| 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.) | 1216.031 | |||||
| Please select currency | British pound (GBP) | |||||
| 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
| ||||||
| Non-corporate pension or superannuation or retirement or provident fund or plan | Simple | Primarily defined benefit | ||||
| 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 | 35.4 | 24 | ||
| Listed equity (emerging markets) | 0 | 0 | 3.9 | 13 | ||
| Fixed income (not including corporate issuers) | 0 | 0 | 0.8 | 0 | ||
| Fixed income (corporate issuers) | 0 | 0 | 11.3 | 0 | ||
| Private equity | 0 | 0 | 6.8 | 0 | ||
| Listed real estate or property | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Non-listed real estate or property | 0 | 0 | 4.4 | 0 | ||
| Hedge funds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Commodities | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Infrastructure | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Cash | 0 | 0 | 0.4 | 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),Listed equity (emerging markets),Fixed income (not including corporate issuers),Fixed income (corporate issuers),Private equity,Non-listed real estate or property | |||||
| 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, and planning to in 2009 | |||||
| 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: 'http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/pensions then select publications"' | |||||
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 large extent | |||||
| 11. Who within your organisation has responsibilities related to RI implementation?(Please check all that apply.) | Board of trustees or board of directors,Committee of the board of trustees or board of directors,Other senior management,Middle management,RI or ESG specialist,Non RI or ESG investment professional | |||||
| 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: | Undertake research covering a wide range of topics and across assets classes. Most of of our active managers are able to demonstrate the environmental, or ESG score for each company they are invested in and provide an analysis of this in each quarterly report. We are then able to compare that to the risk/ return data. We also undertake direct research to demonstrate the link between ESG and financial risk/ return. | |||||
| 15. Please add any overall comments and clarifications related to Governance, Policy, and Strategy here. | We believe there is a considerable body of evidence that well governed companies produce better and more sustainable returns than poorly governed companies. Also investors including pension fund managers and shareholders that influence the Board/Directors of under-performing companies can improve the management and financial performance of those companies. Our Environmental Overlay Strategy and Corporate Governance Policy, both publicly available via www.environment-agency.gov.uk/pensions set clarify our Governance, Policy and Strategy. This web site at the above address plus www.environment-agency.gov.uk/environmentalfinance includes copies of the recent research referred to above. | |||||
| 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. | We fully integrate ESG into investment management through: Fund manager selection, mandatory ESG requirements in their IMA and regular reporting (in their quarterly reports) of how ESG has influenced stock purchases/ sales, engagement and voting. We undertake independent research and analysis of stock performance and ESG issues. We have established a set of extra-financial KPI's to monitor fund manager performance alongside their financial performance. Other aspects of how we approach this is set out in various documents on the internet, please see previous reference. | |||||
| 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) | 100 | |||||
| Listed equity (emerging markets) | 100 | |||||
| Fixed income (not including corporate issuers) | 100 | |||||
| Fixed income (corporate issuers) | 100 | |||||
| Private equity | 100 | |||||
| Non-listed real estate or property | 100 | |||||
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 large extent | |||||
| Listed equity (emerging markets) | To a large extent | |||||
| Fixed income (not including corporate issuers) | To a large extent | |||||
| Fixed income (corporate issuers) | To a large extent | |||||
| Private equity | To a large extent | |||||
| Non-listed real estate or property | To a large extent | |||||
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 large 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. | The EAPF press release on the restructuring of our Active Global Equity managers in July 2008 was explicit on how the PRI was factored into the decision making process. | |||||
| 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. | Our Investment managers to decide when and how to vote, although expect them to make regular contact at senior executive level with companies in which we invest. We instruct fund managers on these votes regarding environmental issues directly and publish the voting record on-line. We have adopted the ISC and ABI standards, in respect of best practice in corporate governance. All managers are requested to vote on our shares and quarterly monitoring reports are provided by our global custodian Northern Trust.We primarily operate our engagements through our fund managers, and they are also responsible for identifying issues for engagement. With respect to the questions relating to engagement policy we have two overall policy documents - Environmental Overlay and Corporate Governance. In addition we undertake research which will directly lead to engagement activity e.g on carbon disclosure. | |||||
| (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.) | Yes - disclosed publicly: 'www.environment-agency.ogv.uk/pensions' | |||||
| 29. Does your (proxy) voting policy address environmental, social, and governance issues? | ||||||
| Environmental | Yes | |||||
| Social | Yes | |||||
| Governance | Yes | |||||
| 30. Who decided how to vote on ballot items on behalf of your organisation in 2008?(Please check all that apply.) | External investment manager,Internal investment manager,External engagement service provider(s) | |||||
