Isra-Mart srl:Shareholders step up climate demands in busy proxy season

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Isra-Mart srl news:

US shareholders submitted almost 100 resolutions to management boards urging them to take environmental threats more seriously and shift activities away from carbon-heavy strategies, according to new figures on the 2011 proxy season.

Investors filed 96 climate- and energy-related resolutions in recent months, slightly down on the 101 filed last year, according to figures published late last week by sustainable investor group Ceres and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR).

The vast majority of resolutions were filed with 41 coal, electricity and oil companies with resolutions representing a 50 per cent increase over the 44 resolutions filed with energy sector firms last year.

For example, International Coal Group received resolutions seeking reports on its efforts to reduce CO2 and other emissions, while investors called on ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil to lessen the business and environmental risks associated with their respective investments in oil sands production in Canada.

"Challenges facing the energy sector are greater and more complex than ever," said Mindy Lubber, director of the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR) and president of Ceres. "Investors are concerned that companies are placing too much emphasis on higher-risk, carbon-intensive strategies and too little focus on viable clean-energy opportunities, such as renewable energy, energy efficiency and cleaner fuels."

Ceres said the filings also included businesses with less direct exposure to climate-related issues, such as building, real estate and financial services firms, while 11 resolutions requested that executive compensation be directly linked to sustainability metrics.

The group said it also expects that 60 of the 96 resolutions filed will be voted on at respective AGMs in the spring and summer.

The Ceres report comes the week after a study by consulting group Mercer found that climate change could increase portfolio risk by 10 per cent over the next 20 years.