Archive
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AI tool allows anyone to generate score for sustainability reports
Team of researchers wants to use tech to expose greenwashing At RBC Global Asset Management (RBC GAM), we believe proxy voting is an important part of our stewardship process, as it provides an important way for us to convey our views to the board and management of our investee companies. We take an active and thoughtful approach to our proxy voting activities, and we exercise the voting rights of the portfolios we manage in the best interests of our clients, and with a view to enhancing the long-term value of the securities held. Each year, our responsible investment team monitors…
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RBC GAM reviews ESG trends from proxy season 2023
Nureen Nagra looks at key developments and how they align with the asset manager’s voting guidelines A new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered tool has launched that allows users to assess the quality of climate-related disclosures in sustainability reports. Anyone can upload a report and get a score based on how well it performs against the 11 TCFD recommendations. The team of researchers behind the project, called ChatReport, wants to open up access to ESG analysis and lower the reliance on ESG ratings agencies. The AI model highlights the possibilities of generative AI to source and interpret information, says Markus Leippold, a…
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The week in GRC: Activision Blizzard and Kellogg join companies facing challenges over diversity efforts and study calls for taxing climate-polluting investments
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web You were recently part of a CECP CEO Roundtable with Vincent Forlenza, chair of Moody’s and former chair and CEO of BD, about the process and value of developing and presenting an integrated long-term plan from the CEO and investor perspectives. What are some of the challenges you discussed about balancing long-term planning with short-term demands? What investors are looking for from boards, and from executive management, is strategic agility and managing for the long term. For example, how are short-term issues framed against long-term aspirations? This information is…
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Communicating to investors how short-term events impact long-term plans
Daryl Brewster discusses the benefits and challenges of integrated long-term planning with former Vanguard CEO Bill McNabb – CNBC reported that PayPal’s board announced that the company’s new CEO will be Alex Chriss, the executive who runs the small business and self-employed group for Intuit. Chriss will take over from PayPal’s longtime CEO Dan Schulman, beginning September 27. Schulman had previously announced a plan to step down from the role by the end of the year. He will remain a director at the company until May 2024. PayPal’s board said Chriss was chosen for the role from a pool of…
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Allogene Therapeutics finds new general counsel
Earl Douglas was previously general counsel for Applied Molecular Transport Nasdaq-listed Allogene Therapeutics has hired Earl Douglas as its new general counsel. Douglas was previously general counsel for Applied Molecular Transport (AMT), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. Before joining AMT, he was vice president and general counsel of Kiverdi and also had spells as general counsel and corporate secretary at BioMimetic Therapeutics (acquired by Wright Medical Group), Spinal Dynamics (acquired by Medtronic) and OPX Biotechnologies (acquired by Cargill). In addition to his in-house legal work, Douglas was counsel with law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and earlier in his career…
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How companies should respond to the SEC’s new cyber-security rules
Megan Gordon, Daniel Silver and Brian Yin detail the steps companies should take As cyber-attacks continue to increase in frequency and intensity, companies have raced to tighten controls. Against this backdrop, last month the SEC adopted a set of cyber-security disclosure rules for public companies that require issuers to provide information to their investors and the market about material cyber-security incidents and the controls they have in place to protect against such attacks. The rules, which go into effect at the end of the year, will also cause investors to pay more attention to cyber- vulnerability and preparedness.What is in…
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Activism, ESG and universal proxy: How to make friends and influence shareholders
In an era of universal proxy, proxy advisers that appear less likely to support activists and the ‘return’ of voting rights to shareholders by BlackRock and Vanguard, we look at the impact for engagement The London borough of Hounslow wants a greater say in your governance. In March, the west London pension fund became the first client of proxy adviser Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (PIRC) to sign up to Voting Choice from BlackRock, applying its own voting policy to investments in a pooled, global index fund. In doing so, Hounslow has put its money in with a growing cohort…
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Fox Corp legal chief to step down
Viet Dinh previously sat on 21st Century Fox’s board Fox Corporation has announced that chief legal and policy officer Viet Dinh will step down from his position and become a special adviser to the company at the end of the year. In his current role, Dinh leads all legal, compliance and regulatory matters for the company and oversees government and public affairs. In addition, he is a member of the office of the chair. Dinh joined Fox in 2018 and helped establish the company ahead of its 2019 spin-off as a stand-alone public company. Before joining Fox, Dinh was a…
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CalSTRS: Mandatory GHG reporting may be here by year-end
Pension fund reveals votes against more than 2,000 boards in 2023 proxy season CalSTRS, the world’s largest educator-only pension fund, says it expects greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reporting to become mandatory in the near future, as it revealed a record number of votes against boards in the 2023 proxy season. The $315 bn fund voted against 2,035 boards across industries including steel producers, transportation companies and metal and mining firms. It noted that a lack of globally mandated rules for climate reporting makes assessments harder – but said it expected new rules in the near future. ‘We need to make…
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The week in GRC: ABA adopts changes to client-vetting rule and Target sued over LGBTQ+ merchandise backlash
This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – The Financial Times (paywall) reported that the carbon-accounting business is booming as regulators, investors and consumers demand more information about companies’ greenhouse gas emissions, despite concerns about the validity of the data. Venture capital investment in carbon-accounting companies increased from $60 mn in 2020 to $767 mn in 2022, according to PitchBook. The trend has continued into 2023, with venture capitalists investing $333 mn in the sector so far this year. The influx of money comes as companies prepare for disclosure requirements that are expected to come into…