31. To what extent is information related to ballot items gathered and analysed before voting decisions are made?
| To a large extent | |||||
| 32. Do you ensure that voting is done in accordance with your voting instructions? | Yes for all | |||||
| 33. Do you inform companies of your rationale when you abstain or vote against management recommendations? | Yes for all | |||||
| 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 | 14112 | 14112 | ||||
| Foreign | 14111 | 14111 | ||||
| 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: | At this time we do not feel we have the resources required to file/ co-file an ESG resolution but actively support those who do. We intend to review the potential use of filing/ co-filing ESG resolutions as part of investment strategy review during 2009/10. | |||||
| 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 | Fourth most important | |||||
| External investment manager(s) | Second most important | |||||
| External engagement service provider(s) | Most important | |||||
| Third most important | |||||
| 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 - disclosed publicly: 'It is contained in different documents depending on the issue, www.environment-agency.gov.uk/pensions' | |||||
| 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 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? | 2301 | |||||
| Engagement - internal staff | ||||||
43. To what extent do you have a process for identifying and prioritising ESG related engagement opportunities?
| To a moderate extent | |||||
44. How many portfolio companies did you engage with on ESG issues in 2008?
| ||||||
| Extensive engagement | 8 | |||||
| Moderate engagement | 100 | |||||
| Basic engagement | 100 | |||||
| 45. 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 | 100 | |||||
| Social | 0 | |||||
| Governance | 50 | |||||
46. To what extent do you set ESG engagement objectives and attempt to evaluate your engagement success?
| To a moderate extent | |||||
| 47. 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.) | 50 | |||||
48. 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?
| To a large extent | |||||
| 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 | 390 | |||||
| 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 | |||||
| Social | 21 | |||||
| Governance | 68 | |||||
51. To what extent do you contribute to and assess the ESG engagement activities of your external engagement service provider(s)?
| To a large extent | |||||
| 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 | 222 | |||||
| Moderate engagement | 183 | |||||
| Basic engagement | 32 | |||||
| 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 | 40 | |||||
| Social | 40 | |||||
| Governance | 80 | |||||
54. To what extent do you contribute to and assess the ESG engagement activities of your external investment manager(s)?
| To a large extent | |||||
| 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? | Yes, for all of our external investment managers | |||||
| Engagement - final comments | ||||||
| 56. What ESG issues were addressed in your or your service providers'engagement initiatives? (Please check all that apply.) | Activities in conflict zones,Benefits and compensation,Bribery/corruption,Climate change,Environment,Governance,Health,Health and safety,HIV/AIDS,Human rights,Labour issues,Nanotechnology / novel technology | |||||
| 57. What measures do you or your external service provider(s) use to assess the impact and success of engagement? | We use environmental foot printing to review overall improvements in our underlying benchmark and our own portfolio. We ask manages to report on progress from previous engagements. Change in environmental performance / ESG scoring of individual companies. We are looking to improve tools and technique in this area during 2009. | |||||
| 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. | For clarification of the role of internal staff. 1. we undertake direct research into company environmental disclosures, roughly every 2 years. The direct engagement activity was undertaken in 2007 so those figures are not reflected in the numbers above although part of an long terms programme. 2. A large proportion of work is analysing ESG risks across the whole portfolio using environmental foot printing, carbon foot printing, extra financial key performance indicators and issue specific research e.g assets held which have interests in controversial activities or places. This risk work is then used with our fund manager and external provider to direct their engagement activities. 3. We also work with our managers to project manage engagements with funds e.g. private equity funds and property funds annually - although not companies we have included these in our figures above as they are part of portfolio. | |||||
| 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. | Disclosure by the entities in which we invest is the top priority by EAPF engagement both direct and via Fund managers and also through engagement with domestic policy makers. A key focus in 2008 was mandatory carbon disclosure in the Climate Act 2008. | |||||
