Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI) has published its Sustainability and Stewardship Report 2023, outlining its progress on delivering sustainable outcomes in those areas over the past year. The asset manager currently has €199 billion (US$212.4 billion) of combined AUM invested in sustainability and impact-focused strategies, and is developing its sustainable investment fund range further. AllianzGI now offers more than 200 sustainable funds classified as Article 8 or 9 under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, accounting for 61% of its total mutual fund AUM. In 2023, the firm undertook 481 active engagements with 374 companies across 32 location, up from 438 engagements with 355 companies in 2022. The report also noted that the organisation voted at 9,137 shareholder meetings last year on over 100,000 shareholder resolutions, and broadened its engagements around key topics including climate, biodiversity and human rights. With biodiversity being a priority, AllianzGI confirmed it intended to cast its proxy vote for a resolution on risks related to biodiversity and nature loss at the upcoming 1 May AGM of PepsiCo shareholders, and another on biodiversity impact and dependence assessment at home improvement retailer Home Depot’s AGM on 16 May. “Biodiversity has been one of our focus themes for engagement since 2022. Both PepsiCo and Home Depot acknowledge that biodiversity loss is a relevant issue for their business activities and report on ongoing efforts,” said Matt Christensen, Global Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing at AllianzGI. “However, with these votes we wish to indicate that we expect to see further progress with the companies’ biodiversity impact and dependency assessments.”
