The General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of The United Methodist Church—Signatory to United Nations' Principles for Responsible Investment
For Immediate Release
April 27, 2006
Contact: Colette Nies, Managing Director—Communications
(847) 866-4296 or cnies@gbophb.org
Evanston, IL—The General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of The United Methodist Church (General Board) is a major institutional investor and one of the original 25 international signatories, instrumental in developing the United Nations' Principles for Responsible Investment, announced in New York this morning.
An international group of institutional investors developed and implemented the Principles for Responsible Investment at the invitation of United Nations' Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. This group believes environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues can affect the performance of investment portfolios, but that these issues are not yet universally incorporated into investment decision-making and ownership practices. The group of investment professionals represents 25 major institutional investors from 12 countries, the General Board among them.
"The General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of The United Methodist Church was honored to be invited to participate in this United Nations initiative, joining like-minded investors from around the world," commented General Secretary Barbara A. Boigegrain of the General Board.
"There's a belief in the investment community that if you invest in a socially responsible manner, you are giving up investment returns. We believe that our experience proves otherwise. As an institutional investor that manages its investments in a socially responsible manner, we uphold the values of The United Methodist Church. The six Principles for Responsible Investment align well with our mission and values, and our investments will continue to support them in a way that perpetuates good world citizenship," she continued.
"We applaud the efforts of the United Nations and of our global partners who believe in living these investment principles. We encourage organizations to endorse these environmental, social and governance principles and join us as signatories in the future."
The Principles were implemented by the United Nations' Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and the UN Global Compact to provide guidance for the worldwide institutional investment community on how to incorporate ESG issues into their investment decision-making and ownership processes. The Principles are:
- We will incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes.
- We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices.
- We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest.
- We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry.
- We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles.
- We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles.
"We feel strongly that the six Principles for Responsible Investment will alert a broader base of investors to an important approach in developing investment philosophy that can have a profound impact at the company level," noted David H. Zellner, chief investment officer of the General Board.
"This UN initiative links us with major investors of similar philosophy. By formally uniting together through the Principles, we give synergy to accomplishing our mutual goals by influencing corporate behavior," he elaborated.
"Applying these Principles can better align investors with the broader objectives of society. We think we can improve society by managing our investments in a manner that recognizes the importance of ESG issues, no matter where we live. Ultimately, our goal is to improve the lives of all people on the planet today and for future generations. We hope to change the corporate behavior that affects all of us, by changing the investment community's way of thinking about these global issues facing us all."
The Principles serve as a best practice framework for organizations and the basis for investor collaboration. A common framework helps institutions benchmark their progress and encourages the exchange of experience and knowledge.
A 70-person, multi-stakeholder group of experts from the investment industry, intergovernmental and governmental organizations, civil society and academia also supported the development of the Principles for Responsible Investment.
About the General Board
The General Board of Pension and Health Benefits is a not-for-profit administrative agency of The United Methodist Church, responsible for the general supervision and administration of the retirement, health and welfare benefit plans, programs and funds for more than 66,000 clergy and lay employees of the Church.
The General Board manages and invests over $14 billion dollars in assets.
As a socially responsible investor, the General Board is actively involved in shareholder advocacy, proxy voting, portfolio screening and community investing.
Signatories to the Principles for Responsible Investment include:
- The General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of The United Methodist Church (USA)
- AP2 - Second National Pension Fund (Sweden)
- British Telecom Pension Scheme (UK)
- Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations - CDC (France)
- CalPERS - California Public Employees Retirement System (USA)
- Pension Plan Investment Board (Canada)
- Catholic Superannuation Fund (Australia)
- Christian Super (Australia)
- CIA - Caisse de Prévoyance du Canton de Genève (Switzerland)
- Comité Syndical National de Retraite Bâtirente (Canada)
- Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds – CRPTF (USA)
- Folksam Fonds de Réserve pour les Retraités - FRR (Sweden)
- Government Pension Fund (Thailand)
- Munich Reinsurance (Germany)
- Nathan Cummings Foundation
- National Pensions Reserve Fund (Ireland)
- New York City Employees Retirement System (USA)
- New York City Teachers Retirement System (USA)
- New York State Local Retirement System (USA)
- Superannuation Fund (New Zealand)
- Government Pension Fund (Norway)
- Ministry of Finance
- PGGM Investments (Netherlands)
- PREVI Storebrand (Brazil)
- Universities Superannuation Scheme - USS (UK)
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