In a statement sent to European Union policy-makers, members of the United States Congress, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights, a group of institutional investors representing $1.3 trillion in assets under management, call for enhanced investor due diligence to address environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks, including human rights risks, throughout the investment lifecycle.

The statement, Making Finance Work for People and Planet, notes that the world is facing urgent environmental and social challenges including food and water shortages and millions of refugees due to climate change, some 40 million people living in situations of modern slavery and half the world without access to essential health care. Signatories to the statement argue that investors have the ability to help mitigate these challenges and achieve the vision laid out by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement by applying more robust ESG due diligence. 

In particular, the signatories call on:

• Investors to set up and carry out robust due diligence processes to manage risks to people and the environment; and
• Governments to support investor due diligence through better regulation of financial systems.