Employees Provident Fund Organization of India (EPFO)

No leading practices were identified for the financial institution in the governance and strategy measurement area.

No leading practices were identified for the financial institution in the respecting planetary boundaries measurement area.

No leading practices were identified for the financial institution in the adhering to societal conventions measurement area.

There is no evidence that EPFO Security assigns responsibility for sustainability to the group’s highest governing body. Moreover, there is no evidence that the financial institution links the remuneration of its executive or management teams to sustainability performance criteria. Women are not represented on the board of directors, as zero members are women. The financial institution has an opportunity to publicly commit to gender equality and women’s empowerment. It could also aim to reach at least 40% female representation in senior leadership positions and disclose the actions taken to address any pay gaps. Regarding engagement, the financial institution has an opportunity to describe its engagement approach on sustainability themes and impact topics with investees.

There is no evidence that EPFO discloses a target to reach net-zero financed emissions by 2050. Furthermore, no evidence of an approach to fossil fuels, which covers the entire fossil fuel value chain and all of the financial institution’s financing activities, was found in the public domain. This could include the amount or share of finance directed towards fossil fuels, or the financial institutions stance on financing companies with new fossil fuel projects. The financial institution has an opportunity to disclose the key sectors and companies it has identified as priorities to engage with on climate change, specifically on alignment with the Paris Agreement. It could also disclose its financing activities devoted to climate solutions. Regarding nature and biodiversity, the financial institution has an opportunity to commit to minimising its negative impacts.

There is no evidence that EPFO has a publicly available policy statement committing it to respect human rights laid out in the UNGPs and the ILO declaration on fundamental rights at work. The financial institution has an opportunity to describe a comprehensive process for identifying its human rights risks and impacts across all its activities, especially its financing activities. Moreover, the financial institution could disclose the proportion of its total direct operations workforce for each employee category by age group, gender or another indicator of diversity. To provide transparency on financial inclusivity, the financial institution has an opportunity to disclose the amount of finance directed towards, for example, women-owned businesses, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or low-income developing countries.