James Gifford

On Tuesday 21st September I met James Gifford, Executive Director of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI). A very talented Australian man and the driving force behind one of the world’s most popular and fastest growing responsible investment organisations, I admit to being slightly nervous, but was soon put at ease by his relaxed and friendly attitude. He clearly works extremely hard to make the UN PRI as big as it can be and has a real passion for pushing the Principles to their potential.

The aim of the UN PRI is to engage signatories (mostly pension funds, asset owners and institutional investment managers) in integrating environmental, social and corporate governance issues (ESG) into all of their investment decisions. Once signed up, they must take action and regularly report their progress. Any investment projects or areas are thoroughly scrutinised and The Clearinghouse department of the UN PRI holds online seminars (webinars) and conferences where signatories can discuss reports of unfair treatment of local workers in developing countries by transnational corporations, organisations where gender inequality has been an issue, environmental disasters or their investments into certain fisheries.

There are many similar lists of principles from various banks and investment houses, but it is the UN PRI that arguably holds most weight today. The UN PRI office in England is based in Shoreditch, London, around the corner from my office. It also has offices in New York and is expanding into other countries and markets around the globe.

Effectively, the aim is to have the most money possible going into worthwhile and sustainable projects and corporations (rather than unsustainable versions), to ensure a positive future for our planet and its people. Here, money has a big voice and by voting with their investments, the signatories are making a big statement to corporations who do not take ESG issues seriously.
Signatories currently include Standard Life, Teachers' Retirement System of the City of New York and the Royal Mail Pension Plan (bearing in mind that the Royal Mail is the largest private employer in the UK), whilst potential future signatories are continuously being identified, approached and engaged.

There appears to be increasing acknowledgement that ESG issues can significantly affect investment portfolio performance. The UN PRI is in a period of rapid growth and looks to be dominating the responsible investment space, whilst the Principles themselves are voluntary, aspirational and doing a world of good.