Investor Momentum Builds With Majority Votes on Climate and Sustainability at Kinder Morgan
May 9, 2018 /3BL Media/ - Shareholders delivered historic majority votes at Kinder Morgan today, with global investors helping pass key climate and sustainability resolutions, Ceres said in a statement.
Kinder Morgan is one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America.
“Investors have significant concerns about how Kinder Morgan is - or is not - positioning itself for resilience consistent with clean energy transition,” said Sue Reid, vice president of climate and energy at Ceres. “Today’s majority votes send a strong message that investors expect the company to evaluate and disclose how its business and investment plans address risks and opportunities in a world committed to shifting from high-carbon to clean energy.”
One resolution to pass with a majority vote calls for two-degree scenario analysis to assess and disclose how the company is preparing its business for the transition to a low-carbon future. The vote comes after similar majority votes were passed at ExxonMobil, Occidental Petroleum and PPL Corporation during the 2017 proxy season.
The other resolution to receive a majority vote calls on the company to issue an annual Sustainability Report related to environmental, social and governance issues. The New York State Comptroller’s Office led the resolution on sustainability reporting. Lead filer Zevin Asset Management and co-filer Vermont State Treasurer Beth Pearce helped shepherd the 2DS resolution to success this year after many years of demanding corporate disclosure of climate-related risks.
“Shareholders issued an irrefutable call through today’s majority vote – that Kinder Morgan must outline its strategic response to how it is navigating the transition to a low-carbon economy,” said Pat Tomaino, Director of Socially Responsible Investing at Zevin Asset Management. “This historic vote proves that investors need rigorous reporting on the risks and opportunities of climate change. Zevin and our peer investors have engaged actively with Kinder Morgan and we look forward to working with their management and directors to implement the proposal.”
The proposal carries particular significance as momentum continues to build for the implementation of the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) that has been convened by the international Financial Stability Board to address systemic climate-related risks in financial markets.
“As an investor we believe that a company’s long-term risk management strategy must incorporate an assessment of climate change,” said Vermont State Treasurer Beth Pearce. “We are pleased that more and more shareholders recognize the impacts of climate change and are working with companies to implement strategies to constrain global temperature increases.”
Similar proposals at nearly a dozen oil and gas and electric power companies were withdrawn by shareholders due to company commitments made earlier this year.
View the full list of investors who publicly pre-declared support for this year’s 2-degree scenario analysis proposals here.
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Ceres is a sustainability nonprofit organization working with the most influential investors and companies to build leadership and drive solutions throughout the economy. For more information, visit www.ceres.org and follow @CeresNews.
