UNEP FI | Fiduciary Duty in the 21st Century Ireland Roadmap

‘Ireland’s Fiduciary Duty Roadmap’ report provides clear recommendations on policy and market changes required to achieve full ESG integration into core areas of investment practices. Ireland is the 10th country in the world to produce this roadmap report, which is a significant milestone for a country of its size. Irish legislation and common law interpretations of fiduciary duty currently make no reference to ESG issues or to responsible investment. However, Ireland is required to implement a new EU Directive by January 2019, which requires pension funds to publish their position on ESG issues in their statements of investment policy principles (SIPPs). Last month, the European Commission also published its first legislative package under its Action Plan for Financing Sustainable Growth. In June 2018, the PRI, UNEP FI and The Generation Foundation in collaboration with SIF Ireland released the report, which makes recommendations in four areas – regulation, capacity building, stewardship and intermediation, and corporate reporting – and includes actions for various Irish stakeholders.