By David Atkin, CEO, Principles for Responsible Investment
A new year always provides an opportunity to reflect on our progress and evaluate our ambitions for the year ahead. As 2024 gets underway, the global responsible investment (RI) community has certainly achieved a lot – but there’s a great deal still to be done.
Our evolution during 2023
2023 was a year of transformation for the PRI. Through our PRI in a Changing World consultation, we heard what signatories want from us to support them in the responsible investment landscape as it stands both today and in the years ahead. We heard clearly that signatories want us to support their progression, to help create spaces for signatories to act, to influence system change and to engage effectively with markets at a regional as well as global level. I’m pleased to say we’re making progress on delivering against all these objectives.
We’ve introduced a more flexible approach for PRI reporting in 2024, making the process voluntary for all investor signatories that reported in 2023, and for those in their grace period
We launched a Progression Pathways programme, aiming to provide more relevant support to signatories and to better clarify the different roles of responsible investors in a sustainable financial system. As part of our commitment to co-design the Pathways with signatories, we held a series of in-person and online workshops in the latter half of 2023 – a number of which I was pleased to facilitate myself – and collected valuable insights on the design of these Pathways.
The PRI’s Progression Pathways programme aims to provide more relevant support to signatories
Whilst we continue to develop this more tailored and focused learning offering, we’ve also introduced a more flexible approach for PRI reporting in 2024, making the process voluntary for all investor signatories that reported in 2023, and for those in their grace period. In the coming months, we will be consulting with our signatories on these and other key strategic developments.
Creating more collaborative spaces
We also continue to create opportunities for collaboration. Our online Collaboration Platform is a valuable tool allowing all signatories to connect with one another globally, to enhance the impact of their engagements and initiatives and find opportunities to be involved. Alongside this, we continue to convene or support a range of collaborative industry initiatives.
Building on the successes of initiatives in the climate space, such as Climate Action 100+ and the UN-convened Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance, this work is expanding into other areas – Advance, launched in 2022, focuses on human rights and social issues, whilst Spring, our latest collaborative initiative, was launched in 2023 and will focus on nature and biodiversity. We’re also leading a collaborative engagement initiative to support governments to act on climate change, which has begun with a pilot in Australia.
One of the most striking results from the Changing World survey was around the strength of support for PRI’s role in promoting policies and regulatory change that supports sustainable markets
Developing our policy work
Engaging with governments in this way is crucial, because we know that investor action on ESG issues must be facilitated by an enabling policy environment. In fact, for me, one of the most striking results from the Changing World survey was around the strength of support for PRI’s role in promoting policies and regulatory change that supports sustainable markets. 77% of respondents supported existing or increased levels of PRI engagement in the policy sphere.
It’s clear the signatory base sees this avenue as central to responsible investment efforts – a significant shift since the PRI’s efforts in this arena began. Our policy engagement programme around the world has gone from strength to strength in recent years – as outlined by our Director of Global Policy, Margarita Pirovska, in her recent blog.
At a global level, we were delighted to announce at COP28 in Dubai that the PRI will serve as the secretariat for the newly-launched Taskforce on Net Zero Policy. The Taskforce will bring together experts and regulators to pursue policy changes towards net zero, both for the investment industry and beyond. We’re privileged to play a role in such important work.
The PRI played an active role at COP28
Nurturing our responsible investment ecosystems
Whilst the challenges facing us are global in nature, it remains essential that the PRI engages effectively with markets at a regional level. In 2023 I travelled to 21 cities around the world, and I found the PRI and our work received with positivity and energy in every single one. From Beijing to Bogota, Stockholm to Singapore and Melbourne to Montreal, I encountered flourishing RI ecosystems, each with their own priorities and challenges, but all working towards the shared goal of a sustainable global financial system. It was a particular privilege to see the potential for RI progress in emerging markets, which will become another focus of ours going forward. I’d like to thank all those who welcomed me, and look forward to meeting many more of our signatories this year.
At PRI in Person 2023, held in October in Tokyo
Heading into my third year as PRI CEO, I will continue to make it my priority to connect locally with our signatories and stakeholders, in their own RI ecosystems. I look forward to the team bringing PRI in Person to Toronto, to making further progress on Progression Pathways, and to championing ESG education more broadly via our PRI Academy courses (which you can read more about in my recent blog).
I hope you too can take a moment to pause and reflect on all the progress we’ve made as a global community of responsible investors as you begin 2024, and I look forward to working with you this year in pursuit of our shared mission.
