On Wednesday March 3, 2010, in Rio de Janeiro Mr. Edemir Pinto, BM&FBOVESPA’s Chief Executive Officer, formalized the adhesion of the Brazilian Exchange to the agreement entitled “Principles for Responsible Investment” (PRI) – a United Nations initiative developed by leading institutional fund managers and other financial market agents in support of responsible investment. The official signing took place during PRI’s international board meeting, which for the first time ever is being held in Brazil from the 3 rd to the 5 th of March in an event sponsored by (PREVI) the employee pension fund of the Banco do Brasil.
As a signatory to the PRI, BM&FBOVESPA seeks to inspire other investors to adhere to this agreement, and to encourage listed companies to report their socio-environmental initiatives to the marketplace. BM&FBOVESPA’s adhesion to the PRI guidelines reinforces its commitment to this agenda, and adds yet another important socio-environmental practice to the ones it has already implemented. It should also be noted that BM&FBOVESPA was the first Exchange in the world to sign the UN Global Pact in 2004, and that it is the founder of one of the world’s leading sustainability indexes, the ISE, which will commemorate its fifth year of operation in 2010.
Confirmed programs and participants
This meeting of fund management and institutional investment executives from some of the world’s largest financial institutions began at 3:00 p.m. on March 3 with the “III Workshop of Brazilian Signatories to the PRI”. This will be followed by the PRI board meeting which will take place on March 4 and 5. The workshop was attended by PRI’s executive director, James Gifford, and prominent international institutional investors, such as the president of Munich Re América, Wolfgang Engshuber and the executive for Responsible Investment at Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), David Russel. Other noteworthy event participants included the president of PREVI, Sérgio Rosa, who spoke about PRI’s initiatives in Brazil, and the Executive Secretary of the Environment Ministry, Izabella Mônica Vieira Teixeira, who discussed the country’s positions on global climate issues that were presented at the COP15 meetings, held in Copenhagen in 2009.
Did you know?
The abbreviation PRI stands for (Principles for Responsible Investment) which in turn represents the ongoing commitment of some of the world’s leading institutional investors and market agents to choose sustainable practices when deciding where to direct their resources. The program consists of six basic principles that incorporate the key aspects of social, environmental and corporate governance responsibility. Adhesion to these principles is voluntary.