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Foreword and Endorsements

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Foreword:
John Oliphant
CRISA Chair
Executive Chairman: All Weather Capital and Third Way Asset Management Group

Foreword:
Sunette Mulder
CRISA Deputy Chair
Senior Policy Advisor: ASISA

Endorsement:
Olano Makhubela
Divisional Executive: Retirement Funds Supervision, FSCA

Endorsement:
Musa Mabesa
Principal Executive Officer, GEPF

Endorsements

CRISA 2 Announcement

The Second Code for Responsible Investing (CRISA 2) was launched at the GEPF’s Annual Thought Leadership Conference.
Click to view the interview with GEPF Principal Executive Officer, Musa Mabesa and CRISA Chairman, John Oliphant.

Acknowledgements

The CRISA Committee wishes to extend its thanks to the following organisations and individuals:

  • ASISA for providing secretariat support to the CRISA Committee (2017 to present).
  • ASISA for funding the CRISA Code Review Project, which resulted in the launch of CRISA 2.
  • Members of the CRISA Code Review Working Group and those members of the CRISA Committee involved in the CRISA 2 project.
  • John Oliphant, CRISA Chair and Sunette Mulder, CRISA Deputy Chair for their leadership of the CRISA Committee.
  • Corli le Roux and Adrian Bertrand who served as the CRISA Secretariat and lead authors for CRISA 2.
  • Each CRISA stakeholder organisation and individuals who provided both formal and informal feedback on the draft CRISA 2 code during the public consultation phase.
  • GEPF for facilitating the launch of CRISA 2 at GEPF’s Annual Thought Leadership Conference, held in Cape Town, 15 – 16 September 2022.
  • IoDSA for providing secretariat support to the CRISA Committee (2011 – 2017).
  • Batseta Council of Retirement Funds for South Africa for funding the CRISA logo redesign.

CRISA 2 Document design and Project Management support:

  • CRISA logo design: Petri Buys via Batseta Council of Retirement Funds for South Africa
  • CRISA 2 Design & Layout: Rudolph Pieterse, Multidimensions
  • CRISA 2 project management: Adrian Bertrand & Corli le Roux, Six Capitals ESG Advisory
Foreword, Crisa Chair - John Oliphant

Significant progress has been made in the decade since the launch of the initial CRISA Code in 2011. Globally we have seen considerable focus on the importance of effective stewardship and responsible investment for improved outcomes for investors, society and the planet. Most recently, the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and its establishment of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to develop a comprehensive global baseline of sustainability-related disclosure standards providing investors and other stakeholders with information about companies’ sustainability-related risks and opportunities, are just one example, of how mainstream the demand for high quality, transparent, reliable and comparable reporting by companies on climate and other environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters has become.

At the heart of CRISA when it was launched in 2011 was the recognition of the importance of integrating sustainability issues, including ESG, into long-term investment strategies. Our commitment then and now was to highlight the critically important stewardship role that institutional investors, as long-term investors and fiduciaries, have towards investing responsibly in a way that promotes the long-term sustainability of our clients’ investments, our society and our planet. CRISA 2 remains a voluntary code containing five principles that are capable of universal relevance and flexible application, as the context may require, by asset owners, asset managers and service provider organisations within the investment value chain who wish to voluntarily align themselves with the principles.

With the launch of CRISA in 2011, South Africa became the first emerging-market country to issue a stewardship code. Today, the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) lists 22 domestic stewardship codes around the world, including CRISA. As of September 2022, the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) now counts a global signatory base of just over 5 000 signatories, collectively representing more than USD120 trillion of assets under management. The collaborative nature of PRI as platform supported by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) made it possible to put asset owners at the forefront of the “Race to Zero” campaign on climate change. The Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance consists of asset owners representing more than USD5 trillion and growing, who have pledged to make their portfolios net-zero of emissions by 2050. We have come a long way since the early days of CRISA and PRI. Regulation 28, Guidance Note 1 of 2019 and National Treasury’s Sustainable Finance Initiative continue to build on the foundations set in 2011.

