The power of asset managers to influence corporate ESG policies has never been stronger. Amundi, Europe’s largest investment manager, demonstrated this by supporting 88 percent of climate-related shareholder’s resolutions in 2023. It also voted against the reappointment of over 500 out of 2,278 directors on climate-related concerns in the energy and utility sectors.
Further, Amundi voted against CEO remuneration in 89 out of 322 annual meetings of energy and utility companies. Those were situations where firms failed to include climate-related performance indicators as part of variable senior management remuneration.
Amundi considers stewardship, which includes engagement and voting, a key element of responsible investing. By being an active participant, the asset manager helps companies shape their ESG strategies and enhance their disclosure of ESG metrics. It also puts the necessary pressure on firms to make real-life changes that will result in long-term sustainability benefits for investors and the environment.
“Amundi believes that every sector and economic player must take immediate action to accelerate their transition, thus contributing to limiting global warming,” said Caroline Le Meaux, head of ESG research, engagement & voting at Amundi, in a recent statement. “As part of its 2025 ESG Ambition plan, Amundi is accelerating on its engagement effort and is committed to engage with 1 000 additional companies on their climate strategy: in 2022, we actively engaged with an extra 418 companies in addition of the 464 companies already under engagement since 2021.”
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The financial firm outlined a series of goals and commitments to ESG in its 2022 global responsible investment policy.
In its objective to become the first global responsible asset manager, the company achieved several milestones. For example, it integrated ESG criteria across 100% of its actively managed open-ended funds.
Also, Amundi continues its active dialogue with companies it invests in for its clients regarding their behavior and activities. This includes engagement and voting. Amundi has also disseminated ESG practices across the whole of its organization and not just on the investment level.
Further, it is not only supporting the best ESG players but aims to help companies transition in some of the most important sectors. The investment manager considers this a part of its fiduciary duty toward its clients’ assets.
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For example, it’s especially focused on the transition of energy firms, such as oil companies.
“Unlike coal, for which substitute exist, oil still remains an essential energy source for many sectors,” it noted in its statement. “Amundi is convinced that the global target of carbon neutrality requires the transformation of all companies, including energy companies. For this reason, Amundi continues to invest in the energy sector, and actively engages with companies to encourage them to implement credible climate strategies in line with the Paris Agreement scenario.”
So far this year, Amundi has engaged with more than 400 companies on their sustainability efforts. As part of its Ambition 2025 plan, Amundi also plans to develop a net-zero range of actively managed funds and services. It will further enlarge its offering of ESG ETFs for investors looking to combine passive and responsible investing.
Photo Courtesy Amundi
For 2023, Amundi has engaged with more than 400 energy and utility companies regarding their carbon reduction strategies. By 2025, it plans to broaden the dialogue to over 1,000 companies across various sectors.
