Top 5 Avoidable PRI Reporting Pitfalls and How EVORA Fix Them 

The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) Reporting & Assessment Framework is evolving fast and so are expectations for what ‘best practice’ looks like. 

Every year, we see sustainability teams make genuine progress by implementing and baking responsible investment into decision making processes and creating resilience within their portfolios, but fail to reflect but fail to see an improvement in their reporting and scoring outcomes  

The good news? These pitfalls are preventable. And with the right expertise and planning, PRI membership and reporting can be used to obtain valuable insights and drive the RI strategy towards best practice. 

Here are the five most common PRI reporting mistakes that we come across — and how EVORA helps organisations turn them around. 

1 – Rushing to report without a clear baseline 

Submitting your PRI report based on assumptions or incomplete data, often times we see investment managers committing to become a PRI signatory without having fully understood the reporting requirements or minimum thresholds, which leads to the rushed first submission and misunderstanding about where to best place efforts and resources. 

We conduct a robust gap analysis that benchmarks your current practices against PRI’s six guiding principles, minimum requirements and best practices — giving you a clear, evidence-based starting point. 

2 – Treating PRI as a ‘tick-the-box’ exercise 

Focusing purely on compliance or score optimisation, rather than using the framework to drive meaningful responsible investment progress. Without doubt, the PRI reporting framework is progressive compared to its peers, constantly evolving to align to new and emerging industry topics and ultimately differentiates best practice from the the status quo. 

We can help you embed responsible investment strategically across governance, risk management, and investment processes — so PRI reporting reflects genuine progress, not superficial wins. 

3 – Failing to plan for evolving requirements 

Reporting based on last year’s expectations and missing new developments — like the Progression Pathways Initiative and updated PRI modules, meaning that signatories often fall unprepared for reporting resulting in a decrease in scoring. 

Our experts keep you ahead of evolving PRI standards, helping you align current actions with upcoming priorities and future-proof your responsible investment strategy. 

4 – Underestimating cross-functional coordination 

Assuming PRI reporting can be owned and delivered by a single team — leading to gaps in data collection, governance, or accountability. The PRI reporting framework dictates that signatories must respond to the indicators from the organisational/group level, unlike many other reporting frameworks which require reporting at the fund or asset level. This often creates a need to bring in global teams working across various asset classes in order to construct the required KPI’s– this can be time and resource intensive.  

We can help to gather the responses across various teams and department by scheduling interviews and automating the reporting process so that you van have confidence in the quality and coverage of the data. We also develop implementation plans that drive alignment across investment teams, sustainability leads, risk committees, and governance functions — ensuring a joined-up approach. 

5 – Mis-understanding of the scoring requirements  

The complexity and length of the full PRI reporting framework can be overwhelming at first, meaning that many signatories (especially the ones who are preparing for their first report) can be unsure of where to place their efforts and how to maximise their scoring.   

We help you identify and place focus on the core components of the survey to ensure that you maximise the score and enhance your ability to tell a compelling story through PRI reporting and beyond. That means that you can focus on driving real world impact and spend less time on reporting. 

Ready to avoid the pitfalls and accelerate your progress? 

EVORA supports investment organisations globally to navigate PRI reporting with confidence — combining deep technical expertise with practical, actionable advice. 

Contact us to discuss how we can support your team and help you meet — and exceed — PRI expectations.