‘Aiming for A’ investor coalition still seeking supporters for Anglo American resolution – UKSIF

Group is just under 5% threshold for AGM motion at mining group

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The “Aiming for A” investor coalition, which secured successful climate change disclosure shareholder resolutions at oil giants BP, Shell and Statoil last year, is now calling for the same at major mining companies Anglo American, Glencore and Rio Tinto.

The ‘strategic resilience’ shareholder resolutions went through with virtually unanimous shareholder backing at the companies’ annual general meetings in 2015 – aided by support from the companies themselves.

Resolutions for Glencore and Rio Tinto now have the necessary 100 co-filers needed. However, the Anglo American resolution needs more support, according to the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association.

The resolutions seek deeper disclosure on the climate risk issues set out in the IIGCC/Global Investor Coalition on Climate Change’s Investor Expectations on Mining Companies: Digging deeper into carbon asset risk.

“Are you an Anglo American shareholder? Can you support a resolution calling for deeper disclosure on climate change risk and opportunity management?” UKSIF asks.Investors are being requested to contact Hamish Stewart at ClientEarth and Andrew Adams at CCLA for further details. Completed paperwork needs be with Stewart by Monday January 25.

“The co-filing group so far represents 4.55% of shares and it would be great to see more European asset owners and fund managers bringing it to an unprecedented >5% early in this post-COP21 period (5 % is an alternative to the 100 co-filers needed to co-file in the UK),” UKSIF says.

Co-filers already assembled are responsible for $7tn of assets and includes three of the world’s largest pension funds and three of Europe’s largest fund managers. From the UK, there are half a dozen co-filers across the UK’s ten largest pension funds and ten largest fund managers.

London-listed Anglo American recently announced a “radical portfolio restructuring” under which it would cut almost two-thirds of its workforce. It shares are trading 80% below their year-ago level; its largest shareholder South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation has reportedly warned the company about seeking more cash from investors.