| Organisational Overview | ||||||
| Organisational Overview This section captures information that helps determine if some of the subsequent questions are required and also plays a role in benchmarking. Please make sure you provide accurate answers. This is also one of the more challenging sections as it may require gathering information from multiple sources. We suggest you collect all this information before progressing to other parts of the questionnaire. | ||||||
| 1. What were your organisation's total assets under management as of the most recent count (in millions)? (Estimating to the nearest hundred million as of December 31 2008 would be preferable - although the most recent available count would be sufficient. If your currency is not listed, please select 'other' and indicate your currency or convert to United States dollars.) | 3035 | |||||
| Please select currency | Australian dollar (AUD) | |||||
| 1a. If 'other' was selected, please specify the other currency here | No Answer | |||||
2. Please pick the one category and level of complexity that best describes your organisation (if your organisation is a pension fund, please also select your pension type). This information may be used to provide you with the best possible benchmarking. Complexity
| ||||||
| Government reserve fund | Simple | |||||
| 2a. If 'other' was selected, please specify the other category here | No answer | |||||
| 3. Please provide an approximation of your average asset mix for 2008 or your asset mix as of the most recent count (in percent):(+/- 5% is sufficient. The sum of all the fields must be 100%) | ||||||
Active | Passive | Active | Passive | |||
| Listed equity (developed markets) | 0 | 0 | 18 | 12 | ||
| Listed equity (emerging markets) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Fixed income (not including corporate issuers) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | ||
| Fixed income (corporate issuers) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | ||
| Private equity | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Listed real estate or property | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Non-listed real estate or property | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | ||
| Hedge funds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Commodities | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Infrastructure | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Cash | 0 | 0 | 43 | 0 | ||
| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Governance, Policy and Strategy | ||||||
| Governance, Policy and StrategyQuestions 5 through 15 are about the governance and oversight of your organisation's responsible investment activities and the associated policies and strategy. This section will be scored separately from the six Principles."Policy" in this section may refer to one overall RI policy or multiple policies that address various elements of RI. | ||||||
| 5. Do you have a policy that makes specific reference to responsible investment (RI) or environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues? | Yes | |||||
| 6. If you have a policy that makes specific reference to RI/ESG issues, which of the following Principles does it address?(Please check all that apply.) | Principle 1: We will incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes.,Principle 2: We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices.,Principle 3: We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest.,Principle 4: We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry.,Principle 5: We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles.,Principle 6: We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles. | |||||
| 7. If you have a policy that makes specific reference to RI/ESG issues, which of the following asset classes does it apply to?(Please check all that apply.) | Listed equity (developed markets) | |||||
| 8. If you have a policy that makes specific reference to RI/ESG issues, when was your policy last reviewed? | Within the last 3 years | |||||
| 9. If you have a policy that makes specific reference to RI/ESG issues, has it been disclosed publicly?(If answering yes, please indicate how this statement can be obtained - a URL would be sufficient. If answering no, please explain why not.) | Yes: 'Government Decision Announced in the Parliament of the ACT' | |||||
10. To what extent has your approach to responsible investment been translated into a plan of action as reflected in business planning, strategic planning, or similar internal management processes?
