12th August 2022 – We are delighted to announce that we have officially become a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). The PRI’s mission to bring together organisations committed to responsible investing on a common platform is an initiative we can get fully behind and believe directly contributes to the building of a more sustainable future.

UN PRI? Another acronym, what’s that about? In a nutshell, the UN PRI is a United Nations-supported international network of asset owners, investment managers and service providers, working together to implement its six aspirational principles, often referred to as “the Principles”:

1. Principle 1: We will incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes.
2. Principle 2: We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices.
3. Principle 3: We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest.
4. Principle 4: We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry.
5. Principle 5: We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles.
6. Principle 6: We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles.

Featuring more than 4,000 signatories worldwide, the list of UN PRI signatories has traditionally always been dominated by larger and more established corporations and asset managers. With that in mind, why have we chosen to become a signatory, when we are a relatively young company ourselves? The very short answer: a drive for refinement, impact, accountability. The slightly longer version:

• Refinement – leveraging and adopting industry best practices and know-how will help us to further streamline our sustainability frameworks and offering
• Impact – as a UN PRI signatory we will have the opportunity to contribute to the growth of sustainable finance, engage with key stakeholders and promote awareness
• Accountability – our association with the UN PRI and in particular the annual reporting involved will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the high standards we have set for ourselves

Clearly, going through the application process and getting accepted as a UN PRI signatory is not the endgame but rather one of many milestones in our sustainability journey. So, what’s next for us? Having announced our strategic partnership with London Stock Exchange in May, we are very excited to continue working with them to deliver transparent and robust access to direct sustainable cash investment products through our platform.

But that’s not all. We know we can’t do this alone. In anything we do, we can only exist in sync with our client base. For that very reason, we are always keen to invite feedback from existing and potential clients to be able to deliver attractive and robust products that meet their criteria. Currently, we are conducting a survey and interviews with industry leaders around the topics of sustainability and ESG from a treasurer’s perspective and will be sharing the results in the coming months.

Even with great initiatives such as the UN PRI moving the dial into the right direction, it will likely take many years for this market to mature and find its feet. But there is much we can do now to help drive things forward in terms of transparency, standardisation and rigour. Here at TreasurySpring, we are committed to help facilitate these changes through our platform in any way possible and we are very excited about working hand in hand with our clients, counterparties and investors to help the money markets play their important part in delivering a more sustainable future.