In the first hours of last week’s PRI meet-and-greet, the event’s theme of moving from commitment to action resonated in a very powerful way among the nearly 1,400 delegates from 52 countries gathered in person in Tokyo. I found out that it is.
Evidence of this theme in action came in the form of the Japanese Prime Minister’s pledge to announce that seven public pension funds would begin preparations to sign up to the PRI. The Prime Minister also underlined his support for sustainability outcomes in his speech, which set a new standard for the Government’s commitment to responsible investment in the PRI in Personal.
We also support the work of the PRI and our ‘Investing for Sustainable Impact’ (IFSI) approach, and support Japan’s Ministry of the Environment’s efforts to encourage greater adoption of ESG investing among Japan’s long-term investors. We welcomed the statement of the High-Level Panel on ESG Finance. pension funds, life insurance companies, etc.
From this early stage of the event, we can see that investors large and small are individually and collectively inspired and motivated to return to workplaces around the world this week to drive this theme forward.
Over the course of the week, we hope to hear diverse ideas and perspectives from our speakers and spark new ideas, connections, and conversations with attendees who join us in person or on demand.
As members of the global responsible investment community, we have the power to make a real difference.
Of course, an event of this scale does not happen overnight without support. We would like to thank our sponsors, including our lead sponsor, Nippon Life Insurance Company, for their generous support. We would also like to thank all his PRI colleagues for their excellent teamwork in organizing the conference.
We would like to thank our speakers for taking the time to provide their perspectives, challenge us, and highlight new opportunities. We would also like to especially thank the Prime Minister of Japan and the Governor of Tokyo for their support of our efforts.
The PRI meet-and-greet was also significant as Chairman Martin Skancke is retiring this year after nine years in the role. South African Government Employees Pension Fund Chairman Dr Lenosi Mokate, who has been a PRI board member since 2015, will also step down this year after his longest term. Many thanks to both Mr. Martin and Mr. Renosi for their valuable contributions to PRI.
A lot was covered during the two and a half day conference, with many side events complementing PRI’s program. The sessions provided great opportunities for participants to learn, connect and discuss topics ranging from climate to nature, social issues including human rights, policy initiatives and more.
Important conversations also occurred throughout the event, from coffee breaks to networking events. Through all these interactions, I was inspired by the urgency and ambition shared by the participants.
In the middle of this week, the PRI will publish a ‘spring’ investor statement for approval, establishing the basis for investors to address risks from nature and biodiversity loss through management practices. We also introduced other complementary nature initiatives to help investors have the information they need to decide what’s best for them.
More broadly, I think we’ve found that more work needs to be done in the policy arena to create an enabling environment. Policies play a key role in creating the right conditions for successful responsible investment.
Research and education are also important for responsible investment (RI) to continue to grow. Recognizing this, Martin Skancke launches a major funding initiative to foster new research in responsible investment and support students from underrepresented groups to complete PhDs in responsible investment. Then he announced.
This comes in the form of a Reynolds and Gifford PRI grant. The grant is named after former PRI CEOs Fiona Reynolds and James Gifford, who have made significant contributions to advancing PRI and RI more broadly. More information on this grant will be added soon.
Policies play a key role in creating the right conditions for successful responsible investment.
For the time being, let’s rally around a common sense of crisis regarding various ESG issues and the actions that were often seen at PRI meetings. As members of the global responsible investing community, we have the power to make a real difference.
We encourage all signatories and stakeholders to stay connected with PRI through academy courses, collaboration platforms, or networking events in your local market. We are here, championing signatories, and ready to support you in turning your commitments into action.
There is much work to be done across the RI ecosystem before we return to the PRI in-person conference next year. But mark your calendars now for PRI in person 2024 in Toronto from October 8th to 10th.
Video replay of the session PRI face-to-face 2023Held from October 3rd to 5th TokyoYou can use it by registering here. Video highlights of the event will be posted here in the coming weeks. Please check back soon.
The PRI Blog aims to contribute to the debate on topical responsible investment issues. Written by members of the PRI staff and occasionally guest contributors. The blog author writes in her personal capacity, but posts do not necessarily represent the views of her PRI.