Buzzi Unicem | 2015

For the first time, Etica Sgr attended the shareholders’ meeting of Buzzi Unicem, an Italian company dealing with the production and processing of concrete, cement and natural aggregates, held in Casale Monferrato on 8 May 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 to the request to purchase treasury shares, not having identified purposes of a speculative nature, and to the proposal of amendment to the Shareholders’ Meeting Regulation. Etica Sgr also abstained in relation to the allocation of the financial year profit, since it would have preferred, given the negative result of the parent company, that the part of the profits distributed as a dividend to be maintained in the Company, so as to strengthen the economic situation and the investment activities. During the shareholders’ meeting, Etica Sgr also expressed appreciation for Buzzi’s attention to environmental aspects, which is demonstrated by the excellent results achieved in the Climate Change initiative of the Carbon Disclosure Project. In order to further improve its performance, it was recommended that it complete the “Water” questionnaire of that CDP, for the purpose of closer attention to the management of risks linked to the use of the water resource.

Further information was requested in relation to the monitoring of the supply chain and in particular if the compliance with environmental and social sustainability principles is also monitored for all suppliers, both Italian and foreign. In that regard, it was suggested that the Company adopt the SA 8000 certification in relation to respect of human rights.

In relation to remuneration, the company was asked to ensure more transparency in the assessment criteria, particularly providing specific indications regarding the company objectives underlying the payment of the variable components and the business target value chosen by Buzzi for payment of the short-term variable component, along with further details on the mechanism for determining the MBO (annual variable incentive) also in relation to the minimum thresholds and maximum ceilings provided. For those reasons, in relation to the vote in the shareholders’ meeting relating to the report on remuneration, Etica Sgr abstained.