A TCFD-centered proxy voting policy that reflects a commitment to mitigating the risks and impacts of climate-related issues.
SAN FRANCISCO (December 8, 2020) – Glass Lewis today announced the launch of its innovative thematic Climate Policy as part of the suite of thematic proxy voting policies available to its customers. The Climate Policy is ideal for investors focused on incorporating climate risk factors into their proxy voting practices. It takes a sector-based approach and is aligned with the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations, holding boards accountable for an organization’s climate-related governance, strategy, risk management, and reporting.
“Climate change has the potential to present significant systematic risks to companies and the global markets more broadly. Investors are increasingly recognizing these risks and taking steps to engage with companies in order to mitigate their climate-related risks and impacts. By taking a tiered approach, this policy ensures that customers are both able to holistically incorporate climate-related considerations into their proxy voting decisions and that they are applying policies that make sense for each company, given its unique operations and risk profile,” said Courteney Keatinge, Senior Director, ESG Research at Glass Lewis.
The policy considers the size of the company, its industry, and its unique risk profile and applies more rigorous standards for companies with significant greenhouse gas emissions and higher exposures to climate-related risks. Each company’s unique risk profile is informed by data from the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and whether it is included in the Climate Action 100+.
The Climate Policy is available to investors that are interested in expanding the scope of material environmental, social, and governance factors into their proxy voting decision-making process. Institutional investors can leverage Glass Lewis’ ESG expertise and apply the policy directly in the Viewpoint proxy voting platform, or customize it to meet more specific goals. For more information, visit the Glass Lewis Climate Policy page or send an inquiry to info@glasslewis.com.
About Glass Lewis:
Glass Lewis is the leading independent provider of global governance solutions. We enable institutional investors and publicly listed companies to make sustainable decisions based in research and data. We cover 25,000+ meetings each year, across approximately 100 global markets. Our customers include the majority of the world’s largest pension plans, mutual funds, and asset managers who collectively manage over $40 trillion in assets. Our core solutions include Proxy Paper proxy research and Viewpoint proxy vote management platform. More information is available at www.glasslewis.com.