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Good Business eGuide for South Australia

Industry sector: Financial Services
Core activity: Superannuation
Size (ft employees): 128
Other activities: Insurance
Location: Adelaide

 

Background

Statewide is a prominent SA-based superannuation fund and administration company, managing around $1.8 billion in retirement funds for its 170,000 members. As a superannuation trustee, Statewide has a responsibility to manage its members’ funds with the aim of maximising returns over the long term.

The investment industry is undergoing a shift with growing evidence that environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors can affect long term financial returns through creating investment risks and opportunities. There is also increasing pressure towards more responsible investment. In response to this shift, Statewide recognised the duty it has to its members to consider ESG factors in its investment decision making and within its operations, and in late 2006 became a signatory to the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment (UNPRI).

Results

Through its commitment to the UNPRI and a desire to demonstrate sustainability within its operations, Statewide has adopted a number of sustainable practices resulting in:

  • The incorporation of ESG factors into investment decision making including the selection of fund managers. This will ensure that responsible investment is adopted over time across the entire investment portfolio to enhance the approach taken to maximising returns through a risk/return framework encompassing the consideration of material ESG risks and opportunities.
  • Becoming an early signatory to the UNPRI has placed Statewide on a global stage with strategic marketing advantages in South Australia and nationally.
  • Staff are engaging in sustainability and feeling good about where they work; Statewide’s members have also indicated their satisfaction with initiatives such as the provision of online statements.
  • Thousands of dollars of cost savings are expected from energy usage and paper reduction initiatives which have so far included changes to lighting, computer infrastructure and administration processes. This will benefit members by enabling us to improve the level of services we provide and ultimately keep fees at an acceptable level.

 

Action Undertaken

Statewide has taken steps to implement the UN Principles by incorporating ESG factors into investment management practices and drive sustainability internally within its operational areas including:

1. Developing an ESG investment policy and beginning an engagement program with investment managers and asset managers.

2. Engaging in more active ownership of investee companies on ESG issues as well as collaborative opportunities through the UNPRI network.

3. Preparing a Sustainability Implementation Plan to complement the Corporate Strategy and Annual Business Plan.

4. Setting up an internal sustainability committee, comprising a cross-section of staff members, to initiate, implement and monitor actions to realise the targets set for four strategic areas: Members, Operations, People and Governance.

5. Developing policies and procedures to ensure the corporate governance framework meets the Australian Standard AS8000.

6. Conducting an annual assessment of the organisation’s greenhouse gas emissions and setting targets and initiatives to reduce it over time.

 

Learning

  • Resourcing and prioritising time to educate staff was a challenge that required planning and persistence. Management found that building momentum among employees and “making it stick” came with the growing appreciation of the role that each staff member could play by coming up with ideas and implementing sustainability initiatives into things they can do everyday – at work and at home – and realising the collective benefit.
  • In hindsight performing a greenhouse gas emissions assessment up-front would have been most beneficial, offering specific areas to focus-on for getting quick and early improvements which can be measured.
     

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