27/03/2024
The Church Commissioners, together with Aviva Investors and Scottish Widows, has launched the Investor Initiative on Human Rights Data (II-HRD), which aims to improve the quality of corporate human rights data available to investors.
The three investors convened as allies of the World Benchmarking Alliance and set up a collaborative engagement program with ESG data providers in 2023. This initiative builds on those efforts and is designed to help investors in their stewardship and voting.
“We expect companies that we invest in to respect human rights. This is key to addressing social inequality and achieving just transitions to a nature-positive and net-zero world. But without the right data, for the right companies, it is hard for investors to hold companies accountable,” said Dan Neale, Social Lead at the Church Commissioners for England. “This initiative will help investors take systematic action on human rights, in support of inclusive economies and long-term value creation.”
The Terms of Reference for the II-HRD set out the roles and responsibilities of Member and Endorser investors. Investors can download a Sign-on-Sheet here. The deadline for investors to confirm their participation is the end of April.
Further details of the 2023 collaborative engagement with data providers can be found in the recent Church Commissioners’ report ‘Integrating Human Rights Into Responsible Investment’.