The Executive Committee approved Pendal's Responsible Investment Philosophy which, with respect to climate change, commits us to "consider the impacts of risks and opportunities more broadly and across all sectors". Under the governance model investment and corporate teams are required to support implementation of the framework and identify and manage material climate-related risks and opportunities.
Responsible Investments (RI) team is part of the investments arm of the business reporting through the Pendal Australia Investment Director to the Pendal Australia CEO. The RI team’s role is focused on the development and implementation of Pendal Australia’s RI framework and strategy. Key areas of responsibilities include:
• working with investment teams to build upon the strong foundation of ESG integration and active ownership practices. This includes ensuring relevant climate-related information is communicated along the investment chain in order to most effectively leverage the skills and knowledge available across our multi-boutique structure - from company specific issues to market wide themes.
• working with Product and Strategy on RI related product development and innovation including the evolution of existing product and the launch of new climate-aware RI products
• supporting Group Company Secretary & Head of Corporate Governance and Head of Risk & Compliance to develop and implement ESG (including climate / TCFD aligned)-related risk management, measurement and reporting policies and frameworks
• working with Regnan (Pendal’s in-house ESG team) to build out investment team’s RI capabilities and supporting frameworks, including ESG integration, sustainability, impact investing and active ownership.
In addition to the focused RI team, Pendal Australia has established the Responsible Investments Working Group (RI Group) to facilitate knowledge sharing and provide input into RI guidelines, strategy and solutions. The RI Group consists of senior members of the investments (all asset classes) and corporate teams (Risk & Compliance, Legal, Sales and Marketing) and its responsibilities are set out in the Responsible Investments Governance Structure.
The objective of the RI Group is to oversee the development and application of Pendal Australia’s Responsible Investment (RI) process across offerings and communications to ensure alignment with Pendal Australia’s RI philosophy as well as client expectations and needs.
The RI Group does not replace prior risk management and compliance processes, rather it serves to enhance the existing controls already in place. Our RI Group meets at least quarterly and more frequently if required. The RI Group sets high level annual RI objectives as well as quarterly RI objectives. Specific objectives range from the development and maintenance of Pendal Australia's RI process and products as well as considerations of broader industry trends, standards and practices - with a particular focus on the RI needs of our clients.
Key RI initiatives of the RI Group are shared with the Executive Committee via the Executive Risk & Operations Group which meets on a monthly basis to discuss key risk issues and initiates across the business.