Responsible Investment Association rallies big banks and major institutions to hold companies to account
A little more than a year after it rallied investors to promote diversity and inclusion, the Responsible Investment Association of Canada (RIA) has spearheaded another campaign uniting institutional investors to address an urgent systemic problem.
The new Canadian Investor Statement on Climate Change has been signed by 36 institutional investors – including the asset management divisions of five of Canada’s largest banks and the likes of the Ontario Pension Board – which together represent $5.5 trillion in assets.
Through the statement, the signatories are urging companies to take steps against material climate risks, including through their industry association and lobbying activities. They’re also sending a unified message to governments, issuers, and other stakeholders that Canada’s institutional investors are backing the transition to net zero.
The statement lays out five actions to which Canada’s institutional investors are committing in support of the goal of achieving global net-zero emissions by 2050. They include:
- Integrating climate-related risks and opportunities into investment processes;
- Developing a climate action plan that details actions investors are taking to support the 2050 net-zero emissions goal;
- Implementing a stewardship and engagement strategy in support of expectations set out in the statement;
- Ensure climate-related policy advocacy they undertake also supports a just transition; and
- Provide annual disclosures in line with recommendations of the TCFD; including best-effort reporting on financed emissions.
The RIA also developed the statement in collaboration with the Reconciliation and Responsible Investment Initiative (RRII) to ensure it incorporates Indigenous voices.
“By centering reconciliation and a just transition, this statement adds a Canadian perspective that is missing from the global conversation,” said RIA CEO Dustyn Lanz. “The signatories recognize that Canada’s path to net zero depends on a transition that leaves no one behind and supports the transformation of every sector, while aligning itself with Indigenous rights for self-determination.”
“Despite Indigenous Peoples often being the first and most affected by the climate crisis, Indigenous perspectives and voices are often left out of investors’ decision-making on climate action,” says Mark Sevestre, founding member of NATOA. “This raises the stakes of the transition to a low carbon economy for Indigenous Peoples.”
The statement is still open for other signatories to participate.
