BlackRock bears down on environmental concerns as investor goes green
Asset management giant BlackRock have increased their green engagements by more than 50 per cent in the past year, the firm said this morning.
BlackRock Investment Stewardship’s (BIS) quarterly update suggests the trend towards more of a green push from major shareholders will continue.
The giant’s stewardship team held almost 1,000 “engagements” with firms it is invested in, with more than 700 of those relating to environmental concerns, over the first three months of the year.
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And the number of votes against management increased too in Q1.
BIS voted against at least one proposal in 35 per cent of meetings, up from 30 per cent in the same period last year.
The firm also voted against more than 50 directors on climate-related concerns.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s highly awaited letter to shareholders earlier this year said the pandemic “has driven us to confront the global threat of climate change more forcefully and to consider how, like the pandemic, it will alter our lives.
“No issue ranks higher than climate change on our clients’ lists of priorities,” he continued.
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