As part of our 10-year Blueprint for responsible investment – looking at how to take responsible investment forward over the next decade – we committed to undertake an extensive review of our current reporting and assessment process between 2018 and 2021.

Aim of the review

The aim of the review was to ensure that the PRI’s reporting and assessment:

  • has clear objectives of how it will contribute to driving change in the investment industry;
  • is fit for purpose;
  • remains relevant to evolving responsible investment practices;
  • is useful for signatories and the responsible investment market.

The review covered the Reporting Framework itself, as well its various outputs and tools, within the broader context of the responsible investment and ESG reporting landscape, and the requirement to drive more meaningful data throughout markets.

Webinar updates

We encourage you to listen to one of our webinars to hear more about how PRI Reporting is evolving. The recorded webinars serve as an update on the overall Reporting and Assessment review, outline the results from the second consultation phase, answer some important questions raised by signatories, and provide more detail on the ‘core’ and ‘plus’ module and the new Reporting Framework structure.

Signatories can watch the following recorded webinars:

For more recorded webinars visit BrightTalk.

Consultation findings

2019 consultation

As a first step of the review, the PRI undertook a signatory consultation between March and June 2019 to guide us on the future direction of reporting and assessment. In total, over 580 signatories participated in the consultation, representing 24% of our signatory base. 

2020 consultation

During the second consultation phase, signatories had the opportunity to indicate their level of support for the proposal of what a new Reporting and Assessment Framework could look like. The second consultation paper identifies the main objective of the Reporting and Assessment Framework, presents three guiding points of how to develop the Framework in order to support the main objective, and details the PRI’s proposal. The proposal was heavily based on signatory feedback during the first consultation phase, with oversight from the PRI Board and support from the Reporting and Assessment Advisory Committee.

In total, 267 signatories participated in the consultation, representing 9% of our signatory base.

Outcome of the review

The Service Provider Reporting Framework will remain the same in 2021. A new Investor Reporting Framework is being launched for 2021. Guides and modules for the new investor framework are available to download.

PRI Digital Forum Reporting Framework Review update

If you missed the forum on 21 October 2020, you can watch the video of the Reporting Framework session, which describes the reporting redevelopment journey and what the key changes to the new framework are.

Review timeline

Review timeline

Compare the 2021 framework with previous years

We’ve created a Reporting & assessment archive so you can compare the 2021 framework with previous years.

Frequently asked questions

How has feedback from the consultations been used to develop the new framework?

We analysed all consultation feedback to gauge its general direction, sense-check our approach, identify any red flags, exceptions, outliers or caveats. We’ve used the consultations to inform our decision-making; embedding and balancing them with the overall PRI mission when making decisions on how to develop the new Reporting Framework.

Why is ‘driving positive change in the investment market’ the ultimate objective of the new framework?

While we saw equal support for almost all Reporting & Assessment objectives – as outlined in the first consultation phase – the PRI’s mission and Principles were formed to contribute to a more sustainable financial system. This is the positive change that we want to drive within the investment market through the Reporting & Assessment review, supported by other, highly rated objectives such as transparency, accountability and learning.

Will you keep the same asset class definitions or investors?

We will be reviewing our definitions of key concepts, including asset classes, to determine whether any updates need to be made.

How will sustainability outcomes for investors be incorporated in the new Reporting Framework in 2021?

There will be a limited number of ‘core’ outcomes questions which will cover processes used for identifying and understanding the intended or unintended sustainability outcomes from current investment activities. The majority of questions related to sustainability outcomes will be voluntary to report on and will start to capture what outcomes targets signatories may have set on ESG issues; how they are using levers of influence – like stewardship and asset allocation – to reach those targets and progress made on them.

The reporting process