Page 18 | RPIA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2025
ESG INTEGRATION
OVERVIEW
CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY
CULTURE & VALUES
STEWARDSHIP
Engagement Activities in 2025
We incorporate ESG into our engagement practice by: • Identifying industry and company-specific ESG factors on which to engage with issuers • Advocating for the adoption of, or enhancements to, ESG disclosures that align with globally recognized reporting standards and frameworks • Supporting issuers in identifying material ESG information, gaps, and best practices • Updating our understanding of issuers’ ESG profiles, including their future targets and progress toward achieving them
As an active fixed income investor, we regularly interact with issuers as part of our investment and credit assessment process. We use engagement as one of several tools to better understand issuer business models, risk profiles, and material considerations, including ESG-related risks and opportunities. Fixed income investing offers opportunities for interaction with a broad range of issuers, as outstanding debt typically represents a larger portion of corporate balance sheets than equity, and private companies also access global capital markets through debt issuance. This enables fixed income asset managers to engage with influential issuers that may not be accessible to public equity investors. Engagements with issuers can be conducted at different stages of the credit story: pre-issuance or pre-deal stages, pre-investment stage, holding period, refinancing stage, or if an issuer faces a material credit impact. The level and focus of engagements may vary between issuers, according to the relevance and materiality of ESG risks and opportunities for each company. Through our ongoing discussions with issuers, we gain deeper insights in addition to available data and reports. These engagements provide an opportunity for management teams to share their future visions for managing ESG-related risks and opportunities. They also enable constructive dialogue on areas for improvement and allow us to communicate the ESG topics that matter most to our investors.
• Emphasizing the importance of management presentations and communications that enable transparent disclosure of ESG strategies and performance
Through engagement, we can deepen our assessment of an issuer’s ESG profile across several dimensions: • The breadth of ESG disclosures across business areas, including whether meaningful and decision-useful metrics are tracked and reported • The quality, consistency, and reliability of the information provided • Management’s forward-looking plans for addressing ESG-related risks and opportunities • The capability and governance structures in place to execute these plans effectively • Context and insights related to material developments, including significant events, controversies, or other notable changes affecting the company
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