Safeguarding the environment, the challenges facing the agri-food system, corporate responsibility in respect for human rights and the importance of good corporate conduct. These are the key issues tackled in 2016 by Etica Sgr in 73 engagement initiatives with 40 Italian and foreign companies. Objective: to stimulate continual improvement in the environmental, social and governance spheres through ongoing dialogue year after year.
The analyses and results of these initiatives have been collected in the publication “Dialogue, the benefits of growing together“, which examines the issues discussed with companies in meetings with upper management, workshops, conference calls, exchanges of correspondence and interventions at shareholders’ meetings of the companies in which Etica Sgr invests.
In 2016 discussions undertaken in previous years were stepped up and consolidated, in particular on the following issues:
- Climate change: focusing on environmental policy and carbon accounting following the Paris climate agreement (COP21) and water management;
- Food and land: promotion of sustainable nutrition with attention to the supply of palm oil, use of GMO products, the risks associated with intensive livestock breeding and the use of pesticides in agriculture;
- Human rights: managing and monitoring the supply chain to develop more transparent and effective policy;
- Corporate conduct: on privacy (in IT security), tax evasion, corporate governance and remuneration policy.
All engagement with the companies is certified under the UNI EN ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System in accordance with a specific “Policy on engagement and exercise of voting rights linked to the financed instruments of managed UCITS”.
Engagement Engagement report shareholders activism
