AN ACTIVE STEWARD: OUR UPDATED VOTING POLICY 2023
Posted on February 23rd, 2023
Being an active steward and using our voice on company votes is a key part of our engagement work at Border to Coast. We continue to evolve and strengthen our approach to ensure we remain an effective long-term, responsible investor on behalf of our Partner Funds. For 2023, we have updated our voting policy with key changes made to our voting intentions with regards climate change and diversity.
Climate Change
Companies that are not making sufficient progress in mitigating climate risk are identified using the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI) and the Climate Action 100+ (CA100+) Net Zero Benchmark.
- We will vote against the Chair of the Board where companies are scored 2 or lower by the TPI, and where oil and gas companies are scored 3 or lower.
- Where a company is covered by CA100+ Net Zero Benchmark, we will vote against the Chair of the Board if it fails any of the first four indicators: a clear ambition to reach Net Zero by 2050 or sooner , as well as short, medium and long-term emission reduction targets.
- Where a bank materially fails the first four indicators of the TPI framework for banks, we will vote against the Chair of the Sustainability Committee.
- We are committed to supporting a just transition, which will influence voting on a case-by-case basis.
Diversity
We support the government-backed Davies report, Hampton Alexander and Parker reviews, which set goals for UK companies regarding the representation of women and ethnic minorities on boards, executive teams and senior management.
We will vote against the Chair of the Nomination Committee where:
- Boards are composed of less than 33% female directors in developed markets.
- Boards have no female representation in Emerging Markets and Japan.
- Boards do not have at least one person from an ethnic minority background in FTSE 100 companies.
For more detail, please see our policies in full:
Corporate Governance and Voting Guidelines
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