Responsible investment report highlights

2021 was a pivotal year for environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) as new regulations came into force. Meanwhile, addressing climate change formed the cornerstone for our engagement activities. We present key figures on our voting and engagement activities.

ESG engagement

• Led and supported engagement with 270 companies on 333 ESG issues through a combination of in-house discussions, third-party engagement services and collaborative initiatives
• Climate change continued to be a cornerstone of our engagement activities
• Worked on a Group engagement programme around climate change, water, nutrition and long-termism

Proxy voting

• Voted at 3,800 shareholder meetings
• Supported management in 90% of resolutions whilst voting against or abstaining in 10% of cases
• Supported 54% of shareholder resolutions including many relating to environmental and/or social concerns

EU action plan

• 2021 was a pivotal year for ESG with the first regulations of the EU Action Plan for Sustainable Finance, such as SFDR entering into force
• Strategies that promote environmental or social characteristics or have a sustainable investment objective represent around 78% of our AUM* in scope for EU regulation

We believe that investors have the power to trigger positive change from corporate issuers, helping shape a more sustainable form of doing business. This belief helps us to make better long-term investments for our clients and for the planet.