London, 11 July 2013 – The UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF) today co-signed a letter to the Treasury Select Committee which calls for an inquiry into why senior Treasury economists apparently blocked a major Government review into resource depletion, climate change and UK growth prospects. The letter is signed by a number of major investment institutions, the Aldersgate Group, and Friends of the Earth and also includes a ‘Business Statement’ signed by 46 Aldersgate Group members.

Read the full press release.

Read the Joint letter to the Treasury Select Committee and associated ‘Business Statement’

Eurosif, the European Forum for Sustainable Investment (http://www.eurosif.org), strongly supports the Proposal of the European Commission, for a Regulation making it mandatory for retail investors to be informed about how environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns are taken into account in their investment, whether in a mutual fund or other investment-linked products. Eurosif believes that this Proposal represents a major milestone in terms of developing sustainability through European financial markets.

The Proposal of 3 July, 2012, is on the Key Information Document (KID) for investment products. It is linked to a wider EU initiative to create a sustainable and satisfactory regulatory environment for the sale and disclosures of retail investment products (Packaged Retail Investment Products or PRIPs).

The UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association supports Eurosif’s position.

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Companies should disclose pay ratios in their annual reports, according to the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF). The trade body said this is a material statistic for investors as it can indicate quality of people management and affect the reputation of companies and industries.

UKSIF was responding to the government’s consultation on ‘The Future of Narrative Reporting’ which closes today. UKSIF also highlighted the need for companies to explain more clearly which social, environmental and governance factors are shaping their business strategies and how these may affect their future business success.

Read the full press release.

Read our consultation response.

In Parliament today, UKSIF, the sustainable investment and finance association will call on Government, pension funds and the wider financial industry to make finance sector expertise in sustainability a strategic asset for the UK.

The trade body will say that the new Kay Review into UK equity markets, ordered by Business Secretary Vince Cable last month, alongside the upcoming replacement of the FSA, marks a unique ‘crossroads’ for UK financial markets. UKSIF will call on policy-makers and financial institutions to more explicitly embrace environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors if the UK is to retain its position as a leading financial centre.

The call will be made at an event in Parliament to celebrate UKSIF’s 20 years as the voice and support network for progressive investment and financial services.

The report “Taking Responsibility: Achieving Resilience” will be launched, calling for the UK to show global leadership in sustainable investment and finance in the next 20 years.

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Read the report ‘Taking Responsibility: Achieving Resilience’.

UKSIF has this week launched the 2011 “Responsible Business: Sustainable Pension” survey to help major UK corporate pension funds learn more about best practice in Responsible Investment (RI) and how trustees are responding to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues and challenges in the practical implementation of RI policies.

The survey is being sent out as part of a biennial study conducted by the UKSIF Sustainable Pensions Project. It builds on earlier surveys in 2007 and 2009 and will enable the pension fund industry to track progress on RI implementation over time.

New questions for 2011 include how pension funds are implementing the UK Stewardship Code and whether trustees have held in-depth discussions on major issues like climate change.

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UKSIF, the sustainable investment and finance association, has called for “simple financial products” to deliver responsible asset ownership and be transparent on environmental, social and governance issues.

UKSIF also recommended that the government should look to the responsible investment approach launched today by the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) when setting its vision and objectives for simple financial products. The government should aim for simple financial products to be resilient and deliver good outcomes for both consumers and broader society, it said.

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UKSIF, the sustainable investment and finance association, has today welcomed statements on ESG disclosure made by government minister Lord Freud in last week’s House of Lords debate on the Pensions Bill.

Speaking in the Pensions Bill debate on Tuesday 15 March 2011, Lord Freud said that he would be writing to Treasury regulation minister Lord Sassoon on the issue. He said “There has been a consensus in many previous debates on social and environmental issues that companies perform better when their activities are monitored by shareholders. Therefore, it is important for pension funds and their investment managers to be transparent in publishing their approaches to such issues in their statements of investment principles. That is why this Government, like the previous Government, have been open to suggestions on how to improve this process.”

Read the full press release.