LafargeHolcim announced today that it has agreed to Ethos' request to prepare a climate transition report and to submit it to an advisory shareholder vote at its 2022 annual general meeting (AGM). Ethos welcomes the board's decision to involve shareholders in the validation of its climate strategy.
LafargeHolcim is the first cement producer in the world to introduce a ‘Say on Climate’ vote at its AGM. This decision is all the more important as the cement sector is very carbon-intensive and its decarbonization is essential for the creation of a carbon neutral economy. With greenhouse gas emissions of 140 million tons per year, LafargeHolcim is also the largest CO2 emitter of all listed companies in Switzerland.
Against the backdrop of increasing policy measures to combat climate change, the development of a long-term climate strategy and the implementation of transparent measures to reduce CO2 emissions are crucial to maintain the company's financial competitiveness in the medium and long term. The introduction of an advisory vote on the climate transition report at the AGM will allow shareholders to assess the measures put in place by the board of directors and the executive management.
In this regard, Nestlé has already revealed on Tuesday morning that its roadmap to achieve zero net CO2 emissions by 2050 would be submitted to an advisory vote from shareholders this year.
Ethos welcomes these decisions. In recent months, Ethos has held numerous discussions with the boards of directors of both Nestlé and LafargeHolcim - the two Swiss companies with the highest CO2 emissions - to encourage them to voluntarily organise advisory votes on their climate strategy. Ethos is responsible for the dialogue with Nestlé and co-responsible for the dialogue with LafargeHolcim as part of the ‘Climate Action 100+’ initiative. The dialogue is also conducted on behalf of the 151 pension funds that are members of the Ethos Engagement Pool, which work alongside Ethos to encourage companies to improve their environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices.
At this stage, Nestlé and LafargeHolcim have only indicated that a single advisory vote will be held: in 2021 for Nestlé and in 2022 for LafargeHolcim. Ethos will therefore maintain its dialogue with these two companies to ensure that the shareholders are granted this possibility every year.
