Glass Lewis conducted a Proxy Talk to discuss climate change-related shareholder proposals up for vote during the 2018 proxy season with a panel of experts.
Proxy season is back, and climate change is still at the top of the shareholder proposal agenda. Last year saw more climate change proposals resonate more strongly than ever with shareholders, and increased focus on whether companies with direct (or indirect) exposure have the appropriate mix of skills, experience and independence to manage related risks.
We’ve reconvened our panel, comprising responsible investment leaders from both sides of the Atlantic, to discuss some of the momentous developments from the past year, specific meetings to watch in 2018, and where the conversation is heading.
You can listen to the audio here.
SPEAKERS
- Anne Simpson, Investment Director of Sustainable Investing at the California Public Employees Retirement System
- Patrick Doherty, Director of Corporate Governance at the New York State Office of the State Comptroller
- Helen Wildsmith, Stewardship Director of Climate Change at CCLA
- Edward Mason, Head of Responsible Investment at the Church Commissioners of England
- Courteney Keatinge (moderator), Director, ESG Research, Glass Lewis
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
- Transition Pathway Initiative website: http://www.lse.ac.uk/GranthamInstitute/tpi/
- Investor Support of 2 Degree Scenario Resolutions — ceres.org/2DSresolutions
- Ceres Shareholder Engagement Tracker — https://engagements.ceres.org
- Climate Action 100+ — climateaction100.org
SHOW NOTES
- Introductions
- Anne Simpson (3:20)
- Patrick Doherty (7:40)
- Edward Mason (9:20)
- Helen Wildsmith (14:05)
- Background on Aiming for A (16:00)
- Looking back at Exxon’s 2017 AGM (19:35)
- Climate Action 100 (25:35)
- Assessing board competence (36:30)
- Chevron proposal and the changing role of directors (40:40)
- Other proposals of interest (43:15)
- Final thoughts (46:10)