Much SRI engagement is motivated by the general good practice of keeping shareholders informed. However, there is often an absence of specific deliverables that makes it hard for companies to target improved communications in this area.
Part of the responsibility for this lies with investors and agencies who do not always communicate to companies the outcomes of their contact / research; part of it lies with the immaturity of SRI (e.g. accurate SRI fund holding data doesn’t exist); part of it lies with companies who are not disciplined in establishing clear objectives for their ‘SRI investor relations’.
To remedy the latter point, companies looking to develop objectives for sustainable investor relations could base them on:
- Inputs: e.g. man-days spent communicating with SRI investors
- Outputs: e.g. number of questionnaires completed, meetings held etc.
- Outcomes: Ratings achieved (with ratings agencies and fund managers); index inclusions and funds purchasing (although it is v. difficult to get this data)
