Webinar Date and Time: Wednesday, January 18, 2023, 18:00-19:30
Co-hosted by Proxy Watcher and Insightia
Participants: Over 100 people in total, including institutional investors, sustainability officers of listed companies, and members of the press.
(Webinar video, En)
(Webinar video, Jp)
Summary: In the 2022 Proxy season, Japanese companies such as Mitsubishi Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Tokyo Electric Power HD, Chubu Electric Power, and J-Power faced shareholder proposals related to climate change. In recent years, a variety of domestic and international shareholders have become interested in effective engagement (shareholder outreach) to help Japanese companies decarbonize. And the methods are not limited to shareholder proposals.
Nevertheless, this trend has accelerated since the environmental NGO Kiko Network submitted a shareholder proposal to Mizuho Financial Group during the 2020 shareholder meeting season. In recent years, Japanese general trading companies, banks, and electric power companies have faced shareholder proposals. Shareholders have demanded that these companies disclose detailed information on climate change, claiming that their business plans and policies are inconsistent with their commitment to net zero by 2050.
Although there has not yet been a case of a shareholder proposal on climate change issues being passed in Japan, many companies faced with these shareholder proposals have updated their climate change policies and changed their plans for investments and loans in order to align them with the Paris Agreement.
As one example, it is worth mentioning that Sumitomo Corporation, which had been lobbied by its shareholders, announced in February 2022 that it would not participate in the expansion project of the Matabali coal-fired power plant in Bangladesh. In this webinar, the panelists delved deeply into the outcomes of these shareholder proposals and discussed possible themes for encouraging Japanese companies to realize a Japanese corporate society consistent with the Paris Agreement.
Panelists & Themes
– Sakon Kuramoto, Attorney-at-Law, Japan, New York, U.S.A. The Role of ESG Shareholders in Japan
– Nick Spooner (Climate Change Engagement Specialist, Robeco) Shareholder proposals and institutional investors’ decision making
– Haonan Wu, Assistant Manager, Federated Hermes – International On increasing shareholder value through corporate dialogue with shareholders
– Yasuko Suzuki, Program Coordinator, Kiko Network Voting Results of Shareholder Proposals on Climate Change Submitted in 2022
– Megu Fukuzawa (Market Force, Japan Energy Finance Campaigner) Shareholder Proposals for Japanese General Trading Companies
– Eri Watanabe, Senior Finance Campaigner, 350.org Japan
Challenges for megabanks’ climate change policies
About the Organizers
■Proxy Watcher
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Proxy_watcher
HP: https://proxywatcher.jp/
■Insightia
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/insi…
Twitter: https://twitter.com/insightialtd
Proxy Insight Twitter: https://twitter.com/ProxyInsight
Insightia HP: https://www.insightia.com/
(Disclaimer)
This is not investment advice. This webinar communication, or any oral communication made in connection with the shared materials, is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be and should not be construed as investment advice or a recommendation to make an investment decision based on an analysis of the value of any security under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law. It is not intended to be, and should not be construed as, investment advice or a recommendation to make an investment decision based on an analysis of the value of securities.
Not a Joint Voting Right
Neither this webinar communication nor any oral communication made in connection with the shared materials is intended to constitute an agreement or consent to, or an application for or acceptance of, the joint exercise of voting or other shareholder rights within the meaning of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law or the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law. It is not and should not be construed as such. For the avoidance of doubt, each shareholder exercises its voting rights and other shareholder rights independently based on its own judgment, and no liability is created by a breach of consultation with the other party, even if the result of the exercise of voting rights or other shareholder rights differs from that discussed between the two shareholders.
No Solicitation of Proxy Votes
Neither this webinar communication nor any oral communication made in connection with the shared materials is intended to be, and should not be construed as, a solicitation of proxies for voting rights within the meaning of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act or the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act. The shareholder who is the speaker is not soliciting proxy votes at the meeting and is not accepting any proxy vote or other shareholder right from any other shareholder.
