EIRIS formally launches engagement service

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) analysis firm EIRIS is to tap into the growing focus on stewardship with the launch of a new engagement service.
The new EIRIS Engagement Service was formally unveiled at an event in London today featuring speakers such as Peter Montagnon of the Financial Reporting Council and Steve Waygood, Aviva Investors’ Head of Sustainability Research and Engagement.
It will be globally launched on the eve of the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment’s UN PRI in Person event in San Francisco on October 4.
“Designing and implementing your own engagement strategy requires significant amounts of research, knowledge and expertise which can be costly and time-consuming to develop in-house,” EIRIS said.The service supports all phases of engagement, including the selection of themes and companies for engagement, establishing contact and facilitating meetings with companies, providing recommendations for next steps and assisting with reporting on engagement to clients.
It also enables investors to work in collaboration with other investors as well as helping them to implement both the UN PRI and the UK’s new Stewardship Code for Investors.
Last month RI reported that EIRIS had increased its client base despite reporting a sharply lower pre-tax profit for 2009. Net profit last year fell to £77,868 (€95,035) from £246,391 in 2008, with turnover [revenue] down 0.8% at £3,233,084.
EIRIS is wholly owned by the EIRIS Foundation, a charity working in responsible investment. Link