Cbus CEO David Atkin has been elected to the Board of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment.

Cbus CEO elected to Board of UN PRI

The Chief Executive of industry superannuation fund Cbus, David Atkin, has been elected to an international body which promotes responsible decision-making for investments. Atkin joins 12 other members from across the globe on the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) Board.

Cbus was one of the early Australian signatories of the UN PRI in 2006. The $12 billion fund covering the construction and building industries has been working on the implementation of the Principles across its investment portfolio, including its investments through external fund managers and its own direct property manager, Cbus Property.

Speaking about his election, Atkin said that he was looking forward to working with the PRI Board to support signatories in their integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues through the investment chain. Atkin said “I am excited about the opportunity we have to make a constructive contribution to the future of the UN PRI. It is my view that the next few years will be a critical time. This is our opportunity to ensure that good ESG practice forms part of the re-building of the global financial markets. The UN PRI Board has a major role to play in making sure that this happens.”

This is the first time an Australian representative has been elected to the PRI Board. Atkin plans to represent Australian superannuation fund signatories on the UN PRI Board. He said  “It is my intention to represent the views of Australian superannuation funds and to provide a comprehensive flow of information from the UN PRI board back to Australian superannuation funds.”

“Although Australia has a very high level of asset owner PRI signatories, this is the first time we have had representation on the Board. Given that we have such a large number of signatories it is appropriate for us to be represented on the decision-making body” said Atkin.

The UN PRI is a set of six principles aimed at helping investors to integrate environmental, social and governance policies into the investment process.  Established by the UN in conjunction with a group of institutional investors in 2005, the UN PRI is now a major collaborative investor initiative, with around 500 members representing more than US$14 trillion funds under management.