UK-based Legal and General Investment Management (LGIM) significantly expanded its environmental engagement in 2023, according to its latest active ownership report. The asset manager has set stricter policies spanning climate and nature themes, including vote sanctions against over 100 companies last year due to their lack of a deforestation policy or programme. In addition, the report noted that 342 companies were subject to voting sanctions due to not meeting the asset manager’s minimum climate-related standards. LGIM voted on 145 climate-related proposals in 2023 and supported 76.6% of them. The asset manager plans to introduce new baseline expectations for carbon-intensive sectors, such as oil and gas, with those companies at risk of voting sanctions should they expand their thermal coal mining capacity of power generation or fail to disclose methane emissions. These new measures will be applied during the 2024 proxy voting season. “Against an evolving backdrop for ESG and responsible investment globally, we believe the need for asset managers to have a robust stance and conviction in their approach is as important as ever,” said Michael Marks, Head of Investment Stewardship at LGIM. “We will continue to use the stewardship tools at our disposal to contribute to productively shaping critical markets, raising standards and addressing material risks across the issues that matter most to our clients as we seek to deliver long-term, sustainable value.”
