Henry Jones, about his own experience and the fund's journey in tackling diversity and inclusion, in particular issues of racism.
More than 70 investors have collaborated to produce a framework for an investment strategy led approach to decarbonising portfolios and maximising efforts to achieve net zero emissions globally by 2050. The IIGCC, which developed the framework, is seeking consultation.
This piece is part of Disability Demands Justice, a dynamic, ever-evolving hub by the Ford Foundation to deepen our understanding of how disability intersects with social justice.
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