Eastspring Investments: Responsible Investment Report 2022
44
Collaborative engagement
emissions intensity as well as 50% of its coal generation capacity by 2035. These targets are supported by MYR 20 billion annual capital expenditure commitment to fast track its transition. In addition, the company plans to align its targets with SBTi in three years’ time. We will continue our participation in the programme to accelerate the company’s climate actions. Carbon Disclosure Project (“CDP”) Eastspring has been a member of CDP since 2020 and is a participant of its Transition Champions Initiative and Non-Disclosure Programme. CDP Transition Champions Initiative Eastspring Singapore was selected to participate in CDP’s Climate Transition Champions Pilot, an engagement project that worked with target companies to define transition plans and improve disclosures. Eastspring Singapore worked with the teams of numerous multinational corporations to assess the resilience plans of their key Tier 1 suppliers (if listed and disclosed to CDP). As the only asset manager from the Asia region, Eastspring Singapore shared and collected insights on how climate transition strategies of emerging market companies compared with their developed economy counterparts.
of its membership of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance.
We believe that collaboration amongst investors is an effective way to address ESG issues and maximise investor influence. We are active members of collaborative organisations. From time-to-time, we may participate in collaborative engagement initiatives where we believe it to be in our clients’ best interests to do so. In 2023, we have consolidated all our memberships
Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (“AIGCC”) Eastspring has been a member of AIGCC since 2019 and is a participant of the Asian Utilities Engagement Programme (“AUEP”). AIGCC Asian Utilities Engagement Programme (“AUEP”) The investment teams from Eastspring Singapore and Malaysia are a part of the AIGCC AUEP, which looked to engaged with Asian utilities. The Asian electric utility sector is critical to the net zero transition as it contributes to approximately 23% of global carbon dioxide emissions. Seven Asian utility companies, including one in Malaysia, were selected by the AIGCC AUEP due to substantial greenhouse gas emissions, large coal-fired power capacity or due to their strategic role in driving the net zero emissions transition. Our team participated in collaborative engagements with a few of these identified companies. In particular, we have been engaging with a Malaysian utility company since July 2021 and have conducted three collaborative engagements with the company to address the utility’s renewable energy ambitions including its technology applications, overseas acquisitions, and plans to reduce its reliance on coal via its energy transition. A written request was shared with the company to specifically state its plan on how it will reach its net zero ambitions with short, medium, and longer-term targets. The company has made encouraging progress towards decarbonisation since our initial collaborative engagement in 2021. It announced its aspiration to achieve net zero by 2050 and has upgraded targets, with a commitment to reduce 35% of its
under our group entity, Eastspring Investments Group Private Limited.
Asia Corporate Governance Association (“ACGA”) Eastspring has been a member of ACGA since 2002 and is a participant of the Japan Working Group and China Working Group. ACGA Japan Working Group Eastspring Singapore’s Japan Equity Team is part of the Japan Working Group at the ACGA. The organisation is an independent non-profit dedicated to working with investors, companies, and regulators in the implementation of effective corporate governance practices throughout Asia. Together with four other global asset managers, Eastspring Singapore engaged a large multi-national bank through one of the Japan Working Group’s five sub-tracks, each of which targeted a separate Japanese blue-chip stock. The objective was to establish a long-term working relationship focused on improving corporate governance, capital management (i.e., reduction of cross- shareholdings; increasing return on equity), and sustainability disclosures. We engaged with the bank twice in 2022. The result was the bank’s commitment to unwind JPY 500 billion worth of cross-shareholdings (up from JPY 300 billion) during its current mid- term plan, to expand the scope of sector- specific public targets (i.e., beyond limiting financing for oil, gas, and power), and to strengthen its corporate disclosures as part
CDP Non-Disclosure Programme In addition, Eastspring Singapore
participated in CDP’s Non-Disclosure Campaign, an initiative that encourages companies to respond to CDP environmental data disclosure requests. As part of this programme, Eastspring Singapore wrote to approximately 2,000 portfolio companies that currently do not disclose basic carbon data. CDP has since published the findings of its first year of engagement.
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online