Ethos publishes an Engagement Paper that summarizes its five expectations regarding corporate tax responsibility of listed companies. Following recent cases of aggressive tax optimization practices of certain companies, institutional investors consider these practices to be major financial and reputational risks for companies and their shareholders
Ethos and the members of the Ethos Engagement Pool International (EEP International) are launching a multi-year engagement program urging eight European electric utilities to develop ambitious climate strategies to facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy. Several institutional investors across the globe have decided to support these efforts, in total the investor group represents approximately EUR 100 billion.
Ethos will make a statement at today’s annual general meeting of Nestlé in the context of the initiative “Climate Action 100+” urging the board to take additional measures in terms of the risks related to climate change. Ethos is also asking for the board to take the necessary steps to reduce current tensions with certain stakeholders of the company.
Ethos Foundation and the members of the Ethos Engagement Pool International are founding signatories of the Climate Action 100+ initiative, a five-year, investor-led initiative supported by 225 investors across the globe. Climate Action 100+ will engage the world’s 100 largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters to curb emissions across their value chains, strengthen climate-related financial disclosures, and improve the governance of climate-related risks that may affect companies.
Four years ago, in the aftermath of the Rana Plaza tragedy, the ‘Accord’ on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh (the ‘Accord’) created a five-year, legally binding framework for factory inspections aiming to identify and remediate unsafe working conditions in Bangladesh’s textile industry. By publishing an Investor Statement on the 4th Anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy this spring, a coalition of global institutional investors, amongst whom Ethos and the members of the Ethos Engagement Pool International, pushed heavily for a prolongation of the ‘Accord’ until all remediation measures are completed.
The Ethos Engagement Pool (EEP), launched in 2004 by Ethos and two pension funds, today consists of 130 institutional investors with AUM of 21 billion CHF in Swiss equities. United around Ethos, these institutional investors are convinced that engaging with companies is an efficient means for sensitizing them to best practice in corporate governance and environmental and social responsibility.
On September 10, 2016 a boiler exploded at the Tampaco Foils Ltd. factory in Bangladesh causing a fire and building collapse that took the lives of 35 workers and injured over 50 more.
Ethos and six Swiss pension funds are launching an engagement programme with companies listed abroad, the Ethos Engagement Pool International (EEP International). Following the success of the dialogue programme with companies listed in Switzerland, the aim is to extend the dialogue activities to the international level. Through collective engagement, the members of the group seek to raise awareness of companies with regard to corporate governance, as well as environmental and social responsibility best practice.
Ethos publishes an Engagement Paper addressed at listed companies which summarizes investor expectations regarding climate change risk management. Despite the urgency of the issue, currently less than half of the companies listed on SIX Swiss Exchange publish their greenhouse gas emissions.