PRI set to launch collaborative stewardship initiative on nature

The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) is developing a new collaborative stewardship initiative on nature.

As part of its work to launch the ‘Spring’ stewardship initiative, PRI is in the process of convening a group of investors who will use their voice and influence to drive positive outcomes for nature.

The initiative’s objective is for investors to contribute to the goal of halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030. This is aligned with the goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

PRI highlighted that biodiversity loss is a systemic issue, with direct and indirect effects across the entire economic and financial systems.

It said that investors are highly exposed to systemic risks like biodiversity loss, and universal owners and long-term investors have a limited ability to diversify their portfolios away from the impacts of such issues.

PRI added that stewardship activities, particularly when carried out in collaboration with other investors, are an essential tool for managing risk, as well as driving more sustainable real-world outcomes.

The initiative is part of the PRI’s wider support for signatories on managing nature-related risks and opportunities.

Approach

PRI’s initial focus will be on forest loss and land degradation, as a key driver of biodiversity loss, and will likely expand to other drivers of biodiversity loss as the initiative develops, it detailed.

It added that the initiative will focus on enabling policy alignment and implementation across geographies to help generate positive outcomes for nature and investor portfolios.

It explained that focusing on investor efforts on policy will make it more likely that systemic risks are addressed across economic sectors and at an appropriate pace.

According to PRI, investors can help foster policy alignment through two broad approaches, either directly through their own engagement with policymakers, and indirectly through their engagement with investees, in regard to their responsible corporate political engagement.

PRI said that the initiative will focus on the latter approach in the first instance. It will also continue to support existing, successful investor initiatives focusing on direct investor engagement with policymakers, such as the Investor Policy Dialogue on Deforestation (IPDD).

Supporters

A sign up for endorsers is now open and they can publicly sign the ‘Spring’ investor expectation statement, signalling their support for the initiative’s objectives and strategy.

Supporters are required to be a PRI signatory asset owner, investment manager or service provider. Those who outsource their stewardship activities are encouraged to request that their investment managers and service providers either apply or take part in Spring or align their own engagements to the initiative’s objectives.

There are no other joining requirements, PRI said, and supporters can retain complete discretion over their engagement activities.

Endorsers are encouraged to sign-up by 19 January 2025 to be included in the first set of endorsees which will be announced in early 2024.

PRI is then expected to release its focus company list and begin recruiting initiative participants, who will carry out day-to-day engagement activities with selected companies.

Read the digital edition of IPE’s latest magazine