‘Say on Climate’: Ethos, French SIF, ADEME and WBA continue their collaboration

Ethos, ADEME, French SIF and WBA have decided to continue their collaboration in analysing the climate plans and strategies submitted by European listed companies to a vote of their shareholders (the so-called ‘Say on Climate’ vote). This partnership, set up by ADEME and French SIF in 2023 and then extended to Ethos and WBA in 2024, made it possible to analyse the relevance and credibility of the climate plans of 21 European companies in 2024, including two Swiss-based companies (Glencore and Holcim). It also allows to issue informed voting recommendations to the shareholders of these companies.

In recent years, Ethos has strengthened its expertise in assessing the credibility of companies' climate plans and strategies. In particular, Ethos has developed a new methodology that allows it to assign a temperature score to listed companies, i.e. the global temperature increase that would occur in 2100 if the global economy were to act with the same ambition and the same climate performance as the analysed company.

This methodology, entitled ‘Ethos Climate Transition Ratings’, is partly based on the ACT (‘Assessing Low-Carbon Transition’) methodology, which was developed by ADEME in 2015 and which makes it possible to assess a company's capacity to become part of a low-carbon economy. The methodology takes into account a company’s objectives, investments, activities, governance, value chain, lobbying activities and business model from a climate protection perspective.

As in the previous year, Ethos analysts will be responsible for the ACT assessments of listed companies based in the EU and Switzerland (that are not covered by WBA or ADEME) that will submit a ‘Say on Climate’ vote this year. These assessments will be published in the form of fact sheets on the French SIF website, on average three weeks before the general meetings of European companies proposing a ‘Say on Climate’.