Our commitments | RBC Global Asset Management

UN Principles for Responsible Investment

RBC GAM including BlueBay Asset Management LLP are signatories to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). The PRI is a leading global network for investors committed to integrating ESG considerations into their investment practices and ownership policies. We are committed to putting the PRI’s six Principles of Responsible Investment into practice and believe that they are aligned with our existing approach to responsible investment. A member of RBC GAM’s Corporate Governance and Responsible Investment team sits on the Policy Committee.

We are also a signatory to the PRI Statement on ESG in Credit Ratings, which encourages credit rating agencies to proactively take ESG factors into consideration for relevant issuers.

PRI signatories commit to implement the six Principles of Responsible Investment and report on their activities and progress in implementing them.

1. We will incorporate ESG issues into investment analysis and decision-making processes.

2. We will be active owners and incorporate ESG issues into our ownership policies and practices.

3. We will seek appropriate disclosure on ESG issues by the entities in which we invest.

4. We will promote acceptance and implementation of the Principles within the investment industry.

5. We will work together to enhance our effectiveness in implementing the Principles.

6. We will each report on our activities and progress towards implementing the Principles.

Evaluations

The PRI evaluates signatories' approaches to the Principles based on its assessment methodology. Please see below for the results of our most recent Assessment Report. The group to calculate module medians includes all PRI signatories who submitted and were eligible to report on the module:

As part of the paid annual membership services, the PRI evaluates signatories' approaches to the Principles based on its assessment methodology. Once the responses are assessed, all indicator scores are aggregated and modules are assigned a numerical score, converted from a points-based system ranging from 0 to 100. Scores from the 2021 reporting cycle cannot be compared to those from previous years. Prior to 2021, module scores used an alphabetical grading (A+ to E) system. Our firm’s full transparency report as one of over 2,000 signatories can be found here: RBC GAM PRI Transparency Report. Our firm’s full private Assessment Report from the UN PRI is available upon request. Our firm’s full private Assessment Report from the PRI is available upon request.

RI Transparency Report

RBC GAM’s detailed responses to the UN PRI on our responsible investing activities for the most recent year.

We work closely with other like-minded investors and investor coalitions to improve the ESG-related disclosure and practices of our investee companies.

Canadian Coalition for Good Governance

RBC GAM is a founding member of Canadian Coalition for Good Governance (CCGG). The CCGG promotes good governance practices in Canadian public companies and works to improve the regulatory environment to best align the interests of boards and management with their shareholders. Members of RBC GAM’s Corporate Governance and Responsible Investment team serve on the Public Policy and Environmental & Social committees.

Responsible Investment Association

RBC GAM is a sustaining member of the Responsible Investment Association (RIA). The RIA is Canada’s membership association for responsible investment. A member of RBC GAM’s Corporate Governance and Responsible Investment team is a member of the RIA board.

30% Club Canadian Investor Group

RBC GAM is a signatory to the 30% Club Canadian Investor Group. The group is a coalition of Canada’s largest institutional investors with the objective of achieving a minimum of 30% women on the boards and in senior management roles of S&P/TSX Composite Index companies. For more information on the investor group’s commitment to gender diversity, please see its Statement of Intent.

Investor Stewardship Group

RBC GAM is a founding member of the Investor Stewardship Group (ISG). The ISG is a collective of institutional investors brought together to establish a framework of basic standards of investment stewardship for institutional investors and corporate governance principles for U.S. listed companies.

UK Stewardship Code

RBC GAM and BlueBay are signatories to the UK Stewardship Code (2020). The Code aims to enhance the quality of engagement between asset managers and companies to help improve long-term risk-adjusted returns to shareholders. RBC GAM’s 2021 Stewardship Report and BlueBay’s 2021 Stewardship Report have met the expected standard of reporting of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC).

Japanese Stewardship Code

RBC GAM is a signatory to the Japanese Stewardship Code. The Code sets out the principles that institutional investors should adhere to in order to fulfill their stewardship responsibilities to clients, beneficiaries and investee companies.

International Corporate Governance Network

RBC GAM is a member of the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN). The ICGN aims to promote effective standards of corporate governance and investor stewardship to advance efficient market and sustainable economies worldwide. RBC GAM’s Head of Corporate Governance & Responsible Investment is a member of the ICGN Global Governance Committee.

Council of Institutional Investors

RBC GAM is a member of the Council of Institutional Investors (CII). The CII aims to promote effective corporate governance, strong shareowner rights and vibrant, transparent and fair capital markets.

CDP

RBC GAM is a signatory to the CDP, formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project. The CDP runs the global disclosure system that enables entities to measure and manage their environmental impacts and strives to advance environmental disclosure.

IFRS Foundation

RBC GAM and BlueBay are members of the IFRS Sustainability Alliance, a global membership program for sustainability standards, integrated reporting, and integrated thinking. Upon the Value Reporting Foundation’s consolidation into the IFRS Foundation, the IFRS Foundation’s International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) assumed responsibility for the SASB Standards. The ISSB has committed to build on the industry-based SASB Standards and leverage SASB’s industry-based approach to standards development. The ISSB encourages preparers and investors to continue to use SASB Standards.

Climate Action 100+

RBC GAM is a signatory to the Climate Action 100+. This investor collaboration focuses on active engagement with the world’s largest publicly traded and systemically important carbon emitters, or companies with significant opportunity to drive the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Climate Engagement Canada (CEC)

RBC GAM is a Founding Participant of Climate Engagement Canada (CEC), a finance-led initiative that aims to drive dialogue between the financial community and Canadian corporations to promote a just transition to a net zero economy.

Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)

RBC GAM is a supporter of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and commits to producing annual climate-related financial risk disclosures aligned with the recommendations of the TCFD. The TCFD recommendations have quickly become a global framework for building comparable and effective disclosures on climate-related risks and opportunities.