The 2020 ratings of the signatories of the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) have just been released and the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund’s Office of Investment Management (OIM) has again achieved the best possible score of A+.
“This performance shows our commitment to the UN values of sustainable development,” said Pedro Guazo, Representative of the Secretary-General for the investment of the UNJSPF assets. “Our responsible and sustainable investment commitment is not only impactful given the volume of investments we manage, but we hope it can also serve as a leading example to be followed by other asset owners,” Mr. Guazo added. As of 7 August 2020, the value of the UNJSPF assets was USD 73.5 billion.
While most of the scores of each asset class remained high, the score of the securitized fixed income dramatically improved from an E to an A+ rating since last year. “All of our investments are now rated A or A+, which is a significant achievement,” said Herman Bril, OIM’s Director of Investments.
The PRI is the world’s leading proponent of responsible investment. A voluntary set of investment principles, it offers a framework that includes six core principles for incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into investment decision-making processes. By implementing these principles, the signatories promote long-term value creation, contribute to the global effort of responsible investment and enhance greater benefits for the environment and society.
Each year, signatories report on their responsible investment activities by responding to asset-specific modules in the PRI Reporting Framework. Each module houses a variety of indicators that address specific topics of responsible investment. The PRI then calculates scores for each assessed module and shares them with the signatory on the PRI platform.
The PRI was founded in 2006 at the New York Stock Exchange by the former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, and OIM was a founding signatory. As of today, over 3000 asset owners representing more than USD 100 trillion are signatories of the PRI.
For more information on OIM’s approach to sustainable investing, please read the 2018 Report on Sustainable Investing here.