May 19, 2016 Contact: Joe DeAnda, Information Officer, newsroom@calpers.ca.gov
The California Public Employees' Retirement System's (CalPERS) climate risk reporting shareowner resolution, Resolution #16, overwhelmingly passed at the annual shareowner meeting of Glencore Plc. The resolution, which was supported by company management, requires the global commodity trading and mining company to report on environmental risks and opportunities associated with climate change.
Climate change is emerging as one of the most significant risks facing the Australian economy. Increasingly, shareholders, younger employees and investment managers are asking companies about their policies around climate change. Prudent, long-term planning is essential to mitigate its adverse impacts and exploit the opportunities presented by the new environment.
A proactive stance on governance of climate change is now seen as consistent with financial wealth interests. Boards must actively engage with how the issue of climate change impacts on their operations, risk and strategy. A passive approach to climate change governance may be inadequate to satisfy directors' duties of due care and diligence.
Author: Sarah Barker, Special Counsel, Minter Ellison Lawyers
Reprinted with the kind permission of the Governance Institute Australia
This report is the first comprehensive examination of how 100 of the world’s largest corporations are positioning themselves to compete in a carbon-constrained world. With the launch of the Kyoto Protocol1 in 2005, managing greenhouse gas emissions is now a routine part of doing business in key global trading markets. As the United States moves to join the international effort to combat global warming, climate governance practices will assume an increasingly central role in corporate and investment planning. Eventually, nothing short of an energy and technology revolution will be needed to stem rising greenhouse gas emissions across the globe.
Author: Douglas G. Cogan
