ARTICLE · 16 MARCH 2020

Boards beware: shareholder activists are tackling climate change

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Shareholders are no longer blindly investing and are seeking more influence over governance and strategic decisions.

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The days of passive investments are long gone and directors need to be ready. The incidence of shareholder activism in Australia doubled over 2019. The lesson to be learnt? Shareholders are no longer blindly investing and are seeking more influence over governance and strategic decisions.

Off the back of bush fires and floods, it's no wonder shareholder-requisitioned resolutions are being used by Australian shareholders to fight climate change. Examples of companies that have been targeted include AGL, Westpac and BHP. The requisitions come in twos:

a proposal to amend the company constitution to permit advisory resolutions – that is, a resolution that would enable shareholders to express an opinion or request information about the management of the company; and

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