Every three years, the Pension Investment Association of Canada (PIAC) surveys its member institutions to gauge approaches to responsible investment and stewardship. The latest Responsible Investment survey results, published in the winter issue of PIAC’s newsletter to its members, suggest that responsible investment practices have overall continued to gain momentum among respondents.

“In the survey, we see improvements across all categories, including policy development, ESG integration, proxy voting, engagement and participation in collaborative initiatives,” said UTAM’s Lu Yao, Associate Portfolio Manager, Public Equities. Lu sits on PIAC’s Investor Stewardship Committee and helped develop the survey and analyze the results. UTAM has been a member of PIAC since 2004.

Of the 50 survey respondents, representing a mix of Canadian public and private pension funds, 87.5% reported they have implemented a responsible investment policy or similar guidelines. In 2018, only 65% of the 74 respondents had an RI policy.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) integration was the most widely implemented responsible investment strategy, used by 90% of respondents. Environmental and Social (ES) considerations also factored into proxy voting decisions, with 90% of respondents including ES in proxy voting policies, compared to 45% in 2018.

The percentage of respondents engaging directly with investee companies increased slightly to 38%, from 35% in the previous survey. And 43% of respondents have adopted an engagement policy, compared to only 25% in 2018. Participation in collaborative engagement initiatives also saw a modest change. In 2018, 42% of respondents participated in one or more of the collaborative responsible investment initiatives listed by PIAC. That number increased to 53% in the 2021 survey. “There’s still room for improvement,” said Lu, “Engagement does require resources and effort, so it can be challenging for some asset owners.”

“UTAM participates in a wide array of collaborative initiatives, covering climate-focused engagements but also some addressing water, forests, and diversity,” said Lu. “As asset owners, we learn from each other, and together we have more influence on investee companies. Collaborative engagement with companies and policymakers is a very powerful tool in investing responsibly, and UTAM contributes wherever we can.”