Responsible Investment
The Columbia Institute’s Responsible Investment Program provides support for pension funds, foundations and endowments seeking to incorporate responsible investment practices into their investment management processes. Through education, research, and tool development the Columbia Institute is helping to build the capacity of investment decision-makers to implement responsible investment.
In partnership with the Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE), the Columbia Institute undertakes the following activities that support the growth and development of Responsible Investment:
Responsible Investment Education
In partnership with SHARE, the Columbia Institute delivers a comprehensive Pension Trustee Education Program, which includes 4-day courses at the basic and intermediate-level, topical seminars and comprehensive 1-day conferences.
The Columbia Institute has also created a Responsible Investment Toolkit filled with practical, accessible information for pension plans, foundations and endowments on how to implement responsible investment policies and practices.
Responsible Investment Research and Tool Development
Every year the Columbia Institute provides support to SHARE to develop Model Proxy Voting Guidelines. These guidelines provide a template for pension plans and other institutional investors that want to incorporate comprehensive provisions on a wide range of responsible investment issues such as human rights, climate change and executive compensation.
In addition, every year the Columbia Institute conducts surveys on how Canada’s top investment managers and mutual fund families voted on key proxy voting issues. The results of these surveys are important to both pension plan trustees as well as mutual fund unit holders because they indicate significant differences in how investment managers and mutual funds vote proxies on specific issues. Download the most recent Key Proxy Vote Survey or the Report on Proxy Voting by Canadian Mutual Funds.
Responsible Investment Services
Through SHARE.
Global Union’s Committee on Workers Capital (CWC)
The Columbia Institute supports responsible investment activities at the international level through its participation in the Global Unions Committee on Workers' Capital (CWC). The CWC brings together representatives of the international labour movement to share information and develop strategies for joint action in the field of workers' capital, including such areas as pension trustee education, corporate and financial market governance, shareholder activism and economically targeted investment.
The P2 Project: Pensions + Planet
The P2 Project supports climate scientists internationally in their efforts, both individually and collectively, to engage constructively with pension funds on the risks and opportunities presented by the climate crisis. The project is contributing to a fundamental shift in pension fund investment practices that will help move the world closer to sustainability while at the same time protecting pension benefits.
For more information, see the project website at http://pensionsandplanet.com.