For nearly 30 years, responsible investors worked with UNEP FI on influential initiatives such as the Property Working Group, as well as publishing landmark reports including the “Freshfields Report” that set out the legal duty for incorporating ESG issues into investor portfolios, and is regarded as the first major step in mainstreaming responsible investment.
UNEP FI has collaborated with our sister organization, the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) for over 15 years on a number of investment initiatives, using our comparative strengths to support leading investors in driving financial systems change. In order to accelerate leadership in responsible investment and better serve the investment community and the financial industry at large, UNEP FI and PRI have established a joint initiative, the Investment Leadership Programme (ILP), and have merged UNEP FI’s investment membership with PRI’s. Investors will continue to have to access to ILP leadership projects and initiatives through their membership of the PRI.
UNEP FI’s Property Working Group has also moved to the PRI from January 2022 and will be convened by PRI’s secretariat. Please find more information here. Find a review of UNEP FI’s work over the years in the field of responsible property investment here.
UNEP FI members also contributed to the four-year project, Fiduciary Duty in the 21st Century, which sought to clarify investors’ obligations and duties in relation to the incorporation of ESG issues in investment practice and decision-making. This was followed by a new policy project the ‘Legal Framework for Impact’ in partnership with PRI and The Generation Foundation which takes the discussion one step further by exploring how investors can account for real world impacts whilst discharging their legal duties. Both the UN-convened Net Zero Asset Owner Alliance and the Legal Framework for Impact sit under the Investment Leadership Programme.