However, despite the successes and progress achieved in the last decade, there is still much work to be done. The triple ills of poverty, inequality and unemployment, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and recent global events require our collective and urgent action. CRISA 2 aims to spur much needed impetus towards achieving positive outcomes to address South Africa’s unique environmental and social challenges, as part of the delivery of inclusive, cost effective, relevant and transparent financial services and products to benefit our clients and beneficiaries.

I therefore urge all stakeholders involved in the investment industry to pledge their support for CRISA 2.

My sincere thanks and appreciation to my fellow CRISA Committee members, the CRISA Code Review Working Group tasked with developing CRISA 2, and the CRISA Secretariat for their combined efforts which have culminated in the launch of CRISA 2.

Foreword, Crisa Deputy Chair - Sunette Mulder

ASISA is a proud long-term supporter and enabler of responsible investment and stewardship in South Africa.

ASISA members, through the ASISA Responsible Investments Standing Committee, a subcommittee of the ASISA Investments Board Committee, have been instrumental in the initial development of the CRISA Code (2011), and in providing recommendations for the initial inclusion of environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements in Regulation 28 (2011), as well as the FSCA’s more recent Guidance Note 1 of 2019: Sustainability of investments and assets in the context of a retirement fund’s investment policy statement.

ASISA has also been an active participant in National Treasury’s Sustainable Finance Initiative as we recognise the importance of addressing climate risk and actively transitioning our economy via a just transition.
ASISA, through the support of its members, has provided Secretariat support to the CRISA Committee and funded the CRISA 2 project. I am delighted that the CRISA Committee is now in a position to issue CRISA 2 given the important role CRISA can play in South Africa’s governance landscape. It is our collective desire to see the active implementation of these industry commitments by South Africa’s investor community, as well as an opportunity for greater alignment across all these initiatives. We trust CRISA 2 will play an important role in achieving further industry alignment and positive impact outcomes. ASISA looks forward to new partnerships and collaborations with respect to CRISA 2 and CRISA’s next chapter.

We extend our thanks to the CRISA Committee, CRISA 2 Working Group, CRISA Secretariat and ASISA’s board and leadership for reaching this important milestone.

Endosement, FSCA - Olano Makhubela

In the eleven years since CRISA’s first launch, our support as conduct regulator has not wavered. CRISA 1, and now CRISA 2, are for a good cause. Recently, sustainable and impact investing have gained significant traction. CRISA provides invaluable guidance for transitioning to a low-carbon, socially inclusive and resilient economy.

Retirement funds, as asset owners and stewards of long-term capital, can positively impact the society and environment we all want. This pivotal role extends to asset managers, consultants, markets and other service providers. Funds, locally and globally, are expected and now increasingly required to disclose and report ESG-related matters in their audited annual financial statements. Our financial sector should be relatively well prepared for these fast-paced developments given the policy and regulatory guidance from Government and the FSCA. We will continue to issue such guidance when necessary to assist with compliance and continue nudging the industry to do what is right and necessary.

We should not always wait for hard rules and laws to do the right thing. Everyone has a role to play, even our decisions as individuals and consumers matter. Our combined, small, individual contributions can make a major difference.

Endorsement, GEPF - Musa Mabesa

GEPF is delighted to endorse CRISA 2 and its principles. We are committed to helping build a better society and playing our part in making this happen.

As a long-standing supporter of responsible investment and stewardship, GEPF has played a significant role in the mainstreaming of responsible investing in South Africa and on the African continent.
GEPF is proud to be counted as a founding signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and to have played a leadership role in the development and launch of the first CRISA Code of 2011.

Our Responsible Investment and Developmental Investment policies guide our approach and commitments to addressing environmental, social and governance issues when making investment decisions. We also encourage the companies we invest in to implement sustainable practices, and to actively manage their environmental and social impacts while maintaining high levels of corporate governance.

As a member of the CRISA Committee I look forward to contributing to CRISA’s next chapter. It is critically important that our collective industry efforts result firstly in improved retirement outcomes for our members and pensioners, and secondly, for a shared future that is more sustainable and inclusive for all South Africans.