| 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.) | Internal staff,Internal staff collaboratively with other investors,External investment manager(s),External investment manager(s) collaboratively with other investors,External engagement service provider(s),External engagement service provider(s) collaboratively with other investors,Other (please specify): 'Public policy groups e.g. CDP , IIGCC' | |||||
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 | |||||
| Listed equity (emerging markets) | To a moderate extent | |||||
| Fixed income (not including corporate issuers) | To a moderate extent | |||||
| Fixed income (corporate issuers) | To a moderate extent | |||||
| Private equity | To a large extent | |||||
| Non-listed real estate or property | To a large extent | |||||
| 62. What formats of reporting on ESG issue policies, practices or performance have been requested? Please check all that apply. | Integrated with regular financial reports,Standalone corporate social responsibility or sustainability reporting,Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) | |||||
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. | We have actively promoted the PRI principles and actively and publically use them in the selection of asset managers and applicable service providers. | |||||
| 66. Did you consider RI/ESG requirements when searching for and selecting service providers in 2008 when applicable? | ||||||
| Investment consultant | Yes, all of the time | |||||
| Proxy voting service provider | Yes, all of the time | |||||
| External overlay service provider | Yes, all of the time | |||||
| Investment research provider | Yes, all of the time | |||||
| 67. Have you included RI/ESG elements in the following? | ||||||
| Investment monitoring | Yes, all of the time | |||||
| Incentive structure (internally managed) | Yes, all of the time | |||||
| Incentive structure (externally managed) | Yes, some of the time | |||||
| Contractual relationships with external investment managers | Yes, all of the time | |||||
| Contractual relationships with other investment related service providers | Yes, some of the time | |||||
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 large 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?
| To a large extent | |||||
| 71. Have you revisited any relationships with service providers in light of RI/ESG issue-related capabilities? | Yes | |||||
| 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) | 150 | |||||
| 73B. what proportion of your total investment research budget is allocated to ESG research (in percent)? | 50 | |||||
74. To what extent do you identify ESG issues and suggest them to brokers or other investment research providers for research?
| To a large extent | |||||
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 large 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. | Principle 4 has been a key area in 2008 and will remain so in 2009 both in terms of contracts we award but also in the development of tools to make the process easier. | |||||
| 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. | We actvitively support other organisations with environmental goals. Such organisations include the UNPRI, UKSIF, CDP, Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF)campaign on environmental reporting, and Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC). | |||||
78. To what extent did you collaborate with other investors to improve your effectiveness in implementing each of the following Principles?
| ||||||
| Principle 1 | To a moderate extent | |||||
| Principle 2 | To a moderate extent | |||||
| Principle 3 | To a large extent | |||||
| Principle 4 | To a large extent | |||||
| 79. How did you use the PRI Engagement Clearinghouse in 2008?(Please check all that apply.) | Logged in during 2008 to use the Clearinghouse as a learning tool or to keep up to date on ongoing engagements,Joined a collaborative engagement led by another signatory that was posted to the Clearinghouse,Led a collaborative engagement and posted it to the Clearinghouse,Planning to log in in 2009 | |||||
| 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.) | Carbon Disclosure Project,Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI),Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC),Regional social investment organisation (for example SIF or UKSIF),United Nations Environmental Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI),Other (please specify): 'Fund managers',Other (please specify): 'UK Governement Departments' | |||||
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:
| ||||||
| PRI | To a large extent | Co-led initiative to get some of the largest asset managers who are currently non-signatories to join. | ||||
| Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) | To a large extent | Part of the Property Working group which published a Trustee Training guide on Property and Climate Change. | ||||
| 1st Other specify from Q80 | To a large extent | Worked with our Aviva to survey all IPD index funds regarding environmental management and performance. | ||||
| 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. | We have worked collaboratively with central government departments on research regarding SRI investments, carbon disclosure and public sector environment accounting and reporting. | |||||
