en en de fr de en de de de de fr de en de de en en en en en de en fr en en nl fr de es en zh en it ja ru es en nl ja en en en sv hbs_lat de en en en de en de nl en en en en en en en en en de de en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en en de az id de en pt nl de de it de de en de de sv en sv de de en de de de de en de de de de en fr de de de en it de de de lb de de de de de de de
The climate transition and social condition will be key issues during the AGM season – and companies cannot expect an easy ride. That’s the outlook from Robeco’s corporate governance team, which expects to vote at over 5,000 meetings from now until the early summer.
Shareholders are expected to be stricter when voting on ESG topics
Climate change transition and emissions target setting to be scrutinized
Social issues, executive pay and board independence also top of mind
The AGM season, which takes place between March and June every year, provides an opportunity for investors to hold management to account on a broad set of issues – in some cases voting against the reappointment of board members. And in an era of climate change when the world is still recovering from Covid, the days of ‘rubber-stamping’ are long gone, says corporate governance specialist Michiel van Esch.
“Climate has taken a spotlight in the last couple of AGM seasons, and is here to stay, he says. What has changed are investor expectations. Several years ago, setting public long-term carbon reduction targets was considered a win for sustainable investors, but now it has become a basic expectation.”
“Investors nowadays expect carbon reduction strategies, including sufficiently detailed plans on how to advance them in the short run. In previous years, we have voted against board members or the approval of reports and accounts of companies that were absolute laggards when it comes to climate change, based on the Climate Action 100+ and Transition Pathway Initiative benchmarks.”
“This year we have even higher expectations on climate strategies and it is likely that we will vote more often against board members – including the chairman of the board if necessary – at those companies that are lagging the pack.”
Aktuelle Einblicke zum Thema Nachhaltigkeit
This will be the second year that companies can propose a ‘Say on Climate’, in which companies asks their shareholders to vote on their climate transition plans. In its inaugural year, when the concept was still bedding down, most of these proposals received high levels of shareholder support.
“This year we expect shareholders will have further developed their voting approaches on Say on Climate and will take a stricter stance on these plans,” says Van Esch. “For example, the starting point for our voting approach is whether the company has set targets such as net zero carbon for all their relevant emission scopes.”
“For our own Say on Climate, companies will need to have set intermediary targets on all their relevant emission scopes, using the guidelines and implementation plans laid out by the Task Force for Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), and how they’re aligned with the Paris Agreement.”
The perennially thorny issue of directors’ pay is also likely to rear its head as comparisons are made between how well a company performed during the pandemic, and how much it paid its most senior staff as a result. In many cases, the two are still far from aligned.
“In the last two years, some companies have not shown themselves from their most charming side when it comes to remuneration,” says Van Esch. “And we will be looking out for the kind of tricks or loopholes that some adopt when trying to get away with high pay for poor performance.”
“It is not uncommon for remuneration committees to claim that when markets are up, the company has performed well, and when markets are down, the targets need to be revised because it is ‘not management’s fault’. Investors should be much more critical on how companies deal with this.”
“The situation becomes much more painful when companies ask other stakeholders – such as investors or employees – to take the pain during bad times, but CEO pay remains unaffected or sometimes even sees his or her package increased.”
ESG as part of variable packages
The use of ESG metrics is, though, very welcome, as this was not common a few years ago. “We are happy to see that ESG metrics are more frequently used in remuneration, though at the same time, it often remains too vague on how performance is measured, and sometimes the chosen metrics are not key to the company’s ESG strategy,” says Van Esch.
“The ESG metrics should be treated the same way as financial metrics in remuneration; they should be measurable, require management effort to achieve them, and be underpinned by a strategy. Just like the rest of incentive pay, ESG in remuneration should also be pay for performance.”
Social to the fore
Social issues will also move closer to the spotlight as investors assess how well they dealt with Covid, particularly in industries such as hospitality, travel and high street retail that were badly affected by the lockdowns of 2021.
“The recent health crisis has put social at the spotlight on the S in ESG, and rightly so,” says Van Esch. “Investors are increasingly aware of the relevance of human resource management, providing an equitable workplace, and having diversity in their oversight. Therefore, we will continue to focus on diversity as a key topic.”
And human rights will be scrutinized, particularly when voting at companies with operations or supply chains in trouble spots. “Companies with exposure to human rights issues but which lack a human rights due diligence procedure can expect us to vote against those the reappointment of those directors who should be responsible for this kind of oversight,” Van Esch says.
Let’s not forget about governance!
Meanwhile, the governance aspect of ESG which is so critical to how companies behave will not be forgotten. “Independent oversight and mechanisms that hold executive management, such as by having strong non-executive directors to do this, remain fundamental principles to our voting approach,” says Van Esch.
