Progression Pathways: what are they and when will they be available?

What are Progression Pathways? 

Progression Pathways are a new way for the PRI to support signatories in progressing their responsible investment practices. Multiple pathways are available, to better direct signatories towards the PRI services – such as guidance, collaborative initiatives and education – that are most relevant to their objectives and level of development. 

There is no hierarchy between the pathways – they exist in parallel to reflect the diversity of responsible investment objectives that PRI signatories have. Progression happens within pathways: introductory, intermediate and advanced levels within each pathway will help to guide signatories in getting started, developing their approaches and exploring market-leading practices. 

The three pathways will be tailored towards: 

• those seeking primarily to incorporate ESG factors; 
• those aiming to address drivers of sustainability-related financial risks; 
• those seeking to have positive real-world impact alongside financial goals.  

In future, PRI Reporting will also reflect the Progression Pathways, allowing signatories to track, drive and demonstrate progress against their organisation’s particular responsible investment goals.  

What will each pathway consist of? 

Within each pathway will be a range of topics for investors to choose from (e.g. “policies and governance”, “investment analysis”, “engagement with investees” or “setting sustainability targets”), under which will sit a range of level 1, 2 or 3 practices. 

Selecting a topic that is of interest to them, and a practice level that is most appropriate to their stage of development, a signatory will be presented with a range of relevant PRI resources, such as guidance, collaborative initiatives and PRI Academy training, as well as select third-party resources. Signatories will also be shown examples of questions that might be asked as part of Progression Reporting on that topic, at that level. 

What benefits do Progression Pathways bring signatories? 

By being able to choose the pathways and levels that are most relevant to them, signatories will benefit from: 

• a way to clearly demonstrate the intended results of their responsible investment activities to clients, beneficiaries and other stakeholders, and therefore to be held accountable against expectations that match their goals; 

• more relevant benchmarking, by being compared to peers that share similar objectives and are subject to similar expectations, rather than against a one-size-fits-all standard; 

• tailored support from the PRI, with guidance, education and reporting that better fits their objectives and stage of development; 

• the flexibility of having common expectations on systemic issues such climate change, human rights and biodiversity, allied to the freedom to focus on the particular sustainability issues most relevant to their portfolios and mandates. 

Are Progression Pathways a new signatory requirement?  

No. Progression Pathways are voluntary, step-by-step journeys that signatories can use if they are interested in exploring the more tailored experience they will provide. 

What will Progression Pathways mean for PRI Reporting? 

Through Progression Pathways, we want to simultaneously reduce the time and effort required for mandatory reporting, and increase the value and relevance of voluntary reporting.  

To do this, we are working towards replacing existing investor reporting with a model of: 

• Foundational Reporting: significantly streamlined, universal, mandatory reporting to demonstrate commitment to the six Principles, underpinned by minimum requirements. 

• Progression Reporting: more in-depth, tailored, voluntary reporting on the specific responsible investment practices a signatory is pursuing, aligned to the Progression Pathways a signatory has opted in to. This will enable signatories to track and demonstrate progress against their individual responsible investment objectives, and benchmark themselves against relevant peers. 

How will Progression Pathways address the proliferation and duplication of sustainability reporting investors face? 

In an operating environment that has seen a dramatically increased number of mandatory and voluntary sustainability reporting standards, initiatives and frameworks, we want to decrease duplication of reporting effort and provide a more holistic picture of signatories’ responsible investment commitments and practices. 

We are therefore looking to map the main regulatory and voluntary reporting requirements that signatories are trying to meet (including by asking them about it during PRI Reporting in 2025). We will work with signatories to establish exactly how the range of sustainability reporting obligations, soft law requirements and voluntary initiatives that they are already undertaking can best be taken into account across both Foundational Reporting and Progression Reporting. 

In this way Progression Pathways can be a tool to help signatories navigate existing requirements, and to make progress against them in an efficient way, supported by tailored resources. 

Would reporting against multiple pathways mean increased reporting? 

