Leading Investors in INCR Support Principles for Responsible Investment

A half-dozen leading investors in the Ceres-coordinated Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR) today signed onto the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), which provide a framework for investment managers to factor environmental, social and governance considerations in protecting the long-term interests of their clients and pension beneficiaries.

The Principles for Responsible Investment were formally launched at the New York Stock Exchange today in New York by the United Nations Environment Programme's Financial Initiative and UN Global Compact. Investors who were signatories in today's PRI announcement specifically committed, where consistent with their fiduciary duty, to:

• Incorporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into their investment analysis;
• Be "active owners" of companies, integrating ESG issues into their ownership policies and practices;
• Seek appropriate disclosure from entities in which they invest, such as asking for standardized reporting using guidelines such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

Six INCR members managing over $420 billion in assets participated in the announcement and are committing to actively manage their portfolios to take environmental, social and governance issues into account when making investment decisions. Among the INCR members are:

California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) 
Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds 
General Board of Pension & Health Benefits of the United Methodist Church 
Nathan Cummings Foundation 
New York City Employees Retirement System 
New York State Local Retirement System

INCR was formed in November 2003 to focus on climate risk issues and is coordinated by Ceres, a Boston-based national coalition of investors and environmental groups working with companies to address sustainability challenges.

"Ceres is delighted to be a partner in this successful effort to launch the Principles for Responsible Investment," said Mindy S. Lubber, president of Ceres and director of INCR, which is currently comprised of 50 institutional investors managing nearly $3 trillion in assets. "It's very consistent with our efforts through Ceres and INCR to bring financial results value and long-term shareholder value to climate change and other sustainability challenges companies are facing."