Library | ESG issues

Shareholders & Voting

Shareholders have the right to vote on corporate decisions, including board appointments, mergers, disclosures, and ESG policies. Active ownership through voting and engagement is a key mechanism for aligning corporate actions with investor interests and long-term value creation.

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The dangers of buybacks: Mitigating common pitfalls

Focusing Capital on the Long Term Global
This report explores the rising trend of share buybacks, analysing their benefits and pitfalls. It offers practical tools, guidelines, and measures to mitigate the risks, improve transparency, and ensure buybacks match long-term company strategies.
Research
5 October 2020

Disrupting privilege as power and control: Re-imagining business and the appreciation of Indigenous stewardship in management education curricula

This report explores privilege's systemic connection to mainstream management education and proposes how engaging with Indigenous stewardship can tackle this. Using a case study of stewardship's implementation in a Master of Commerce program, educators can contribute to literature on re-imagining business and create better future business leaders.
Research
2 June 2022

A roadmap for Australian investors: How to invest to achieve gender equity, racial equity, diversity and inclusion

Impact Investing Australia
This a guide to help investors achieve gender equity, racial equity, diversity, and inclusion. This report presents qualitative and quantitative analyses from surveys of key Australian impact investing actors, virtual interviews with identified key informants, and a focused narrative literature review of contemporary global gender lens investing practice.
Research
27 March 2022

Decarbonising cement: The role of institutional investors

ShareAction
This report outlines why cement production is carbon-intensive and provides pathways for decarbonisation. A 60% reduction in emissions by 2050 is required to limit temperature increases to 1.75°C. Institutional investors need to engage with cement companies and cut off funding for carbon-intensive infrastructure to mitigate climate-related risks.
Research
8 October 2019

Understanding and aligning with beneficiaries’ sustainability preferences

Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)
This report explores how engaging with beneficiaries can improve investments' environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. It outlines a four-step process for investment professionals to understand and align with beneficiaries' sustainability preferences, ultimately strengthening a fund's performance and maintaining social license.
Research
16 April 2021

Women decision makers: How can more capital reach women decision makers in emerging markets?

Value For Women
This report explores the barriers preventing women fund managers from receiving capital, particularly local, diverse women. The report outlines recommendations and tools for investors to better support women decision makers.
Research
26 July 2023

Investor climate action plans (ICAPs): Guidance on using the expectations ladder

The Investor Agenda
This report provides guidance to investors on using the ICAPs Expectations Ladder to disclose their climate action plans. It covers investment, corporate engagement, policy advocacy, investor disclosure, and governance with specific recommendations. The report includes a glossary of terms and maps existing disclosures to the Ladder's expectations.
Research
7 July 2022

Guiding principles for responsible investment stewardship in Aotearoa New Zealand

Stewardship Code Aotearoa New Zealand
The Stewardship Code is a voluntary guideline crafted by New Zealand industry experts, aiding financial market participants in responsible investment stewardship. Comprising nine principles, it supplements regulatory mandates, allowing voluntary adoption and reporting on a 'comply or explain' basis.
Research
15 May 2023

The future of investor engagement: A call for systematic stewardship to address systemic climate risk

United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI)
This report provides a call to action for investors to engage in systematic stewardship to address systemic climate risk. It explores limitations of corporate engagement and presents alternative opportunities for engagement such as sector and value chain engagement, policy engagement, and asset manager engagement.
Research
5 May 2023

Full disclosure: Improving corporate reporting on climate risk

Investor Group on Climate Change
This report summarises how investors utilize corporate reporting to manage climate-related financial risks, identify opportunities, and set strategies for transitioning to net-zero emissions. The report contains investors' expectations from climate reports, insights on scenario analysis, and recommendations for improving corporate disclosure on climate risks.
Research
19 August 2020

Sustainable voting behaviour of asset managers: Do they walk the walk?

This paper analyses a decade of voting data with more than 20 million observations to investigate asset manager characteristics that influence environmental, social and governance (ESG) voting patterns. Asset managers mostly vote against social and environmental proposals. Despite increased attention to sustainability, asset managers hardly voted in favour of these proposals.
Research
24 February 2021

Can sustainable investing save the world? Reviewing the mechanism of investor impact

The paper delves into how sustainable investing (SI) contributes to social and environmental goals. It highlights shareholder engagement as a well-supported mechanism, partial support for capital allocation impact, and limited empirical backing for indirect mechanisms. Policymakers are suggested to facilitate the spread of sustainable companies to amplify impact.
Research
17 October 2019

Wealthy private investors and socially responsible investing: The influence of reference groups

The study investigates how wealthy private investors engage with socially responsible investing (SRI) and how reference groups influence their investment behaviour. Qualitative data from 55 interviews with high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) and industry experts show that while family members emphasize profit, fellow SRI-oriented HNWIs prioritise similarity and reputation.
Research
22 November 2021

Who pays for sustainability? An analysis of sustainability-linked bonds

This paper analyses sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs), which tie bond coupons to sustainability performance targets. They find issuing an SLB yields an average premium of -9 basis points on the yield at issue compared to a conventional bond, and the savings for an issuer exceed the maximum penalty for failure to meet the target.
Research
9 February 2022

The hidden risk in state pensions: Analysing state pensions’ responses to the climate crisis in proxy voting

Stand.earth
This report analyses the proxy voting strategies of 19 state pensions, as well as the five New York City Comptroller systems, managing over US$2 trillion in assets. Results reveal that most pensions failed to address climate-related financial risk, especially in areas such as lobbying, environmental justice, and Indigenous rights.
Research
24 January 2024

Climate contract playbook: Edition 2

Chancery Lane Project
This report presents a playbook of precedent clauses designed to address climate change risks and opportunities across different sectors and financing scenarios. The clauses, drafted by Hogan Lovells lawyers from over 60 jurisdictions, can be used in corporate and finance agreements to help achieve the Net Zero targets of the UK Government and others.
Research
30 June 2020
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