The 16th annual PRI in Person conference, held in Toronto, covered a range of issues, including addressing inequality and investing for real-world impact.
Addressing a crowd of delegates at the opening speech of this year’s PRI in Person conference in Toronto, Claire Sault, chief of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, spoke on the importance of aligning her ancestral teachings of living in harmony and nature with investments while considering their long-term impacts.
Sault’s opening remarks on the lessons the sustainable finance industry could learn from her aboriginal heritage appeared to strike a poignant, if not sobering, chord with the audience of almost 2,000 delegates from across the responsible investment sector.
Now in its 16th year, the annual responsible investment conference organised by Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), featured 150 speakers covering key issues within impact investing and sustainable finance.
During a plenary on achieving a just transition in emerging markets, Catherine McKenna, chair of the UN secretary-general’s high-level expert group on net-zero commitments spoke about the importance of the language used around the just transition in addressing real people’s concerns about job security and community impact. Elsewhere, Sean Gilbert, chief investor network officer at Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) moderated a session on impact investing for real-world change.
TFSID framework launch
During a session on how policies and investor action can address inequality in support of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, Sharan Burrows, chair of the newly launched Task Force on Inequality and Social-related Financial Disclosures (TISD), spoke about the new global framework currently being developed by the TISFD working group.
Formally launched in September 2024, with the aim of developing a global framework for companies and financial institutions to report on social-related risks, impacts and opportunities, the TISFD will operate in a similar way to previous initiatives such as the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).
The framework, due to launch within the next two years, will cover areas such as employee pay, supply chain practices and the impact of businesses’ products and services on customers’ physical and mental wellbeing.
The disclosures are intended to clarify the link between the real economy and issues such as ill-health and inequality, while encouraging businesses and investors to address these societal issues.
“We know investors and asset managers have put a lot of time into looking at how they manage disclosures on climate and now in nature,” Burrows said.
“So let’s see what we can do if we build an economy with greater resilience. For me this all goes to the issues of fundamental labour and human rights, as well as wages and working conditions.”
Burrows confirmed the TISFD framework will be positioned to be integrated within existing disclosure frameworks, including those of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG).
Speaking to the audience from Sydney, Burrow stressed how global markets rely on nature, people and society to operate, all of which she added have been taken for granted leading to the climate crisis as well as social disintegration.
Burrow emphasised that addressing social risk demands the same level of consideration as the ‘industrial revolution’-scale shift needed to tackle climate risk.
“If we take people for granted and continue to see the current business model, with social disintegration, and the risk of monopoly power growing amok in the global environment, then where are the social guarantees?” Burrow stated.
Addressing inequality
Panellists also discussed the ways investors can leverage their influence to drive corporate action on addressing inequality. Sharmeen Contractor, lead of investor engagement and advocacy at Oxfam America, spoke about the organisation’s research on SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities.
“Of the $1.25trn in net profits of the companies we assessed, 90% went to shareholders. Not back into the organisation to support growth, or support innovation and resilience, and not to the employees behind this enormous sum,” Contractor stressed.
“Just 5% of the companies support a living wage, and not even one has publicly defined what that would look like,” she said.
Contractor said that by assessing corporate practices and impacts on inequality, they can help investors and policymakers address this critical SDG target. Focusing on living wages, wealth distribution, and corporate accountability aligns with the broader goals of reducing inequality and fostering more inclusive and sustainable development, she said.
Other announcements throughout the event included the introduction of a sustainable taxonomy for Canada to help identify green and transition investments, from deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland.
PRI CEO, David Atkins, also introduced a progression of pathways to offer tailored guidance and resources for signatories at different stages of their responsible investment journey.
