FAQs

As a global leader in responsible investment, the PRI is a network of over 5,300 signatories, who collectively manage more than US$120 trillion in assets under management.* The PRI has been supporting investor stewardship initiatives for more than 10 years, including  Advance and Spring, and is one of five investor networks delivering Climate Action 100+, the world’s largest investor collaborative engagement. 

With its broad, global network, the PRI is uniquely positioned to leverage internal and external expertise, and work with other initiatives to ensure alignment and avoid duplication of efforts.  

Investor exposure to sovereign debt is an important aspect of the initiative, as bond holdings are a direct portfolio connection between investors and sovereign entities.  

However, the initiative is not limited to engaging in this area only and has a focus on any area of a sovereign system’s climate change exposure and response where there is a portfolio rationale for investors to do so. The intention of the initiative is to address issuer-scale risks and opportunities, such as emissions intensity and climate exposure. 

Participants have found sovereign engagement to be a valuable complementary exercise to corporate stewardship activities to address potential barriers to performance at a company-level. 

We welcome signatories to express their interest by joining the initiative’s waiting list. The PRI will directly contact signatories on the waiting list as opportunities arise, as well as advertising open positions on the PRI website.   

The PRI will assess applications when they are submitted and decide based on their experience with sovereign engagement, capacity to participate, interest in the relevant market and, in some cases, organisational characteristics where it improves the representative spread in the group.   

More information is available on our Join page.  

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected].  

The requirements of participating investors will depend on whether they are a lead or collaborating investor, and the progress and intensity of the engagement itself.  

Lead investors are responsible for driving the engagement agenda forward. They are the main point of contact between focus entities they are engaging with, the group of collaborating investors and the PRI Executive. Where engagements are focussed on multiple parts of a market’s system or covering multiple topics, the Working Group may be split into sub-groups and lead investors are nominated for each. 

Collaborating investors are responsible for proactively supporting lead investors in their engagement with focus entities. For example, this may include support through participation in preparatory calls and engagement meetings, or providing feedback to leads on messaging, objectives and tactics.  

More information on these roles can be found in the initiative’s terms of reference for participants and signatory advisory committees.  

Time commitments will vary depending on scheduled engagements. We recommend that lead investors ensure they can dedicate around 5 hours per month to participate, whilst collaborating investors should allocate around 3 hours per month.  

Time commitments may be greater for in-person engagements or if investors conduct additional projects such as formulating submissions to policy processes.  

Is there a fee to sign up? 

All participating investors must be signatories to the PRI, however there is no fee for participation at any level of the initiative.  

Do you have an endorser category? 

There is no endorser level of participation unlike some other PRI stewardship initiatives such as Spring and Advance. PRI may consider adding this category in the future. Participants are either lead or collaborating investors. 

How does the initiative work with other related initiatives? 

The initiative aims to minimise duplication of efforts as far as possible and to complement work in similar areas through information-sharing and collaboration, where mutually beneficial for all parties. For example, by ensuring that local representative investor groups in focus market are involved throughout, and by supporting complementary initiatives such as ASCOR.   

The PRI’s position as a global voice for responsible investment gives it the unique ability to support complementary work amongst initiatives, investor groups and investors to improve the efficacy of work in sovereign engagement and related spaces.  

Yes, the PRI welcomes applications from signatories for as many markets as they have relevant portfolio interests in and capacity to support. Applications will be assessed on a market-by-market basis. 

What are the benefits of the initiative for investors? 

Participants have found the initiative to be valuable for several reasons. Owing to the nascence nature of this practice, particular the collaborative approach and focus on climate change, participants have been able to develop their understanding and skillsets where they may previously not had an opportunity to do so. This includes access to resources and networks that they may otherwise not have access to, including the sovereign system itself. In turn, signatories are also better able to expand the scope of their sovereign engagement activities beyond that which is carried out through the initiative.  

Participants have also found engaging with sovereigns to be a valuable complementary exercise to their existing stewardship activities. This allows for a multi-pronged approach to engage at a systems-level to address potential barriers to performance at a company-level.  

The PRI has an established team dedicated to support the initiative, including staff based in the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada. The PRI will seek to have dedicated in-country members of staff to support where the initiative establishes a full market engagement programme. 

PRI staff provide ongoing operational support to the initiative, liaising with stakeholders, providing market and climate policy expertise and building investor capacity to engage with sovereigns.  

Does the initiative focus solely on climate change? 

The focus of the initiative is on climate change. Where other issues related to achieving the aims of the initiative, such as biodiversity, or are important considerations in climate policy, such as just transition, investors can raise these for inclusion in engagements.  

The Collaborative Sovereign Engagement on Climate Change initiative (the initiative) is committed to compliance with all applicable laws and does not seek, require or endorse individual or collective decision-making or action that is not in compliance with those laws. Signatories are independent fiduciaries responsible for their own investment and voting decisions. The use of engagement tools and tactics, including the scope of participation in engagements is at the discretion of individual investors and subject to all relevant laws, including competition and antitrust laws. The initiative facilitates the exchange of public information, but participants must not share or exchange non-public, competitively sensitive information. Participants must avoid coordination of strategic behaviour that impacts competition. Participants must make independent decisions regarding next steps and how they will pursue them and are encouraged to consult their own counsel as appropriate. 

The initiative does not act or speak on behalf of participants. Participants also do not seek directly or indirectly, either on their own or another’s behalf, the power to act as proxy for a security holder and do not furnish or otherwise request or act on behalf of a person who furnishes or requests, a form of revocation, abstention, consent or authorisation. Participants may not claim to represent other participants, the initiative or the PRI or make statements referencing other participants, the initiative or the PRI without their express consent. 

The initiative does not provide investment, legal, accounting or tax advice. 

Whilst the PRI has exercised its best efforts, it makes no warranties, express or implied, or representations as to the accuracy, reliability and completeness of any information provided on this website. The initiative does not necessarily endorse or validate the information contained herein. 

The Terms of Reference, responsibilities, rights and other information contained elsewhere herein are intended to be interpreted in a manner consistent with the foregoing.