PRI board
Chair
Martin Skancke
Independent
Term limit: 2020
Directors elected by asset owners
Angela Emslie
HESTA (Australia)
Term limit: 2021
Eva Halvarsson
AP2 (Sweden)
Term limit: 2019
Hiromichi Mizuno
GPIF (Japan)
Term limit: 2019
Renosi Mokate
GEPF (South Africa)
Term limit: 2020
Laetitia Tankwe
Ircantec (France)
Term limit: 2021
Xander den Uyl
ABP (Netherlands)
Term limit: 2021
Sharon Hendricks
CalSTRS (USA)
Term limit: 2021
Directors elected by non asset owners
Wendy Cromwell
Wellington (USA)
Term limit: 2021
Tycho Sneyers
LGT (Switzerland)
Term limit: 2020
Peter Webster
Vigeo Eiris (France)
Term limit: 2019
Permanent UN advisors
Lise Kingo
UN Global Compact
Eric Usher
UNEP FI
Introduction from the Chair
Martin Skancke
The board remains focused on realising the ambitions of the PRI’s Blueprint for responsible investment and providing value to all signatories.
The board’s discussions are guided by the nine Blueprint priorities. The board has a high-level agenda for the 2019-21 strategy cycle that has scheduled discussions of all the Blueprint priorities, to ensure that the board systematically discusses and reviews each priority in depth. Also, at the regular June meeting the executive presents to the board an overview of progress against the nine priorities. Over the past year the board has discussed in depth:
- Action 1: Empower asset owners
- Action 4: Showcase leadership and increase accountability
- Action 7: Drive meaningful data throughout markets
- Action 8: Climate action
- Action 9: Enable real-world impact aligned with the SDGs
At the 2018 Signatory General Meeting I spoke about bringing the PRI closer to its signatories. Since 2017 we have set up a physical presence in Australia, Benelux, China, Latin America and Southern Europe. We have also added expertise and support to existing networks, including France, the UK and Ireland, and the US. Together with this increased physical presence we have translated selected core PRI materials into French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese and Chinese. The board has been encouraged by the signatory growth over the past year, especially the strong relative growth in China, Latin America and Southern Europe.
At our December 2018 meeting the board discussed the Reporting Framework, the theory of change for the Framework and the elements to be considered during the review. 580+ signatories (24%) participated in the review consultation, and the results indicate that signatories receive significant value from undertaking the Reporting Framework. It is valuable for learning and literally provides a framework for reflecting upon, structuring and reporting on responsible investment activities. Signatories also recognised the need for accountability for their responsible investment actions to the PRI and other stakeholders. Signatory feedback was constructive, identifying many ways in which reporting, assessment and the various outputs could be improved. The board will discuss further the proposed Reporting Framework reform at our September and December meetings.
The board puts considerable effort into improving its effectiveness. The PRI’s Articles mandate that the board conducts a periodic external assessment of its effectiveness. In April 2018 the PRI retained Nestor Advisors to facilitate the review. The reviewers concluded that the PRI has a well-functioning board with committed and engaged board members. However, board members felt that they can perform better as PRI ambassadors, with better support from the executive. To maintain engagement and quality of discussion the board agreed to meet more frequently, raising the commitment from three to four in person meetings annually. The review also identified recommendations on how the board committees and executive can more effectively support the board.
Several directors departed the board during the year: Sandra Carlisle (HSBC), Marcus Madureira (PREVI) and Priya Mathur (CalPERS). I would like to thank them for their valuable input during their respective terms. The PRI hopes to continue to benefit from the expertise of the departing board directors.
This year we welcomed three newly elected and two re-elected directors that will bring their perspectives, skills and knowledge to the board:
- Wendy Cromwell, Vice chair, Wellington Management (newly elected in January 2019)
- Angela Emslie, Independent Member, Impact Fund, HESTA (re-elected for a second term in January 2019)
- Sharon Hendricks, Chair of the Board, CalSTRS (newly elected in April 2019)
- Laetitia Tankwe, Advisor to the president of the board of trustees, Ircantec (newly elected in January 2019)
- Xander den Uyl, Trustee, ABP (re-elected for a second term in January 2019)
During the year there was also a change in representative from our partner initiative, the UN Global Compact. Lise Kingo, CEO and Executive Director, replaced Gavin Power.
In the 2019 PRI Board annual elections there are two asset owner positions and one service provider position up for election. Skills, experience and diversity are critical to a high-performing board. The board is encouraging all candidates with leadership and governance experience. Candidates will also be asked to elaborate in their statements on their demonstrated leadership within responsible investment, ESG expertise and other experience relevant to the long-term success of the PRI.
Signatory participation in the signatory voting in October and November is important. The PRI is a membership organisation and to continue to thrive we need to engage signatories with relevant work and activities, and signatories need to keep engaged and active in our governance. The PRI will be asking signatories to elect three new directors, approve the SGM minutes and vote for the PRI Annual Report and Accounts.
I encourage you to read the full board report. It is an overview of the work undertaken by the board over the past year, including how we work together and with the executive. The report includes our focus on: organisational purpose; the leadership of the board; integrity measures; decision-making processes, risks and controls; actions to improve our effectiveness; how we are thinking about board diversity and communicating this to signatories; and our efforts to be open and accountable to signatories.
If you would like to discuss any aspect of the PRI’s governance with me, please feel free to email me at [email protected].
Martin Skancke
Signatory General Meeting
The 2019 Signatory General Meeting (SGM) will be at 09:00 – 10:30 on Tuesday 10 September 2019 in the Palais des Congrès de Paris, as part of PRI in Person.
Agenda
- Welcome address and PRI Board report | Martin Skancke, Chair | 09:00 – 09:15
- Management and financial report | Fiona Reynolds, CEO | 09:15 – 09:45
- Q&A | Martin Skancke, Chair and Fiona Reynolds, CEO | 09:45 – 10:15
- Board director elections | Martin Skancke, Chair | 10:15 – 10:30
The PRI wants to encourage an active dialogue between signatories and the board. The SGM, the annual general meeting of signatories, is an important forum for communication between the board and signatories. The board encourages signatory participation, either in person, via webcast or for those outside the time zone by submitting questions in advance. The SGM is an opportunity for the board to report to signatories on the PRI’s strategy and its implementation, the work undertaken by the board and its committees, forthcoming board elections, formal consultations and any other business.
The SGM will be webcast for signatories that cannot attend in person. For more information on how to participate by webcast and submit questions in advance, click here.
The PRI sought input from signatories on the Signatory General Meeting (SGM) draft agenda in July 2019 and invited signatories to contribute agenda items and resolutions to be put to a vote. No agenda items or resolutions were received by the deadline of 9 August. However, time has been set aside for signatories to ask questions. If you have detailed financial or legal questions, please submit these by 9 September to [email protected].
