BlackRock, Vanguard, Fidelity, SSGA vote on fewer environmental and social resolutions in 2022

ShareAction also found that participants in the Net Zero Asset Managers and the investor-led Climate Action 100+ failed to support an average of one-third of climate resolutions.

The fourth report from the London-based voting organization showed how 68 of the world’s largest asset managers voted on 252 shareholder decisions.

Although an overall 66% increase in support for environmental and social resolutions was found in 2022, compared to 60% in 2021, the increase in support came from Europe and not from the US or the UK.

“There is a clear regional gap in the voting behavior of asset managers,” the report says: European asset managers supported an average of 81% of proposals in 2022 compared to 69% in 2021, while US and UK asset managers in 1% supported the average. more than they did the previous year. The report notes that stricter ESG reporting rules went into effect in the European Union in September, requiring asset managers to report on their shareholder engagement strategies. Another factor is the “growing gap” in customer climate expectations between Europe and the US, the report says.

The report notes several trends in 2022, including “the loud ESG backlash happening in the US” and more resolutions going beyond disclosure requests and asking companies how they are handling the energy transition.

In the energy sector, the report notes that companies saw much less shareholder support for green decisions in 2022, a year marked by energy supply and price tensions that delivered record profits to companies.

“Most of the world’s largest wealth managers do not consistently use their voting power to address the many environmental and social crises the world is facing,” Claudia Gray, Head of Financial Sector Research at ShareAction, said in a press release on the report.

Ms Gray urged asset managers to strengthen their voting policies and explain publicly when they do not support such resolutions, and also called on politicians to hold asset managers accountable when their voting record “doesn’t match their claims of sustainability.”

Content Source

News Press Ohio – Latest News:
Columbus Local News || Cleveland Local News || Ohio State News || National News || Money and Economy News || Entertainment News || Tech News || Environment News

Related Articles

Back to top button