A living wage is a fundamental human right
At NN Group, our purpose is to help people care for what matters most to them. In order to do this effectively we are committed to respecting human rights. As a large financial services company, we believe we have a role to play in addressing societal challenges in our various roles (employer, investor, financial services provider, business partner and corporate citizen). We also believe issues such as inequality, discrimination, and labour rights violations not only impact the well-being of individuals and communities but also the potential for creating sustainable long-term value for all our stakeholders.
As investors who take an active role in influencing and engaging with the companies we invest in, we aim to encourage them to improve their performance when it comes to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. Human rights is a key engagement area for us, and by asking investee companies to align their practices with human rights standards, we hope we can help make a positive impact. We also work together with other investors to address specific human rights issues. One focus area where we collaborate with others is living wage.
Catalyst for broader improvements
A living wage is a level of pay that allows workers and their families to provide for their basic needs – food, shelter and healthcare, for example. According to the UN Global Compact Business & Human Rights Navigator, over a billion working people worldwide – one third of all workers – are estimated to earn less than they need to afford a decent standard of living. The issue of living wage is more prevalent in certain industries, for example, the food and agricultural sector and the clothing industry. Successfully addressing the issue of a living wage can act as a catalyst for improvement in other areas where human rights are at risk. For instance, there is less likelihood of child labour and children are more likely to be able to attend school and receive a proper education if parents earn enough to support their families.
Enabling living wages in global supply chains
The Platform Living Wage Financials (PLWF) is a group of 23 financial institutions managing over EUR 7 trillion of assets under management and advice. It focuses on encouraging and monitoring companies to provide living wages and incomes in their global supply chains. The coalition uses its influence and leverage to engage with more than 50 companies in the garment and footwear, and food sectors. It is difficult for individual companies to tackle a systemic issue such as living wage and income on their own, which is why the PLWF takes a sector-wide approach.
NN Group’s role
In 2023, NN Group became a direct member, having been represented by our asset manager prior to that. By early 2024, as a member of the Food Agri and Food Retail Working Group, we had taken on engagements with more food retail companies. The PLWF evaluates companies using an assessment methodology aligned with the UN Global Compact reporting framework. This scores companies in five categories (embryonic, developing, maturing, advanced and leading). The leaders give valuable insights into best practice that can be shared with other companies. The results and findings of the platform’s work are published in its annual report. In early 2025, NN Group hosted the annual PLWF conference.
Leveraging climate engagements to further social aspects
In 2024, we conducted a review of our climate-related active ownership activities with a view to increasing our focus on the social angle of the transition. Since then, we have been encouraging companies to integrate social aspects into their transition plans where relevant. Most were willing to engage in a dialogue and open about the challenges they face, ranging from finding alignment among stakeholders to the absence of a global framework on how to communicate their just transition efforts. We are also trying to identify ways to better embed the just transition in our responsible investment activities and this topic aligns with our work within the PLWF and our collaborative climate engagements.
You can read more about our engagement work in our Active Ownership Report and our climate activities and ambitions for all areas of our business in our Climate Action Plan. For more information, visit the sustainability section on our website.
