the pri reporting and assessment
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Lorenzo Saà, Assessment and Training Manager - Principles for Responsible Investment Initiative - United Kingdom.TRANSCRIPT
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Voluntary Guidelines – Greenwashing or Genuine TBLI Mobilization?Lorenzo Saà, Assessment & Training ManagerAmsterdam, November 13, 2009
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What the PRI is …
a global collaborative investor network
voluntary and aspirational
grounded in fiduciary duty
process-oriented principles for integrating ESG issues into mainstream investment practices and across asset classes
a forum for discussion and concrete action on long-term risk issues and value drivers
a Secretariat providing practical guidance on emerging ESG issues and implementation support for signatories
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ESG-washing risk vs genuine mobilisation?
Quantity versus quality dilemma?
Is it a marketing tool to easily acquire a license to operate and avoid further regulation?
Information provided to the Secretariat is
a) Self-assessed;
b) confidential and
c) non audited
So is it useful or distortive?
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Advantages of a voluntary initiative…
Allows the initiative to reach out to those interested in knowing and implementing ESG aspects along a wide range of ESG experience levels.
Number of signatories
Asset owners 191
Investment managers 323
Professional service partners
123
Total 637
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Advantages of a voluntary initiative…
Enables the cooperation among players and sharing of ideas via many of the Secretariat services: more space for best practice sharing.
The Clearing house via its over 185 actions is an expression of this.
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Advantages of a voluntary initiative…
As it is Investor-led it provides a tool for the market “to do their thing” and leave the space to regulation where it is necessary.
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287 signatories responded 98% of those required to complete survey, after
“grace” year. 100 of the 287 signatories participated in a verification
process. Five signatories were delisted.
Addressing the Challenges: Yearly Assessment Process
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Assessment Outputs
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Report on Progress, eg. Principle 4ESG is working its way into contracts but less so into incentives
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Report on Progress, eg. Guidance
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Individual Responses Published
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Assessment Outputs - Confidential
Investment Manager X compared to All PRI IMs
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Signatory requirements change
Scaled mandatory fee by 2011, which will not be higher than today’s maximum voluntary contribution.
Maintain the Reporting and Assessment questionnaire requirement. This year there was a 98% response rate.
Minimum set of disclosure requirements by 2011 that:
Will not be commercial in nature;
Will not be implementation prescriptive.
Continue discussion on possibly introducing voluntary assurance mechanisms.
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Not alone
GRI – voluntary scheme on ESG on the corporate level: over 1,000 companies used GRI.
CDP – voluntary initiative that contacts over 3,500 corporations on behalf of 475 institutional investors (expecting around 2,000 responses).
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative – voluntary and helps fight corruption.
Pharma Futures….. Etc.
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Lewis Gordon
In steps
What we have done
Looking back from the future
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Web: www.unpri.org
General inquiries: [email protected]
Assessment Specific inquiries: [email protected]