| To a small extent | |||||
| 11. Who within your organisation has responsibilities related to RI implementation?(Please check all that apply.) | Other senior management,Middle management | |||||
| 12. Do you have a policy or approach/process that requires screening out or excluding stocks or sectors from your investment universe? | We do not screen or exclude stocks or sectors | |||||
| 13. What are your reasons for screening out or excluding stocks or sectors from your investment universe?(Please check all that apply.) | No Answer | |||||
| 14. Please describe how your organisation assesses if there is a link between your RI activities and the performance (risk and return) of your investments: | No Answer | |||||
| 15. Please add any overall comments and clarifications related to Governance, Policy, and Strategy here. | No Answer | |||||
| Principle 1 | ||||||
Principle 1: We will incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes.For the purposes of this questionnaire, integration is the consideration of ESG issues alongside traditional financial measures, based on the belief that ESG issues can affect the performance (risk and/or return) of investment portfolios (to varying degrees across companies, sectors, regions, asset classes and through time). Please note that the view that ESG issues can influence investment returns may be based either on
| ||||||
| 16. Please provide a one to two paragraph description of your approach to this Principle.This question and similar questions relating to each of the other Principles are being asked for three reasons. The first reason is to gather details regarding signatory implementation for inclusion in the PRI annual report on progress. The second reason is to capture activities not captured directly by questions in the Reporting and Assessment Tool. The third reason is to provide context and details to support verification calls. | The external listed equity investment managers have completed an ESG related questionnaire to help ascertain awareness of ESG issues, extent to which they incorporate consideration of ESG issues into their investment decision-making process, and the level of ESG related reporting. Equity investment management agreements have been amended requiring investment managers to provide details of ESG policies or positions; report on ESG activities over the period, including related research and engagement with companies; and the extent of integration of consideration of ESG risks and issues into investment decision making processes. Treasury has engaged EIRIS/CAER to provide ESG research and ratings on companies. Identified issues in respect of companies in a Treasury portfolio will be communicated to the relevant investment manager requiring the manager to advise as to whether the issues identified have been taken into consideration in the investment decision and analysis. | |||||
| Integration of ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes of internally managed assets | ||||||
| 17. For what percentage of your internal assets under active management do you integrate RI/ESG issues into your internal investment decision-making processes (in percent)?(+/- 5% is sufficient.) | ||||||
| Listed equity (developed markets) | ||||||
| Listed equity (emerging markets) | ||||||
| Fixed income (not including corporate issuers) | ||||||
| Fixed income (corporate issuers) | ||||||
| Private equity | ||||||
| Listed real estate or property | ||||||
| Non-listed real estate or property | ||||||
| Hedge funds | ||||||
| Infrastructure | ||||||
18. To what extent have you integrated RI/ESG issues into your internal active investment decision-making processes?(Applies only to investments that include integration of RI/ESG issues as indicated in Q17.)
| ||||||
| Listed equity (developed markets) | No Answer | |||||
| Listed equity (emerging markets) | No Answer | |||||
| Fixed income (not including corporate issuers) | No Answer | |||||
| Fixed income (corporate issuers) | No Answer | |||||
| Private equity | No Answer | |||||
| Listed real estate or property | No Answer | |||||
| Non-listed real estate or property | No Answer | |||||
| Hedge funds | No Answer | |||||
| Infrastructure | No Answer | |||||
19. When forming investment views, to what extent does your organisation gather and analyse ESG information, including, where applicable, information obtained from engagement activities?(Applies only to investments that include integration of RI/ESG issues as indicated in Q17.)
| No Answer | |||||
20. To what extent do portfolio managers or others making investment decisions in your organisation apply the ESG information and analysis available to them when constructing and managing portfolios?(Applies only to investments that include integration of RI/ESG issues as indicated in Q17.)
| No Answer | |||||
21. To what extent do you have a process for improving the effectiveness of research and portfolio management processes with regards to ESG factors?(Applies only to investments that include integration of RI/ESG issues as indicated in Q17.)
| No Answer | |||||
22. To what extent do you have a process for assessing and improving internal investment staff competency to incorporate RI/ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes?(Applies only to investments that include integration of RI/ESG issues as indicated in Q17.)
| No Answer | |||||
| Integration of ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes of externally managed assets | ||||||
| 23. For what percentage of your external assets under management are RI/ESG issues integrated into the investment decision-making processes of your external investment managers (in percent, +/- 5% is sufficient)? | ||||||
| Listed equity (developed markets) | 60 | |||||
| Private equity | 0 | |||||
| Non-listed real estate or property | 0 | |||||
24. To what extent have RI/ESG issues been integrated into the investment decision-making processes of your external investment managers?(Applies only to investments that include integration of RI/ESG issues as indicated in Q23.)
| ||||||
| Listed equity (developed markets) | To a small extent | |||||
| Private equity | Not applicable | |||||
| Non-listed real estate or property | Not applicable | |||||
25. To what extent do you consider the capabilities of external investment managers to incorporate RI/ESG issues when searching for, selecting and retaining your external investment managers?(Applies only to investments that include integration of RI/ESG issues as indicated in Q23.)
