Sustainable Responsible and Impact Investing (SRI) has been
gaining increased focus globally as investors give greater
consideration to environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors
despite ESG factors being widely considered non-financial in
nature. Independent directors offer investors and managers
increased confidence regarding adherence to the ESG
programmes by virtue of the directors'
impartial oversight. Independent directors need to grasp the
strategies and activities of a SRI focused fund to help provide the
appropriate checks and balances needed to ensure the fund's ESG
monitoring programmes are
effective.
When and how did it all begin?
From the 1960s, mostly through political unrest, SRI gained in
popularity. Arguably, significant advances and the growth of SRI
started upon the formation of the United Nations-backed Principles
for Responsible Investment (PRI) in early 2006. In the first year,
PRI had 100 signatories with $6.5trn of AuM. PRI has a
