BlackRock Inc, the world’s biggest money manager, made headlines early this year when it pledged to prioritize climate change in its investments and pare down its coal holdings.
However, environmentalists say the company has failed to make good on this promise in a series of shareholder proposals at annual meetings this year.
Led by influential Wall Street player Larry Fink and overseeing about US$7.3 trillion in assets, BlackRock in January vowed to take action to address climate change and sustainable development, raising the hopes of environmentalists.
“We applauded BlackRock for its statement at the beginning of this year ... and we acknowledge that they have taken some steps in that direction,” said Ben Cushing, who leads the Sierra Club’s financial advocacy campaign. “But clearly it has not translated into fast-enough, or bold-enough action.”
Part of the skepticism comes from BlackRock’s response to shareholder proposals to require companies to take action on the environment.
SHAREHOLDER CALLS
BlackRock supported only 13 percent of the green-oriented resolutions this year, down from 20 percent last year, said Proxy Insight, which tracks global shareholder voting.
A report last month from non-governmental organization Majority Action said the New York financial giant backed only three of 36 resolutions on climate change in proxy votes of S&P 500 companies.
Although BlackRock signed on to Climate Action 100+, a global investor engagement initiative, it supported just two of 12 resolutions presented by the coalition.
BlackRock holds shares in numerous large companies, including Apple Inc, Facebook Inc and Exxon Mobil Corp, as well as ConocoPhillips and Nike Inc.
Cushing said BlackRock could make a big difference if its actions match its rhetoric.
“BlackRock is a huge contributor to the climate crisis through its financing of fossil fuels, deforestation and other climate damaging industries,” he said.
“They are one of the world’s largest shareholders in almost every publicly traded company,” Cushing said. “That gives BlackRock tremendous power and leverage to steer the behavior of corporations in the US and around the world.”
The company voted against proposals to require Chevron Corp to develop a report on the risks from petrochemical plants and to make Delta Air Lines Inc evaluate how its lobbying strategy conforms with the Paris Climate Accord, saying the firms already had taken steps to address the issue.
COMPANY’S DEFENSE
BlackRock has defended its record, saying it had taken other steps, such as voting against board nominees who are not committed to environmental issues and prodding action in meetings with company management.
“It’s worth noting that not all shareholder proposals are created equal,” it said. “Blindly supporting proposals is not a responsible approach to stewardship.”
Giulia Christianson, head of sustainable investment at the World Resources Institute, said other big investors are stepping up on the environment.
According to the report from Majority Action, investment heavyweight Pacific Investment Management Co voted in favor of all the resolutions considered essential for the environment.
The same report credited French company Amundi SA with a 78 percent record and JPMorgan Chase & Co with a 53 percent record.
BlackRock backed only 8 percent of the resolutions.
“The voting record that we’ve seen from BlackRock this year is discouraging,” Christianson said, noting an apparent “disconnect” between BlackRock’s actions and earlier statements that implied it viewed promoting sustainability as part of its fiduciary duty.
Christianson said that it makes good business sense: environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) investments have gained more legitimacy in recent years and many green-oriented companies have outperformed amid the tumult of COVID-19
“We’re seeing ESG funds make it through the current stress test of market volatility pretty well and in many cases better than their traditional index counterparts,” she said.
UNPRECEDENTED PACE: Micron Technology has announced plans to expand manufacturing capabilities with the acquisition of a new chip plant in Miaoli Micron Technology Inc unveiled a newly acquired chip plant in Miaoli County yesterday, as the company expands capacity to meet growing demand for advanced DRAM chips, including high-bandwidth memory chips amid the artificial intelligence boom. The plant in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼), which Micron acquired from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion, is expected to make a sizeable capacity contribution to the company from fiscal 2028, the company said in a statement. It would be an extended production site of Micron’s large-scale manufacturing hub in Taichung, the company said. As the global semiconductor industry is racing to reach US$1 trillion
ABOVE LEGAL REQUIREMENT: The Ministry of Economic Affairs is prepared if LNG supply is disrupted, with more than the legal requirement of 11 days of inventory Taiwan has largely secured liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies through May and arranged about half of June’s supply, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday. Since the Middle East conflict began on Feb. 28, Taiwan’s LNG inventories have remained more than 12 days, exceeding the legal requirement of 11 days, indicating no major supply concerns for domestic gas and electricity, Kung said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. The ministry aims to increase the figure to 14 days by the end of next year, he said. While one or two LNG or crude oil shipments for May
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
RSS