Reflections on Stewardship: RI Australia 2023
Stewardship, or active ownership, is being embraced by more and more investors as a means to deliver long-term returns while contributing to a more sustainable future. RI Australia 2023 explored current trends in stewardship, examined cases of best practice and explored whether stewardship really can deliver the outcomes we all need.
The shear range of ESG issues facing companies was laid bare during the two– day conference: privacy, e-safety, human rights, modern slavery, psychosocial safety in the workplace, First Nations peoples’ rights, diversity, climate, nature. Within all of this, it is important to prioritise the right issues. After all, as Fiona Reynolds noted during the opening plenary that considered whether ESG is – as some would have it – ‘woke and broke’, at its core, ESG is about considering material risks and maximising opportunities.
RIAA’s 2022 research on stewardship, conducted in partnership with KPMG (Engage, Advocate, Collaborate: Unpacking Stewardship in Australasia in 2022), showed that, while climate change is the number one issue that investors currently engage on, diversity, equity & inclusion and human rights are also a strong focus.
Speakers at RI Australia 2023 demonstrated how important it is to understand companies’ business models and be specific in engagement – something ASX company directors recommended as a way to maximise effectiveness. Stewart Investors’ Pablo Berrutti described:
‘We try to keep the issues very specific…
By Estelle Parker, Executive Manager, Programs at RIAA.
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