| To a small extent | |||||
| Integration - final comments | ||||||
| 26. Please add any overall comments and clarifications related to Principle 1 here. Please also describe any significant activities relating to Principle 1 that have not been captured by the questions above. | No Answer | |||||
| Principle 2 | ||||||
| Principle 2: We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices. | ||||||
| 27. Please provide a one to two paragraph description of your approach to this Principle. | Treasury has developed an engagement capability through an external arrangement with a specialist engagement service provider, called Regnan. The engagement activity is directed toward the ASX200 companies. Over time it is expected that this will extend to the ASX300. A similar arrangement for international company engagement will be explored again in the future, as currently available options were deemed to be not effective. | |||||
| (Proxy) voting - applies only to listed equity (developed markets), listed equity (emerging markets) and listed real estate or property. | ||||||
| 28. Do you have a (proxy) voting policy?(If 'Yes - disclosed publicly', please indicate how your (proxy) voting policy can be obtained- a URL would be sufficient. If answering no, please explain why not.) | No, planning to in 2009 | |||||
| 29. Does your (proxy) voting policy address environmental, social, and governance issues? | ||||||
| Environmental | No Answer | |||||
| Social | No Answer | |||||
| Governance | No Answer | |||||
| 30. Who decided how to vote on ballot items on behalf of your organisation in 2008?(Please check all that apply.) | External investment manager | |||||
31. To what extent is information related to ballot items gathered and analysed before voting decisions are made?
| Not at all | |||||
| 32. Do you ensure that voting is done in accordance with your voting instructions? | Yes for some | |||||
| 33. Do you inform companies of your rationale when you abstain or vote against management recommendations? | We make no effort to communicate our views | |||||
| 34. Please indicate how many resolutions you could have voted on and how many resolutions you did vote on in 2008:(include abstentions as votes where votes against are not possible, use the last available one year period if information for 2008 is not available or too difficult to gather, approximate numbers are acceptable. If you are unable to provide the exact number please provide an approximation of the percentage by entering 10 in the 'Resolutions could have voted on' column and your estimate in the 'Resolutions voted on' column. So if you voted on about 70% of the possible resolutions you would enter 7 in the 'Resolutions voted on' column. If you are not sure, please enter a 1 in all four fields.) | ||||||
| Domestic | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Foreign | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 35. You are classified as an Asset Owner and should not answer this question. For the listed equities that you manage, do you provide (proxy) voting services for your clients if they request them? | No Answer | |||||
| 36. How does your securities lending program address voting? | We do not have a securities lending program | |||||
| 37. How many shareholder resolutions related to ESG issues did you file or co-file during 2008? | ||||||
| As lead filer | 0 | |||||
| As co-filer | 0 | |||||
| Planning to be lead filer in 2009 | 0 | |||||
| Planning to be co-filer in 2009 | 0 | |||||
| 38. Please explain why you did or did not file or co-file any shareholder resolutions related to RI/ESG issues during 2008: | Voting decisions are made on our behalf by the relevant fund manager | |||||
| Engagement - general | ||||||
| 39. Who engaged with companies to seek ESG improvements in 2008?Please rank who engaged with companies according to their importance within your overall active ownership activities. You can only select Most, Second, Third and Fourth most important once each. Only the method you rank as 'Most important' will be scored for benchmarking purposes. If you wish to request that your other methods of engagement also be scored, please complete all the relevant sections and email the PRI at assessment@unpri.org when you submit your response. | ||||||
| Internal staff | Did not engage with companies in 2008 | |||||
| External investment manager(s) | Second most important | |||||
| External engagement service provider(s) | Most important | |||||
| No Answer | |||||
| 40. Do you have a written engagement policy or other documents that direct engagement?(If 'Yes - disclosed publicly', please indicate how your policy can be obtained- a URL would be sufficient.) | Yes - internal document | |||||
| 41. If you have an engagement policy or other documents that direct engagement, what do they include?(Please check all that apply.) | General high level policy to support direction of agents to engage with companies,Indication of what markets it applies to,Expectations of companies with regards to environmental issues,Expectations of companies with regards to social issues,Expectations of companies with regards to governance issues,Approach to monitoring companies,Approach to selecting companies for engagement,Approach to measuring engagement success | |||||
| 42. How many companies are you invested in? | 400 | |||||
| Engagement - internal staff | ||||||
43. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q39 regarding who engages with companies. To what extent do you have a process for identifying and prioritising ESG related engagement opportunities?
| No Answer | |||||
44. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q39 regarding who engages with companies. How many portfolio companies did you engage with on ESG issues in 2008?
| ||||||
| Extensive engagement | ||||||
| Moderate engagement | ||||||
| Basic engagement | ||||||
| 45. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q39 regarding who engages with companies. What proportion of your engagements addressed environmental, social or governance issues (in percent)?(One engagement may address more than one issue, so the three percentages need not add to 100%. For example, if you only had one engagement and it addressed environmental and governance issues then the answer would be 100% for environmental and 100% for governance.) | ||||||
| Environmental | ||||||
| Social | ||||||
| Governance | ||||||
46. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q39 regarding who engages with companies. To what extent do you set ESG engagement objectives and attempt to evaluate your engagement success?
