About

UNEP FI works with investors through the Investment Leadership Programme (ILP), a joint initiative with the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). It has been created to accelerate the pace of collaboration amongst leading investors and boost action on achieving key global sustainability objectives such as the Paris Climate Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The ILP brings together small groups of leading responsible investors to incubate initiatives that are considered leading best-practice, but too ambitious for immediate mainstream investment adoption. The programme enables the investment industry to work with UNEP FI’s network of banks and insurers, and by connecting them with policy makers, help to catalyse change across the entire finance industry.   

Uniting PRI and UNEP FI investment leadership initiatives consolidates action by the investment industry and builds on a 15-year history of collaboration. Investors joining these leading initiatives will gain access to the convening power of the United Nations, the insight and resources of the UN Environment Programme, and the PRI’s extensive track record of actively engaging investors on a wide range of Environmental, Social and Governance considerations.

Every initiative will be required to deliver real world sustainability outcomes, for example by engaging regulators to strengthen environmental, social and governance (ESG) regulation or reimagining business practices that prioritise sustainable impact. Working with UNEP FI’s network of banks and insurers through collaborative working groups or developing joint tools, will enable leading investors to work with others to catalyse change across the entire finance industry. Investors will be able to draw on UNEP FI’s work helping financial institutions address the SDG financing gap and manage sustainability impacts.

The ILP is also developing thought leadership pieces and tools that will support responsible investment leadership and demonstrate best practice. It aims to make connections between leading practice and other areas of work and connect investors with policymakers.