For the fifth consecutive year, Etica Sgr attended and voted at the shareholders’ meeting of Prysmian held in Milan on 16 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.
A favourable vote was expressed for all items on the agenda.
Etica Sgr had no objection on the approval of the financial statements at 31 December 2014 and on the reports submitted by the Board of Auditors and the Independent Auditing Company. In line with the provisions of point 1.7.1 of the Guidelines on Shareholders Engagement, Etica Sgr approved the allocation of the financial year profit, considering the balanced payout.
As regards the Board of Directors, Etica Sgr had no objection to the proposal regarding the number of members, the duration in office and the fee of the Board of Auditors. From the three lists submitted for the renewal of the BoD, Etica Sgr supported the list submitted by Assogestioni. Given the provision of details and accurate information, a favourable vote was expressed to granting to the Board of Directors the authorisation to purchase and dispose of treasury shares.
As regards the Company’s equity incentive plan and remuneration policy, Etica Sgr voted in favour having appreciated the degree of detail of the information contained in the documents published in favour of the shareholders, which allowed for the correspondence between the fees paid and the business performances achieved to be ascertained. Despite this, Etica Sgr requested the introduction of social and environmental indicators in the remuneration plans of the Chief Executive Officer and the Managers with Strategic Responsibilities and requested the figure relating to the financial year 2014 on the ratio existing between the remuneration of the Chief Executive Officer and the average remuneration of Prysmian’s full-time employees.
The publication of the Sustainability Report at a time prior to the date of the shareholders’ meeting was appreciated, as it allowed Etica Sgr to analyse all aspects of Prysmian’s conduct and, consequently, to express precise observations, to the benefit of the stakeholders.
In relation to the management of the supply chain, Etica Sgr asked if the Commercial Code of Conduct adopted from 2015 also provides for elements of monitoring of the same in terms of use of raw materials, energy consumption, waste production and respective recycling. In addition, it asked for that Code to be published and also asked if it will also be applied to suppliers operating in countries where the rules on labour and respect for the environment are deficient.
Finally, from an environmental perspective, Etica Sgr invited Prysmian to consider completing the “Water” questionnaire as part of the CDP as well as to report the data relating to water pollution within its Sustainability Report.
Engagement Italian companies
