CalPERS next month will begin a one-year pilot program of its sustainable investment guidelines, the latest phase in its multiyear project to integrate ESG manager expectations across all asset classes. In investment committee meeting materials, the draft of the sustainable investment guidelines integrates four of the Sacramento-based $308.1 billion California Public Employees’ Retirement System’s 10 investment beliefs it established in September 2013, along with three United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment, and CalPERS’ global governance principles. […]

In what promises to be a transformational moment for ESG integration and investment manager accountability, CalPERS will require all of its managers to identify and articulate ESG in their investment processes. CalPERS staff led by Anne Simpson, senior portfolio manager and director of global governance, presented the ESG manager expectations, and draft sustainable investment guidelines, to the investment committee this week. […]