Responsible Investment

Environmental, social and governance risks are interlinked with each other and with the bottom line. Risks to the environment can affect a company’s reputation and its social licence to operate, introducing operational hurdles and governance impacts such as regulatory burden and encumbering fines. These events, in turn, can put pressure on the company’s stock price and increase the cost of financing, further adding to market and financial risks.

The signatories to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) number about 5,300 and manage about 128 trillion United States dollars (USD), by the 2024 annual report, and the count has levelled off after a decade of growth. The collective climate pledges have thinned. The Net Zero Asset Managers initiative suspended itself in January 2025 after the largest United States managers left, and relaunched in February 2026 with more than 250 signatories, a commitment that no longer names 2050, and none of the largest American firms.

Companies that take an active and thoughtful approach to improving their environmental, social and governance risk profile lower their overall risk, become more attractive to investors and are more likely recipients of responsible investment. That has not changed with the pledges.

Responsible investment requires accurate environmental, social and governance data to bring clarity to both companies and their investors, so that both parties can make the right strategic and tactical moves: lowering the environmental, social and governance risks of their operations and portfolios while also improving net positive impact.

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Sources: PRI, Annual Report 2024; Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, relaunch statement, 25 February 2026. Further reading: responsible investment in numbers; the Principles for Responsible Investment.