| No Answer | |||||
| 47. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q39 regarding who engages with companies. What percentage of engagements that ended in 2008 were deemed successful (in percent)?(Engagement success: a considerable part of objectives or milestones that were set when the engagement commenced were achieved.) | No Answer | |||||
48. This question is not applicable to you due to your response to Q39 regarding who engages with companies. To what extent do you have a process for assessing and improving staff competency to act as active owners and incorporate ESG issues into ownership practices?
| No Answer | |||||
| Engagement - external engagement service provider(s) | ||||||
49. How many portfolio companies did your external engagement service provider(s) engage with on ESG issues on your behalf in 2008?
| ||||||
| Extensive engagement | 62 | |||||
| Moderate engagement | 0 | |||||
| Basic engagement | 0 | |||||
| 50. What proportion of your external engagement service provider(s)'s engagements on your behalf addressed environmental, social or governance issues (in percent)?(One engagement may address more than one issue, so the three percentages need not add to 100%. For example, if you only had one engagement and it addressed environmental and governance issues then the answer would be 100% for environmental and 100% for governance.) | ||||||
| Environmental | 11.3 | |||||
| Social | 48.8 | |||||
| Governance | 59.7 | |||||
51. To what extent do you contribute to and assess the ESG engagement activities of your external engagement service provider(s)?
| Planning to in 2009 | |||||
| Engagement - external investment manager(s) | ||||||
52. How many portfolio companies did your external investment manager(s)'s engage with on ESG issues on your behalf in 2008?
| ||||||
| Extensive engagement | 0 | |||||
| Moderate engagement | 0 | |||||
| Basic engagement | 400 | |||||
| 53. What proportion of your external investment manager(s)'s engagements on your behalf addressed environmental, social or governance issues (in percent)? (One engagement may address more than one issue, so the three percentages need not add to 100%. For example, if you only had one engagement and it addressed environmental and governance issues then the answer would be 100% for environmental and 100% for governance.) | ||||||
| Environmental | 0 | |||||
| Social | 0 | |||||
| Governance | 100 | |||||
54. To what extent do you contribute to and assess the ESG engagement activities of your external investment manager(s)?
| Planning to in 2009 | |||||
| 55. Did you consider the capabilities of external investment managers to engage with companies on ESG issues on your behalf when searching for, selecting and retaining your investment managers? | No | |||||
| Engagement - final comments | ||||||
| 56. What ESG issues were addressed in your or your service providers'engagement initiatives? (Please check all that apply.) | Benefits and compensation,Bribery/corruption,Climate change,Environment,Governance,Health and safety,Labour issues | |||||
| 57. What measures do you or your external service provider(s) use to assess the impact and success of engagement? | Regnan reviews behavioural change in order to determine the effectiveness of engagement | |||||
| 58. Please add any overall comments and clarifications related to Principle 2 here. Please also describe any significant activities relating to Principle 2 that have not been captured by the questions above. | No Answer | |||||
| Principle 3 | ||||||
| Principle 3: We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest. | ||||||
| 59. Please provide a one to two paragraph description of your approach to this Principle. | Treasury will support initiatives and resolutions promoting ESG disclosure. | |||||
| 60. Who asked investee companies (or other investment entities) to provide information about their ESG policies, practices or performance in 2008?(Please check all that apply.) | External engagement service provider(s) | |||||
61. {ERR} To what extent did you or your external engagement service provider(s) or your external investment manager(s) have a dialogue with investee companies (or other investment entities) regarding the production of standardized reporting about their ESG policies, practices or performance in 2008?('Standardized' could also include systematic reporting in areas where standardized reporting has not yet emerged.)
| ||||||
| Listed equity (developed market) | To a large extent | |||||
| Fixed income (not including corporate issuers) | Not at all | |||||
| Fixed income (corporate issuers) | Not at all | |||||
| Private equity | Not at all | |||||
| Non-listed real estate or property | Not at all | |||||
| 62. What formats of reporting on ESG issue policies, practices or performance have been requested? Please check all that apply. | Other (please specify): 'The focus is on content, not the actual format' | |||||
63. To what extent did you or your external engagement service provider(s) or your external investment manager(s) seek information from companies regarding their practices related to norms, standards, codes of conduct or international initiatives related to ESG issues in 2008?
