Role players from the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investing (PRI), Public Investment Corporation, Government Employees Pension Fund and Sanlam, among others, met yesterday to examine the role of investors in promoting sustainable investment in companies and in climate change investment. The roundtable event, a parallel session to the COP17 climate change conference in Durban, was hosted by Sanlam.
Among the key outcomes was that Sanlam as one of South Africa and Africa’s biggest asset owners, publicly committed to the UN-PRI, making it the first private South African asset owner, along with the Government Employees Pension Fund and the Eskom Pension Fund, to take this forward-thinking step. Several South African asset managers are already signatories.
“As part of the ongoing improvement of our sustainability and governance focuses, Sanlam has committed to the UN-PRI and will become a signatory in early 2012,” said Ms Lulu Letlape, executive head of Group Corporate Affairs at Sanlam. “We are committed to working with local and international partners to address the impact of the financial services industry on the broader South African society.”
Signatories to the UN-PRI join a network of international investors working together to put six principles for responsible investing into practice. The principles were devised by the international investment community and reflect the view that environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) issues could impact on the performance of investment portfolios and should therefore be given appropriate consideration by investors if they are to fulfil their fiduciary duty.
Commenting on the move, Richard Anderson, head of corporate governance at Sanlam Investment Management (SIM), said asset owners need to play a greater role in driving the adoption and implementation of sustainable investment practices as they relate to ESG issues. “It is becoming increasingly important for asset owners to build responsible investing into their business models.”
SIM has for several years been a signatory to the UN-PRI, which has about 900 signatories around the world representing assets worth more than US$30 trillion.
Sanlam is also ranked 8th on the JSE’s Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CPLI) – an index which highlights leaders in terms of transparency and accountability regarding climate change related issues and the quality of internal data management practices. It is one of the few companies that have been included in the index for more than three years.
Get the latest issue of FAnews