The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) is an investor initiative in partnership with UNEP FI and the UN Global Compact, founded in 2006 and supported by the United Nations to become the leading network for investors demonstrating their commitment to responsible ownership and long-term, sustainable returns. The PRI network comprises pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign/development funds, investment managers, and service providers, with a goal to grow investor interest in environmental, social, and corporate governance issues (ESG), share best practice, and support signatory needs in their fulfillment of the six PRI Principles. As a global organization set up with the United Nations and the world’s largest institutional investors in 2005, PRI maintains strong connections with the UN and partners with UN Global Compact and UN Environment Programme Finance Initiative, which each hold a seat on its board. Through collaboration, thought leadership, and unwavering commitment, PRI empowers investors to take tangible action in the interests of financial markets and economies, nature and the environment, and global society. PRI believes in the financial materiality of sustainability issues and works to advance the practice of responsible investment, ensuring it remains resilient and relevant to deliver long-term value to beneficiaries, markets, and societies.
Why it matters: PRI provides the global infrastructure enabling institutional investors representing trillions in assets to commit to responsible investment principles backed by the United Nations, demonstrating that ESG issues have financial materiality rather than being merely ethical considerations separate from returns. By bringing together pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign funds, investment managers, and service providers into a leading network sharing best practices and supporting fulfillment of the six PRI Principles, PRI shows that advancing responsible investment requires coordinated commitment across the investment industry rather than isolated voluntary efforts. The organization’s partnership with UN Global Compact and UNEP FI and its role empowering investors to take tangible action in the interests of financial markets, nature, and society proves that delivering long-term value to beneficiaries, markets, and societies demands integrating sustainability into investment practice at a systemic level.