| To a large extent | |||||
| 64. Please add any overall comments and clarifications related to Principle 3 here. Please also describe any significant activities relating to Principle 3 that have not been captured by the questions above. | No Answer | |||||
| Principle 4 | ||||||
| Principle 4: We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry. | ||||||
| 65. Please provide a one to two paragraph description of your approach to this Principle. | " Treasury will include Principles-related requirements in financial investment related requests for tenders. " Treasury is and will continue to communicate ESG expectations to investment service providers. " Treasury will revisit relationships with service providers that fail to meet ESG expectations. | |||||
| 66. Did you consider RI/ESG requirements when searching for and selecting service providers in 2008 when applicable? | ||||||
| Investment consultant | Not applicable | |||||
| Proxy voting service provider | Not applicable | |||||
| External overlay service provider | Not applicable | |||||
| Investment research provider | Yes, all of the time | |||||
| 67. Have you included RI/ESG elements in the following? | ||||||
| Investment monitoring | No | |||||
| Incentive structure (internally managed) | No | |||||
| Incentive structure (externally managed) | No | |||||
| Contractual relationships with external investment managers | Yes, all of the time | |||||
| Contractual relationships with other investment related service providers | No | |||||
68. To what extent did you encourage your eligible service providers to become PRI signatories or consider RI/ESG factors in 2008?(Service providers include but are not limited to: external investment managers, investment consultants, proxy voting service providers, external engagement service providers, and investment research providers.)
| To a moderate extent | |||||
69. You are classified as an Asset Owner and should not answer this question. To what extent did you encourage your institutional clients to become PRI signatories or consider RI/ESG factors in 2008?
| No Answer | |||||
70. To what extent did you encourage peer organisations to become PRI signatories or consider RI/ESG factors in 2008?
| Not at all | |||||
| 71. Have you revisited any relationships with service providers in light of RI/ESG issue-related capabilities? | No | |||||
| 72. Does your broker evaluation process (which determines how you allocate commissions to brokers) include an ESG component and/or do you have a budget to pay for ESG broker research? | Not applicable | |||||
| 73A. What is your total investment research budget (including brokerage commissions intended to recognize research, in the same currency used in Q1) | 0 | |||||
| 73B. what proportion of your total investment research budget is allocated to ESG research (in percent)? | 0 | |||||
74. To what extent do you identify ESG issues and suggest them to brokers or other investment research providers for research?
| Planning to in 2009 | |||||
75. To what extent did you engage in dialogue, lobbying or initiatives pertaining to government policy and/or industry regulations (for example, stock exchanges or accounting standards) related to RI/ESG issues in 2008?
| To a moderate extent | |||||
| 76. Please add any overall comments and clarifications related to Principle 4 here. Please also describe any significant activities relating to Principle 4 that have not been captured by the questions above. | No Answer | |||||
| Principle 5 | ||||||
| Principle 5: We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles. | ||||||
| 77. Please provide a one to two paragraph description of your approach to this Principle. | Treasury will support/participate in networks and information platforms to share tools, pool resources, and make use of investor reporting as a source of learning. | |||||
78. To what extent did you collaborate with other investors to improve your effectiveness in implementing each of the following Principles?
| ||||||
| Principle 1 | Not at all | |||||
| Principle 2 | Not at all | |||||
| Principle 3 | Not at all | |||||
| Principle 4 | Not at all | |||||
| 79. How did you use the PRI Engagement Clearinghouse in 2008?(Please check all that apply.) | Did not log in in 2008 | |||||
| 80. Did you participate in any of the following RI/ESG issue-related collaborations and/or associations? For those not listed, please use the "other" field:(Please check all that apply.) | No Answer | |||||
81. Please indicate the three RI/ESG issue-related collaborative engagement initiatives and/or industry associations that you participated in most extensively and indicate how you did so:
| ||||||
| No Answer | No Answer | No Answer | ||||
| No Answer | No Answer | No Answer | ||||
| No Answer | No Answer | No Answer | ||||
| 82. Please add any overall comments and clarifications related to Principle 5 here. Please also describe any significant activities relating to Principle 5 that have not been captured by the questions above. | No Answer | |||||
| Principle 6 | ||||||
| Principle 6: We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles. | ||||||
| 83. Please provide a one to two paragraph description of your approach to this Principle. | Treasury will participate in the annual PRI Reporting and Assessment survey. Treasury will annually disclose information about ESG activities in the Annual Report. | |||||
84. To what extent did you disclose (privately and/or publicly) your approach to incorporating ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes in 2008?(If you disclose publicly, please indicate how this disclosure can be obtained - a URL would be sufficient. If answering not at all, please explain why not.)
