Nuclear weapons and nicotine alternatives a no-go zone for responsible investors

The move comes following an update to the minimum requirements of its Responsible Investment Standard.

The standard – which informs investment-related legislation and policy, and underpins its pioneering Responsible Investment Certification Program – specifies that a responsible investment product must, at a minimum, avoid significant harm. This means investors must exclude producers of tobacco, manufacture of nicotine alternatives and tobacco-based products, controversial weapons and nuclear weapons from their portfolio.

The addition of nuclear weapons to the minimum requirements of ‘avoiding significant harm’ is a result of a changing international norm, with the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons entering into force in January 2021. As a result, investors seeking Responsible Investment Certification will no longer be able to invest in companies which derive revenue from the development, production and maintenance of nuclear weapons.

"The overwhelming majority of the world’s nations – including New Zealand – have recognised the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons usage. With the adoption of this landmark global agreement to ban nuclear weapons, it is now incumbent on responsible investors to follow suit with their investment decision-making and portfolio construction,” RIAA chief executive Simon O’Connor says.