We are currently exploring with our testing group how best to approach interoperability across pathways in Progression Reporting. Maintaining similar levels of reporting across multiple pathways could hamper our aim to streamline reporting and avoid duplication, while reducing reporting in the wrong areas can harm the specificity and practical usefulness of assessments and benchmarking. We want to ensure we deliver the balance that provides most value to signatories. 

When will Progression Pathways be available? 

We expect to publish a preview of the framework of pathways, topics and practices in mid-2025, with the online tool that signatories will ultimately use to access and explore them to follow. We will also provide guidance that signatories can follow internally to understand their progress against the pathways in advance of Progression Reporting, which will launch later. 

When will Foundational Reporting and Progression Reporting be available? 

We currently expect Foundational Reporting to replace existing mandatory PRI Reporting for asset owners and investment managers in 2026, with Progression Reporting to follow in 2027. These dates are estimates that are subject to change as work on Progression Pathways progresses. 

How might using Progression Pathways work in practice? 

We intend for signatories to access Progression Pathways through an online tool available via the PRI website. A personalised dashboard will reflect the pathways a signatory is working on, directing them to the PRI resources and services that are most relevant to their objectives and stage of development. 

How should a signatory identify which pathway is right from them?  

We will publish guidance on what each pathway means in practice, as well as providing dedicated support to any signatories looking for additional help. 

Can non-signatories use Progression Pathways?  

Signatories have, and continue to be, deeply involved in co-designing Progression Pathways, and delivering something that brings our signatories value is our primary focus as we develop the offering. Exactly which aspects of Progression Pathways, and the associated resources and services, will be publicly available and which will be available only to signatories is still in development. 

We are also exploring how insights and analysis arising from Progression Pathways and Progression Reporting can benefit the wider responsible investment community, building on the way that e.g. Transparency Reports and analyses of PRI Reporting data spread value beyond the signatory base today. 

Will service providers be able to use Progression Pathways?  

Ultimately, Progression Pathways will be open to all PRI signatories interested in the benefits they provide – whether that be to seek guidance on progressing their practices, demonstrating their responsible investment intentions or enabling more targeted peer benchmarking. 

However, we recognise that service providers and investor signatories have distinct needs, and to ensure we deliver something that is meaningful to each signatory type, at launch Progression Pathways, and Progression Reporting, will be focused on investor signatories. 

All three signatory types have been consulted during the co-design phase, and we are continuing to explore how best to deliver Progression Pathways in a way that brings maximum value to service providers. 

How do Progression Pathways account for objectives varying within an organisation – e.g. through different investment strategies/portfolios/products? 

Progression Pathways cover practices both at the entity/organisation level (such as policies and governance) as well as in practice areas that may vary across an investor’s offering. By mapping PRI services to different objectives, practice areas and levels of sophistication, signatories will be more easily able to access the most applicable support in each case. 

How Progression Reporting will see signatories report on practices that vary across the organisation is still under development. 

How will a signatory’s claims to be operating at a particular level within a pathway be publicly verifiable? 

Signatories’ Progression Reporting will be publicly available, continuing the transparency that PRI Reporting is known for. 

How will Progression Pathways help PRI to improve its offering to signatories? 

Progression Pathways will allow us to gain a better understanding of the priorities and characteristics of the signatories that choose to adopt them. This will enable us to better tailor education, guidance and tools to those needs, and to convene more relevant collaborative initiatives and communities of practice. 

It will also help us to identify key barriers to progression facing all signatories, and better understand how to address them through our activities such as thought leadership, global policy engagement local responsible investment ecosystems and academic research. 

Will Progression Pathways be updated as responsible investment trends and practices continue to evolve? 

Yes. We recognise the ever-evolving market, and champion increasingly ambitious responsible investment practices. Progression Pathways will therefore be updated over time to remain reflective of changes in the regulatory environment and signatory practices.  

How were Progression Pathways developed? 

Progression Pathways are being co-designed between the PRI and signatories, including through our strategy consultation, 24 in-person and online workshops (attended by nearly 400 signatory organisations) and focus groups. Signatories will also be able to provide feedback on the pilot that is expected mid-2025. 

How can I learn more about Progression Pathways? 

More information is available on the Progression Pathways webpage. If you have further questions about Progression Pathways, and/or want to get involved, please contact [email protected].