“We were pleased to see that in Japan the expectations for the percentage of independent directors on boards is increasing, yet oversight is not just a matter of the number of non-execs. They should have the right qualifications to oversee key issues such as accounting, management incentives and their related party transactions. At least half of the members of key committees should be qualified independent members.”
“In all, we’ll be using our voting rights to protect our clients’ interests as shareholders and promote sustainability, and in some cases give a shot across the bows to companies that are not onside with good practice. Shareholders should always use their vote to make a difference.”
Weitere Artikel zu diesem Thema
Finnland erneut Weltspitze in punkto Nachhaltigkeit
Finnland erneut Weltspitze in punkto Nachhaltigkeit
The Introductory Guide to Net Zero 2050 Climate Equities
In den Übergang zu netto null CO2-Emissionen investieren
Podcast: Has the sustainability premium vanished?
Indices Insights: Erfasst das Climate Beta das klimabezogene Risiko?
The Introductory Guide to Net Zero 2050 Climate Equities
Stimmrechtsausübung und aktive Einflussnahme
Wahrnehmung von Aktionärsrechten, um den Shareholder Value zu maximieren.
Besuchen Sie uns in den sozialen Medien
Sitemap Fonds - Sitemap Strategien
Die auf diesen Seiten enthaltenen Informationen dienen Marketingzwecken und sind ausschließlich für (i) qualifizierte Anleger gemäß dem Schweizer Bundesgesetz über die kollektiven Kapitalanlagen vom 23. Juni 2006 („KAG“), (ii) Professionelle Kunden gemäß Anhang II der Richtlinie über Märkte für Finanzinstrumente (2014/65/EU; „MiFID II“) mit Sitz in der Europäischen Union oder im Europäischen Wirtschaftsraum mit einer entsprechenden Lizenz zur Erbringung von Vertriebs- / Angebotshandlungen im Zusammenhang mit Finanzinstrumenten oder für (iii) solche, die hiermit aus eigener Initiative entsprechende Informationen zu spezifischen Finanzinstrumenten erfragen und als professionelle Kunden qualifizieren.
Die Fonds haben ihren Sitz in Luxemburg oder den Niederlanden. Die ACOLIN Fund Services AG, Postanschrift: Affolternstrasse 56, 8050 Zürich, agiert als Schweizer Vertreter der Fonds. UBS Switzerland AG, Bahnhofstrasse 45, 8001 Zürich, Postanschrift: Europastrasse 2, P.O. Box, CH-8152 Opfikon, fungiert als Schweizer Zahlstelle. Der Prospekt, die Key Investor Information Documents (KIIDs), die Satzung, die Jahres- und Halbjahresberichte der Fonds sind auf einfache Anfrage hin und kostenlos im beim Schweizer Vertreter ACOLIN Fund Services AG erhältlich. Die Prospekte sind auch über die Website www.robeco.ch verfügbar.
Einige Fonds, über die Informationen auf dieser Website angezeigt werden, fallen möglicherweise nicht in den Geltungsbereich des KAG und müssen daher nicht über eine entsprechende Genehmigung durch die Eidgenössische Finanzmarktaufsicht FINMA verfügen. Einige Fonds sind in Ihrem Wohnsitz- / Sitzstaat möglicherweise nicht verfügbar. Bitte überprüfen Sie den Registrierungsstatus in Ihrem jeweiligen Wohnsitz- / Sitzstaat. Um die in Ihrem Land registrierten Produkte anzuzeigen, gehen Sie bitte zur jeweiligen Länderauswahl, die auf dieser Website zu finden ist, und wählen Sie Ihr Wohnsitz- / Sitzstaat aus.
Weder Informationen noch Meinungen auf dieser Website stellen eine Aufforderung, ein Angebot oder eine Empfehlung zum Kauf, Verkauf oder einer anderweitigen Verfügung eines Finanzinstrumentes dar. Die Informationen auf dieser Webseite stellen keine Anlageberatung oder anderweitige Dienstleistung der Robeco Switzerland Ltd dar. Eine Investition in ein Produkt von Robeco Switzerland Ltd sollte erst erfolgen, nachdem die entsprechenden rechtlichen Dokumente wie Verwaltungsvorschriften, Prospekt, Jahres- und Halbjahresberichte konsultiert wurden.
Durch Klicken auf "Ich stimme zu" bestätigen Sie, dass Sie resp. die von Ihnen vertretene juristische Person eine der oben genannten Kategorien von Adressaten fallen und dass Sie die Nutzungsbedingungen für diese Website gelesen, verstanden und akzeptiert haben.