Making our voice heard at general meetings is an important area of responsible investment and shareholder engagement. OP Funds take an active part in the general meetings of both Finnish and foreign companies. OP Funds support, for example, proposals aimed at increasing transparency regarding the potential impacts of climate change and about risk management methods, and proposals that raise the level of ambition and performance in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
At the 2020 general meetings, in all we supported 16 direct proposals related to climate change. Of the proposals, 14 came from shareholders and two were related to the management’s own general meeting proposals.
The shareholder proposals concerned, among other things, setting climate objectives in accordance with the Paris Agreement and reporting on the company’s business strategy, in which investments should be aligned with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. The proposals also sought more comprehensive reporting on climate change in general.
Management proposals at the general meetings approved a commitment linked to the fight against climate change and the principles of new climate change measures and environmental administration.
In addition, the funds managed by OP Fund Management Company supported seven other proposals relating to the environment, which were also essential from the climate perspective. These included measures to eliminate deforestation and to report on it, and measures to abandon fossil fuels or make a plan for phasing them out.
*between 1 January and 11 December 2020