As outlined in the PRI’s position paper: why and how investors should act on human rights, investors have a key role to play in addressing social issues and human rights.

The PRI is launching a new stewardship initiative where institutional investors will work together to take action on human rights and social issues. Investors will use their collective influence with companies and other decision makers to drive positive outcomes for workers, communities and society.

The overall objective of the initiative is to advance human rights and positive outcomes for people through investor stewardship. The initiative will primarily seek change through investors’ use of influence with portfolio companies. The following three expectations will be set for engagement focus companies:

• Fully implement the UNGPs –the guardrail of corporate conduct on human rights
• Align their political engagement with their responsibility to respect human rights
• Deepen progress on the most severe human rights issues in their operations and across their value chains

Investors are invited to join the initiative as an Endorser or Participant:

• Endorser: Endorsers are PRI Signatories that publicly endorse the initiative by signing the public investor statement, signalling their support for the objectives of the initiative. Endorsers who outsource their stewardship activities are encouraged to request that their investment managers and engagement service providers with responsibility for engagement apply to take part in the initiative or commit to aligning their own engagements to the objectives of the Initiative. Endorsers do not participate in engagement activities within the initiative and will be listed separately to Participants in public information about the initiative.
• Participant: Participants are investors who engage with companies as part of the initiative. Participants are expected to engage with at least one engagement focus company for the duration of the engagement period. Participants can engage with a company as a “Lead Investor” or a “Collaborating Investor” for specific engagement focus companies. Investors who join the initiative as a Participant will also be listed as Endorsers of the initiative.

The deadline to apply to become a Participant has now passed for the first phase of the initiative focusing on companies across metals & mining and renewables.

There is no deadline to support the initiative and its objectives by becoming an Endorser. 

For more information on this initiative, including how to become an endorser, please visit our website. For anything else, please contact advance@unpri.org.