| To a small extent: '' | |||||
| 85. How did you disclose your (proxy) voting record in 2008?(Please select all that apply. If you disclose publicly, please indicate how this disclosure can be obtained - a URL would be sufficient. If answering not at all, please explain why not.) | Not at all: 'Not Required to.' | |||||
86. To what extent did you disclose (privately and/or publicly) your RI/ESG issue-related engagement activities, results and progress in 2008?(If you disclose publicly, please indicate how this disclosure can be obtained - a URL would be sufficient. If answering not at all, please explain why not.)
| To a small extent: '' | |||||
| 87. Did you disclose (privately and/or publicly) RI/ESG activities, results and progress related to Principle 3, Principle 4 or Principle 5 in 2008?(If you disclose publicly, please indicate how this disclosure can be obtained - a URL would be sufficient. If answering not at all, please explain why not.) | ||||||
| Principle 3 | Not at all | In early stage of implementation | ||||
| Principle 4 | Not at all | In early stage of implementation | ||||
| Principle 5 | Not at all | In early stage of implementation | ||||
| 88. How would you like to publish your responses to this PRI Reporting and Assessment tool?(Please check all that apply.) | Please automatically publish our responses to the reporting and assessment tool in full on the PRI website | |||||
| 89. Please add any overall comments and clarifications related to Principle 6 here. Please also describe any significant activities relating to Principle 6 that have not been captured by the questions above. | No Answer | |||||
| Closing Comments | ||||||
| 90. Please describe the benefits you have enjoyed as a result of signing the PRI: | Whilst the ACT sees the benefits of signing the PRI as long term, short term benefits have included helping the ACT focus on ESG related issues, as well as helping to raise awareness of these issues in investment decision making with current service providers. | |||||
| 91. What has your organisation changed as a direct result of becoming a PRI signatory? | The ACT has become more involved in the responsibilities of stock ownership. | |||||
| 92. Did the financial market turmoil of 2008 cause you to change your approach to the consideration of ESG factors or active ownership? If it did, please explain how. | No | |||||
| 93. What are the top three activities the PRI Secretariat could undertake to enhance and encourage further implementation of the PRI by current and prospective signatories? | ||||||
| 1. | Continue to promote regulatory changes. | |||||
| 2. | Focus engagement effort on investment managers and asset consultants to sign the PRI and to implement consideration of ESG issues into the investment decision-making process. | |||||
| 3. | Provide clarity to current and prospective signatories on ESG-related issues, RI and values-based investing. | |||||
| 94. What are your top three PRI-related goals/priorities for 2009? | ||||||
| 1. | Fully document all ESG investment policies. | |||||
| 2. | Communicate more regularly with investment managers about companies where research indicates there may be significant ESG realated risks and issues | |||||
| 3. | More actively seek ESG related reporting from investment managers | |||||
| 95. What were your most significant achievements in 2008 in relation to your implementation of Principles? | ||||||
| Principle 1: We will incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes. | Amending all of the listed equity investment manager agreements to include provisions rlating to ESG. Engaging EIRIS/CAER to provide ESG research and ratings on companies. | |||||
| Principle 2: We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices. | Engaging a specialist engagement service provider - Regnan. | |||||
| Principle 3: We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest. | Supporting the initiatives of Regnan. | |||||
| Principle 4: We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry. | Communicated ESG expectations to investment managers and reflected these through investment management agreement amendments. | |||||
| Principle 5: We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles. | Working with Regnan. | |||||
| Principle 6: We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles. | Disclosure of information about ESG activities in the Treasury Annual Report. | |||||
| 96. What were your biggest barriers in 2008 with relation to your implementation of the Principles? | ||||||
| Principle 1: We will incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes. | Investment managers and asset consultants currently do not have an appropriate analysis framework to properly incorporate all ESG issues into their investment decision making. | |||||
| Principle 2: We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices. | Making people understand the benefits of this approach, as opposed to a values-based investment approach. | |||||
| Principle 3: We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest. | Current laws and regulations. | |||||
| Principle 4: We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry. | Investment managers and to some extent asset consultants. They do not have a focus on ESG underneath all of the rhetoric. | |||||
| Principle 5: We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles. | na | |||||
| Principle 6: We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles. | na | |||||
| 97. Please indicate which principle you find the most difficult to implement and the principle you find the least difficult to implement: | ||||||
| Most difficult | Principle 1 | |||||
| Least difficult | Principle 2 | |||||