For the second consecutive year, Etica Sgr attended and voted at the shareholders’ meeting of Luxottica held in Milan on 23 April 2015.
Together with other investors, such as the French company Ecofi Investments representing 7.5 billion Euros of assets under management, it attended at the shareholders’ meeting to vote and to call management’s attention to some aspects linked to corporate sustainability.
Etica Sgr voted in favour of approving the financial statements, abstaining, on the other hand, on the distribution of the dividend, since, albeit deeming that Luxottica has ended a series of particularly positive financial years, the payout ratio was above the threshold indicated in the Guidelines on Shareholders Engagement. Etica Sgr also abstained on the point relating to the purchase and disposal of treasury shares. As regards the Board of Directors and the Board of Auditors, Etica Sgr supported the lists submitted by the members of Assogestioni. A contrary vote was finally expressed against approval of the Remuneration Policy of management of the Company: Etica Sgr identified the absence of detailed information on the indicators to which the variable component of the fees of the Directors is linked and the objectives underlying its payment. Etica Sgr then emphasised the high sums paid as severance pay, which exceed the amount indicated in its Guidelines on Shareholders Engagement and cited by international best practice.
In its speech at the shareholders’ meeting, Etica Sgr, albeit expressing appreciation for Luxottica’s attention to issues of social and environmental responsibility, asked again for better reporting in that regard. On this issue, major steps forward could be represented by the response to the “Climate Change” questionnaire in the CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project) and by obtaining the ISO 14001 certification for all the production plants. As regards the respect of human rights, the Company was asked to make greater efforts in relation to the reporting of audits performed by Luxottica along its supply chain and the introduction of social responsibility parameters in the selection of its commercial partners.
Etica Sgr finally asked the Company for more details in relation to the remuneration policy and suggested introducing socio-environmental objectives for the payment of bonuses for top management. The company was also asked to communicate the figure in relation to the difference between the average remuneration of the employees of Luxottica and that of the CEO.
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