CLIMATE STEWARDSHIP

The document argues that current climate stewardship is failing to align corporate strategies with the 1.5°C goal, citing the limited impact of initiatives like Climate Action 100+. It provides a detailed framework for credible engagement and voting policies, emphasizing the need for time-bound demands, systematic escalation strategies including divestment, and comprehensive reporting of both activity and outcome indicators. The guide also offers specific sectoral demands for high-emitting industries and guidance for corporate bondholders and asset owners.

• Current climate stewardship practices are largely ineffective in aligning companies with a 1.5°C trajectory. For example, 91% of focus companies in the Climate Action 100+ initiative are not aligning their capital expenditure (capex) plans with the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C objective.
• Effective engagement policies must move beyond transparency requests to focus on real-world emissions reductions. These policies should include time-bound general and sectoral demands, such as requiring coal facilities in OECD and European countries to close by 2030 and globally by 2040.
• A credible engagement strategy requires a systematic escalation process with cumulative sanctions. Total exclusion (divestment) must be explicitly listed as the final sanction within a short timeframe to ensure the policy is effective.
• Voting at Annual General Meetings (AGMs) is a critical tool that is currently underutilized. The guide recommends that investors vote against the re-appointment of board members if a company fails to disclose a comprehensive climate strategy or lacks a Sustainability committee.
• Engagement reporting must evolve from simply listing activities to reporting outcomes. Comprehensive reporting should include the number of demands that reached their deadline and a breakdown of whether those demands were met and which sanctions were applied.
• Corporate bondholders, while lacking shareholder rights, can influence companies by setting transition expectations (such as redlines on new fossil fuel projects) prior to issuance and using refinancing opportunities to apply sanctions.

APA

Masson, A. (2023). CLIMATE STEWARDSHIP. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Reclaim-Finance_Climate-stewardship_August-2023_VF.pdf

Chicago

Masson, Agathe. CLIMATE STEWARDSHIP. Reclaim Finance, 2023. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Reclaim-Finance_Climate-stewardship_August-2023_VF.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Masson |first1=Agathe |title=CLIMATE STEWARDSHIP |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=August 2023 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Reclaim-Finance_Climate-stewardship_August-2023_VF.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{masson2023climate, author = {Masson, Agathe}, title = {{CLIMATE STEWARDSHIP}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2023}, month = aug, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Reclaim-Finance_Climate-stewardship_August-2023_VF.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }