New York State Common Retirement Fund

The financial institution publishes an engagement/stewardship report outlining the outcomes of its efforts on sustainability impact topics and has a plan to align its stewardship activities with established targets. Furthermore, it has a stewardship policy that supports environmental transitions and social best practices in alignment with its sustainability strategy. In addition, this policy includes criteria for defining successful stewardship outcomes, outlines escalation routes for unsuccessful engagements, and specifies when escalations should occur.

The financial institution discloses its positions on sustainability topics in lobbying and political engagement activities and transparently identifies key sectors, clients, and investees for climate-focused engagement. Additionally, it reports the monetary amount or share of products, services, and capital provided to usually excluded groups, as defined by the institution itself.

The financial institution has the opportunity to disclose its methodology for determining a living wage in its operational regions and is advised to identify its material sustainability impacts across its value chain, detailing the processes and objective criteria used. It is further recommended that performance criteria for senior executive remuneration be linked to specific sustainability targets.

While the financial institution discloses actions regarding policy engagement and certain regulations, there is an opportunity to align these with the sustainability strategy and provide further details on specific actions taken. Additionally, while the financial institution mentions sectors with high nature-related risks, it is recommended that it transparently identifies sectors and areas with significant nature-related impacts. It is further recommended that a strategy for the protection and restoration of nature, covering priority sectors and areas is disclosed.

Additionally, the financial institution should provide examples of how its offerings support climate adaptation and resilience. Monitoring of scope 3 categories is advised, along with the establishment of a transition plan for operations, supply chain, and portfolio. Moreover, a breakdown of clients by income group and processes to avoid unintended divestment from low-income countries due to sustainability strategies should also be disclosed. The financial institution acknowledges the ILO fundamental rights but is encouraged to include these in its risk assessment process, along with a mitigation strategy for identified risks. Finally, it should provide examples of actions taken regarding salient human rights issues from assessments conducted in the last three years.

This scorecard refers to information in English which was publicly available by July 15 2024. AuM and Total assets are stated in USD for comparability and have been calculated based on reported local currency values multiplied by applicable IMF currency converter values.