Norges Bank Investment Management will vote in favour of the Special Shareholder Requisitioned Resolution submitted for shareholder vote at the Annual General Meetings of BP and Royal Dutch Shell.
The shareholder resolutions asks for further information on risks and opportunities associated with climate change. This information is proposed to be included as a part of their annual reporting from 2016.
– As a long-term investor, we believe that the identification of future scenarios for climate regulation, carbon pricing, and environmental conditions is a useful tool to support strategic decision-making and we thereby support these resolutions, says Chief Investment Officer Equity Strategies Petter Johnsen.
In line with our expectation document on climate change, we believe that boards should recognize the necessity of integrating climate change related challenges and opportunities in the investment planning and risk management, and ensure that responsibility is clearly defined within the organization. We commend the Boards of BP and Royal Dutch Shell for recommending support for the shareholder requisitioned resolution.
We consider the shareholder requisitioned resolution to support our own focused efforts in this area. Climate, and possible financial risk connected to this, has been an important part of our responsible management for many years.
This is the first time we publish our voting intention prior to the annual shareholder meeting. We will publish our voting intentions for a selected number of companies and for certain fundamental issues that we emphasize in particular. This is in-line with our strategy plan where it states that we will make our voting intentions public before the annual shareholder meetings to increase transparency, and encourage initiatives to strengthen the vote execution chain.
Read our expectations to companies on Climate Change Strategy
Summary disclaimer
Our approach to responsible investing includes recording and disclosing our voting decisions on each issue or proposal voted in some cases in advance of the relevant meeting. This disclosure is only intended to provide information and should not be relied upon; it is not a solicitation or encouragement as to how others should vote. This disclosure is not investment research or a research recommendation and does not contain any advice or recommendation or opinion on the price or value of any investments. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements applicable to investment research nor is Norges Bank Investment Management subject to any prohibition on dealing ahead of, or after the publication of, this disclosure. All shareholders should conduct their own evaluations and come to decisions that best meet their own investment objectives. This disclosure is the result of an internal decision-making process within Norges Bank Investment Management and has not been agreed with other shareholders. If other shareholders exercise their voting rights in the same way as Norges Bank Investment Management, voting in the same way would not be a coincidence rather than as a result of collective action and will; instead, it would be the result of each shareholder reaching its own decision without consulting Norges Bank Investment Management or agreeing with Norges Bank Investment Management. We reserve the right to change our pre-disclosed voting intention on any issue or proposal voted on at a general meeting. This disclosure is current at the date of publication but is subject to change without notice. Furthermore, securities lending or other dealing activity may mean that our votes cast at the meeting are significantly less than our economic or published holding of shares, or significantly different from our holding at the date of disclosure. No assumption should be made or reliance placed on the number of votes that will be cast at the meeting.