UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan was joined by the heads of top institutional investors from 16 countries for what is being called the historic launch of the Principles of Responsible Investment. The six main principles, which are voluntary, deal with 35 possible actions institutional investors can take to incorporate environmental, social and corporate governance factors into their investment activities.
“These actions,” the UN said in a release, “relate to a variety of issues, including investment decision-making, active ownership transparency, collaboration and gaining wider support for these practices from the whole financial services industry.” The UN says many public pension funds, which represent 35% of total global investment, participated in the development of the principles.