RPIA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2021
OVERVIEW FIRM
RPIA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2021
OVERVIEW FIRM
40
41
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
Progress and Monitoring continued...
Engagement Case Study 2: Utilities
The company has exhibited a high level of awareness around community engagement with the Indigenous groups that are most impacted by their physical footprint. We supported the issuer’s efforts and discussed possibly expanding their measurements and targets to include more information on how well Indigenous people are represented within the company. We will monitor several frameworks to be implemented by the issuer in 2022 that focus on equity and representation for both communities and Indigenous people the issuer employs. Given the company’s newly set carbon reduction targets, RPIA recommended the company to issue a sustainability-linked bond (SLB) to align funding with their ESG goals. Given the company’s operating profile, we recommended an SLB structure that includes an emissions reduction KPI linked to its 2030 mid-term reduction target and an Indigenous community engagement KPI tied to increasing Indigenous peoples within their workforce or among manager-level or higher employees.
Background This case study focuses on meeting with an electric utility issuer to discuss environmental and social themes. The issuer had an attractive Environmental profile but wanted to increase disclosure around Social metrics. Engagement Focus Conversations focused on the type of social disclosures that would be helpful to investors in assessing the company’s social risks and opportunities. We spent some time reviewing the issuer’s operations and environmental impact. Social discussions focused on the types of gen- der and ethnic diversity metrics that we would like to see from their portfolio companies. We discussed the level of detail that goes into our own Workplace Equality framework and saw Indigenous community partnership and employment as another area of opportunity. Progress and Monitoring RPIA considered the company a leader amongst other utility peers in carbon reduction and energy efficiency. The issuer’s power generation has a low carbon profile, and the company is continuing to improve the efficiency of its assets. We believe they are well positioned for decarbonizing trends. The company also exhibited a high interest in increasing its social disclosures. The company’s existing disclosures were average for the peer group, and its subsequent sustainability report included many of the metrics that form part of RPIA’s Workplace Equality framework. In addition, the company continued to increase Indigenous community engagement and support.
10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
We will continue to monitor the issuer’s progress in 2022 to ensure (a) continued execution on asset maintenance and upgrades and (b) improving year-over- year metrics such as the representation of women in leadership, Indigenous community partnership, and the addition of new diversity disclosures.
0% 5%
Women
Indigenous
Visible Minorities
Disability
Executive Management
Workforce
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