Draft:EIRIS

EIRIS was established in 1983 as the UK's first independent research agency for ethical investors. The organisation was originally funded by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, the Quakers, the Church of England, and others. It was founded at a time of increasing concern over Apartheid in South Africa. Trevor Jepson, the founding chair of EIRIS, along with others, identified the need for investors to have access to information on companies operating in Apartheid-era South Africa.

Areas of Activity

EIRIS was comprised of two main entities: the not-for-profit EIRIS Foundation and the subsidiary company Ethical Investment Research Services (EIRIS) Ltd. The EIRIS Foundation is a charity that provides research, advice, and advocacy with the aim of realising its vision of a financial system that works for people and the planet. EIRIS Ltd provided research on corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) and other ethical performance indicators to investor clients.

The EIRIS Foundation

The EIRIS Foundation is a charity that promotes research into the social and ethical aspects of business activity and provides information to charities on the ethical aspects of investments. The EIRIS Foundation initiatives include the EIRIS Conflict Risk Network, a U.S.-based organisation whose purpose is to help investors and companies ensure that they are not exacerbating conflict but actively taking steps to support peace and stability. The network provides information on companies operating in conflict-affected areas, including Burma, Myanmar, Yemen, and Sudan.

EIRIS Ltd

EIRIS was originally set up to provide fact sheets on individual companies and portfolios of shares. It provided lists of companies that met specific criteria, for example, companies that did not trade with Apartheid-era South Africa, and companies that were not involved in the armaments industry.

Over time EIRIS expanded its research offering so it included data points that could support a wide range of responsible investment strategies, such as company engagement and impact investing. EIRIS research was compiled using company annual reports, sustainability/CSR reports, company websites, EIRIS survey responses, and a variety of non-company sources. EIRIS provided research only and did not offer investment advice.

EIRIS developed a network of regional partners to expand research coverage. For example, it worked with the German-headquartered ESG research provider Imug on ratings of German corporates.

The company provided the original research for the FTSE4Good index when it was launched in 2001. The benchmark is a tool for investors seeking to invest in companies assessed to have good sustainability practices.

EIRIS merged with Vigeo in 2015 to become Vigeo Eiris. The debt rating agency Moody's Corporation bought a majority stake in Vigeo Eiris in 2019. Moody's integrated the Vigeo Eiris business into its ESG Solutions division, which it closed in 2024, resulting in redundancies.

People

Trevor Jepson

Trevor Jepson was the founding chair of EIRIS and continued in his work there until 1997. He also helped to develop 'Stewardship', the UK's first ethical unit trust, which was launched by Friends Provident in 1984. Prior to his involvement in EIRIS, Trevor Jepson was secretary of the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust.

Peter Webster

Peter Webster has been the CEO of the EIRIS Foundation since it was founded in 1983. He was treasurer of the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association for 20 years until the end of 2011, and from October 2013 to October 2019, he was a member of the Principles for Responsible Investment Advisory Council. He has a degree in mathematics from Balliol College, Oxford, and an MBA from the Open University.

Alastair Hanton

The banker and campaigner Alastair Hanton joined the EIRIS board in 1986, serving until 2020. In other roles and achievements, Hanton worked as CEO of the National Girobank, supported the founding of the Fairtrade Foundation, and helped introduce the direct debits system in the UK.