Page 20 | RPIA SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2024
ESG INTEGRATION
OVERVIEW
SUSTAINABILITY
CULTURE & VALUES
Collective Engagement Example
Highlights
• Bill C-59: among its numerous provisions, Bill C-59 aims to tackle greenwashing through the Competition Act. This new provision places greater onus on advertisers and introduced significant monetary penalties for violations, which sent ripples of uncertainty and backpedaling in the industry. • Sustainability Commitments: the issuer assured that all ESG goals have been unchanged, and they will continue to publish annual ESG reports. However, they will not be making a net zero commitment due to uncertainties and risks surrounding Bill C-59. Note that since the engagement, the issuer had restored some of its sustainability and climate disclosures on their website, alongside a disclaimer. • Decarbonization: the issuer highlighted its extensive internal climate scenario analysis and modelling which informs its emission reduction plan, which they have no plans of disclosing externally. The issuer reaffirmed that its view of emission reduction has not changed and that they will continue to update this data in their annual ESG reports. As previously mentioned, the issuer will not make public commitments on emission reduction. Outcome • Considering the lack of publicly disclosed information, this engagement provided valuable clarity on how the issuer remains steadfast in its sustainability goals and decarbonization efforts. We felt encouraged by the company’s ESG efforts; it is a credit we fundamentally like, and we believe our engagement can steer the company in the right direction. As a result, we did not alter our portfolio positioning following the engagement.
Issuer engagement is an integral part of RPIA’s ESG integration approach. On top of conducting regular engagement calls with issuers, RPIA also participates in collective engagements with industry organizations such as the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance (CCGG) and Climate Engagement Canada (CEC). RPIA’s participation in both organizations can be summarized as such: • CCGG: RPIA participates in CCGG committee meetings and provide inputs to engagement dialogues with Canadian companies and regulators with the goal of promoting good governance practices. • CEC: RPIA participates in engagements with companies identified in the CEC Focus List, which consists of top emitters on the TSX. See below for an example of a 2024 CEC engagement that RPIA participated in.
Sector: Energy Geography: Canada Discussion Topic: Environment & Governance Canadian Energy Infrastructure Company
Engagement Rationale
• This issuer was included in CEC’s 2024 Focus List because it was identified as one of the top emitters in the TSX and/or with a significant opportunity to contribute to the transition to a low-carbon future. This issuer had also removed some of their environmental and climate disclosures from their website after the Royal Assent of Bill C-59 in June 2024. • Given that RPIA holds this issuer across several mandates and are familiar with their operations, we participated in the CEC engagement to better understand its sustainability commitments and decarbonization plans.
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