| 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. | We included details of our responsible investment strategy and notable achievements during the year in our Annual Report and Accounts and Fundfare, our member newsletter. We actively use the internet to maximise access and transparency. Our website address is www.environment-agency.gov.uk/pensions. | |||||
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 large extent: 'www.environment-agency.gov.uk/pensions.' | |||||
| 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.) | Disclosed publicly: 'www.environment-agency.gov.uk/pensions.',Some votes | |||||
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 large extent: 'www.environment-agency.gov.uk/pensions - pubic disclosure is based on the research' | |||||
| 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 | Yes - to clients or beneficiaries and the public | www.environment-agency.gov.uk/environmentalfinance | ||||
| Principle 4 | Yes - to clients or beneficiaries and the public | www.environment-agency.gov.uk/pensions | ||||
| Principle 5 | Yes - to clients or beneficiaries and the public | www.environment-agency.gov.uk/pensions | ||||
| 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. | Our website includes; Annual report and Accounts Fund fare Investment strategy implementation review Research reports on responsible investment Voting on environmental resolutions, updated in June and October. Top holdings Review global equity manager selection process Links to the research undertaken by Environmental Finance Links to collaborative research we have participated | |||||
| Closing Comments | ||||||
| 90. Please describe the benefits you have enjoyed as a result of signing the PRI: | Easy recognition by external parties as to our commitment to responsible investment. Use and collaboration via the clearinghouse. UNPRI newsfeed is considered very useful by the team. | |||||
| 91. What has your organisation changed as a direct result of becoming a PRI signatory? | It has enable greater colaboration and we updated our standard IMA to reflect PRI. | |||||
| 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. | Only in the sense that it reinforced our commitment to the integration of ESG, it increased the importance and workload in this area. | |||||
| 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. | Work with current signatories to delver casestudies or such like that demonstrate the fiduciary agruments behind RI. | |||||
| 2. | Create trustee demand. Work with current signatories to produce more guidance for Trustees as to how RI can be implemented - first steps, next steps, more comprehensive approach. | |||||
| 3. | More information needs to be developed to demystify RI for asset managers, to assist in demonstrating different approaches both within and across assets classes. | |||||
| 94. What are your top three PRI-related goals/priorities for 2009? | ||||||
| 1. | First public Responsible Invesment report. | |||||
| 2. | Get our remaining non-sigatory managers and service providers to become signatories. | |||||
| 3. | The investment strategy review, which will review of our engagement priorisation process. | |||||
| 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. | Appointment of three new PRI signatories as external asset managers together with publicity as to the role the PRI during manager selection. | |||||
| Principle 2: We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices. | Enhance are active ownership overlay service. | |||||
| Principle 3: We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest. | A short report reviewing the attitudes and actions of property fund managers toward environmental issues, e.g building in flood plains, publish jointly by the Environment Agency Pension Fund with its property fund manager Aviva. | |||||
| Principle 4: We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry. | Co-led collaborative engagement to get large non-signatory assest managers to sign up to the PRI. | |||||
| Principle 5: We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles. | IIGCC - Trustee Training publication on climate change and Property investment. | |||||
| Principle 6: We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles. | Produce internal draft of our first responsible investment 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. | Asset manager understanding of RI approaches both within and across assets classes. Avoiding greenwash during manager selection. | |||||
| Principle 2: We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices. | Transparency by asset managers to asset owners and sufficient details to determine if engagement has been effective. | |||||
| Principle 3: We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest. | Lack of consistenct/ comparable disclosures by entities e.g carbon/ carbon equivalent disclosures. | |||||
| Principle 4: We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry. | Understanding of RI in passive asset management. | |||||
| Principle 5: We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles. | Limited resource to do all of what we want to do. | |||||
| Principle 6: We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles. | The mis-use/ misunderstanding of data or reports that are provided for transparency purposes and publically used to undermine our RI programe. | |||||
| 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 4 | |||||
| Least difficult | Principle 1 | |||||