Mercer Launches ESG Evaluation Offering for Institutional Investors
Professional services, consulting and investment solutions provider Mercer announced today the launch of Responsible Investment Total Evaluation (RITE), a new offering for institutional investors aimed at evaluating and monitoring the integration of ESG considerations in the investment process, and to identify areas and implement interventions that can deliver positive impact and make a difference to society and the environment.
Brian Henderson, Partner at Mercer, said:
“With trillions of pounds invested by large sophisticated asset owners in the UK, including £2.3 trillion via UK pension schemes, institutional investors have a huge role to play and should be helping to drive the UK’s sustainable investment agenda. Being reactive or, worse, doing nothing at all, is no longer acceptable. As a pioneer in the ESG space, having advised thousands of institutional asset owners on responsible investment for over a decade, we want to drive change. We know that in order to move the needle on this issue, the industry has to take a proactive role.”
RITE provides investors with an evaluation across each area of Mercer’s Responsible Investing Pathway, incorporating 75 data points across 21 categories to provide performance insights and an objective evaluation of the investors’ ESG credentials. The data points are aligned with relevant regulatory guidance and consider the governance, monitoring and reporting of climate change risks and opportunities as well as other ESG factors.
Evaluations are presented on an A++ to C scale, and identify specific actions and activity to be monitored over time, allowing investors to demonstrate improvements in their ESG credentials.
The new release adds to Mercer’s suite of sustainable investing products for institutional investors, which also includes Analytics for Climate Transition (ACT), released in November 2020, designed to help prepare and construct institutional portfolios to adapt to a net zero economy.
Henderson added:
“We are delighted to bring our leading approach to market and with it, support investors and trustees of these schemes on their route to a more sustainable future. It is no longer about talking, but taking firm action and making progress. As a leader in the investment space, we will continue to help investors make the right choices.”