THE Church Commissioners have worked with other investors to assemble more information in regards to the human-rights records of other corporations, their latest stewardship report says.
The Commissioners, along with Aviva and Scottish Widows, created the Investor Initiative on Human Rights Data (II-HRD) in 2024 as “a collaborative initiative where institutional investors work to advance the provision, quality and use of corporate human rights data”. More than 25 investors, with assets under management of greater than US$8 trillion, have signed as much as the scheme, say the Commissioners in An Ethical and Responsible Approach: Stewardship report 2024.
When the II-HRD was announced last yr, the Commissioners’ Social Lead, Dan Neale, said that corporations’ respect for human rights was “key to addressing social inequality and achieving just transitions to a nature-positive and net-zero world. But without the proper data, for the proper corporations, it is tough for investors to carry corporations accountable.”
In the report, published on Wednesday, the First Church Estates Commissioner, Alan Smith, writes: “This initiative is a transparent demonstration that our investments are as much about ethical accountability as they’re about financial performance.”
Mr Smith says that 2024 brought “unprecedented” geopolitical, economic, environmental, and social changes, which “required careful stewardship”.
“In a yr dominated by uncertainty, we reaffirmed our commitment to sustainability. We sought robust financial returns and at the identical time aimed to nurture the communities we serve — and to advertise the flourishing of all human beings, and of the planet.”
The Commissioners’ commitment to tackling climate change has been “unwavering”, he writes. “We expanded the coverage of greenhouse gas emissions data across our portfolio to higher understand and manage our exposure to climate risks. Concurrently, construction began on the Crystal Rig IV Wind Farm within the Scottish Borders — a pilot project that already generates annual community profit from the portion situated on our property. These initiatives exhibit how environmental stewardship can yield each socioeconomic advantages and long-term value.”
The Commissioners also “conducted one among the most important farmland tenant surveys ever undertaken by a UK landowner”, he writes. “These insights deepened our understanding of the evolving challenges faced by our farming tenants and allowed us to refine our strategies to support sustainable agriculture and community resilience.”
