In July 2021, ClearBridge Investments announced it had joined the industry-leading Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative (NZAM), an international group of asset managers committed to supporting the goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions globally by 2050. We are proud to be part of a community of over 200 asset management peers, representing over $50 trillion, in this commitment.
Read moreHow to Make ESG Pay Links More Effective
Shareholder resolutions requesting companies disclose plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 received increased support in the 2021 proxy season. While this is a positive development, companies must do more to cut emissions in half by 2030 to meet the Paris climate treaty goals. The way to make this work is to have a direct link to executive compensation packages. If the board sets a real financial incentive then executives will make it happen.
Read moreCost Externalization: A Bad Trade for Diversified Shareholders
The Shareholder Commons has filed or otherwise supported 19 shareholder proposals in 2022 that focus on systematic risks, including mis/disinformation, climate change, and antimicrobial resistance. The common thread running through these proposals is how a company’s externalized costs affect shareholders by reducing the value of other assets in their portfolios.
Read moreA New Investment Theory for Dealing with Systemic Risks
The definition of what it means to invest is changing. Today, investors are looking beyond their trading terminals and tackling investing risks in the real world, where value is created, as well as in the capital markets, where it is priced.
Read more2022 Proxy Legal Overview: ESG Proposals in Ascendance
The 2022 proxy season reflects the ascendance of support for ESG shareholder proposals, along with policy changes at the SEC that both support and undermine these proposals.
Read moreMcDonald's Breaks Animal Welfare Pledge - Now Faces Board Battle
On February 20, 2022, McDonald’s confirmed that Carl Icahn nominated both Maisie Ganzler and me for the company’s board of directors in response to McDonald’s failure to meet a public pledge it made ten years ago to end the egregiously cruel and controversial practice of pig gestation crates by this year.
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