AllianzGI to vote for resolutions related to biodiversity at PepsiCo and Home Depot AGMs
24.04.2023 | Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI), one of the world’s leading active investment managers, has announced today that it intends to cast its proxy vote for Resolution 9 Report on Risks Related to Biodiversity and Nature Loss at the upcoming annual general meeting of the shareholders of PepsiCo on 1 May as well as for Resolution 8 Biodiversity Impact and Dependence Assessment at the upcoming annual general meeting of the shareholders of Home Depot on 16 May. Both shareholder resolutions request assessment of biodiversity dependency and impact.
Matt Christensen, Global Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing at AllianzGI, commented: „ Biodiversity has been one of our focus themes for engagement since 2022. Both PepsiCo and Home Depot acknowledge that biodiversity loss is a relevant issue for their business activities and report on ongoing efforts. However, with these votes we wish to indicate that we expect to see further progress with the companies’ biodiversity impact and dependency assessments. It is an important next step for their strategy advancement and will hopefully include more ambitious targets to meaningfully address biodiversity loss and drive positive change. We consider this is in our interest as shareholders to improve our ability to assess associated risks.”
AllianzGI believes that biodiversity-related risks should be included in regular risk assessments and risk management when financially material to the company. This expectation is now included in our Global Corporate Governance Guidelines. Related to this, AllianzGI expects companies to conduct a biodiversity assessment, adopt appropriate risk management strategies and report on progress regularly, whether as a standalone report or within their existing set of disclosures. Albeit constituents of different sectors, both companies have reasons to treat biodiversity as a material issue relevant to their core business, whether agriculture and packaging in the case of PepsiCo or material sourcing, mainly wood, and gardening for Home Depot. Given their high dependency and impact on biodiversity, they not only face high risks from biodiversity loss but could also capture opportunities from managing biodiversity.
With Resolution 9 Report on Risks Related to Biodiversity and Nature Loss, shareholders request that PepsiCo complete a material biodiversity dependency and impact assessment and issue a corresponding public report to identify the extent to which the company’s supply chain and operations are vulnerable to risks associated with biodiversity loss.
On Resolution 8 Biodiversity Impact and Dependence Assessment, shareholders request that Home Depot conduct and disclose a biodiversity impact and dependency assessment, including the full value chain and use of sold products, to inform its strategy to prevent negative impacts on biodiversity.
Earlier this year, AllianzGI published its annual analysis of how it voted at AGMs in 2023 around the globe, based on its participation in 9,137 (2022: 10,205) shareholder meetings and voting on close to 100,000 (95,512) shareholder and management proposals. AllianzGI voted against, withheld or abstained from at least one agenda item at 71% (2022: 69%) of all meetings globally. It opposed 18% of capital-related proposals, 24% of director elections and 41% of remuneration-related proposals globally reflecting high expectations on governance standards.
For more information on AllianzGI’s approach to active stewardship, please visit: https://www.allianzgi.com/en/sustainability/sustainable-investing
About Allianz Global Investors:
Allianz Global Investors is a leading active asset manager with over 600 investment professionals in over 20 offices worldwide and managing EUR 533 billion in assets. We invest for the long term and seek to generate value for clients every step of the way. We do this by being active – in how we partner with clients and anticipate their changing needs, and build solutions based on capabilities across public and private markets. Our focus on protecting and enhancing our clients’ assets leads naturally to a commitment to sustainability to drive positive change. Our goal is to elevate the investment experience for clients, whatever their location or objectives.
Data as at 31 December 2023. Total assets under management are assets or securities portfolios, valued at current market value, for which Allianz Global Investors companies are responsible vis-á-vis clients for providing discretionary investment management decisions and portfolio management, either directly or via a sub-advisor (these include Allianz Global Investors assets which are now sub-advised by Voya IM since 25 July 2022). This excludes assets for which Allianz Global Investors companies are primarily responsible for administrative services only. Assets under management are managed on behalf of third parties as well as on behalf of the Allianz Group.