Fiduciary Duty in the 21st Century

Collaborative Publications Investor duties
1 min read time 24 Nov 21
Al Gore
Al Gore Chairman
Al Gore
Chairman

Al Gore

Former Vice President Al Gore is a Founding Partner and Chairman of Generation Investment Management. He was inaugurated as the forty-fifth Vice President of the United States on 20 January 1993 and served eight years.

He is the author of Earth in the Balance, An Inconvenient Truth, The Assault on Reason, Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis, and The Future: Six Drivers of Global Change. He was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize, along with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for "informing the world of the dangers posed by climate change.”

Principles for Responsible Investment
Principles for Responsible Investment
Principles for Responsible Investment

Principles for Responsible Investment

Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI or PRI) is a United Nations-supported international network of investors working together to implement its six aspirational principles, often referenced as "the Principles". Its goal is to understand the implications of sustainability for investors and support signatories to facilitate incorporating these issues into their investment decision-making and ownership practices.

United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative
United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative
United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative

United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative

The United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative is a global partnership established between the United Nations Environment Program and the financial sector. The UNEP FI consists of 215 members from financial institutions and 41 supporting institutions. These members include banks, investors and insurance companies.

Overview

In 2016, we began working with the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) on a new project, Fiduciary Duty in the 21st Century. This project sought to clarify that fiduciary duty dictates that investors must factor material environmental, social and governance issues into their investment processes.

The project produced several global and jurisdiction-focused reports that outlined the barriers and opportunities for investors to uphold the full remit of their fiduciary duty in each jurisdiction.

Each report made recommendations for overcoming those barriers, and project teams within PRI and UNEP FI worked with key players in those jurisdictions to clear a path for integration of ESG as standard practice for investors.

Visit our page on A Legal Framework for Impact, a new project with PRI and UNEP FI, which moves beyond integration of ESG in investment processes and looks at investors’ obligations with regard to the impact of their activities.