Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, Oct. 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) today published its 2023-2024 Stewardship Report, demonstrating continued leadership in driving positive environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and generating long-term sustainable value through global policy advocacy, proxy voting, and engagement.
“BCI’s inaugural stewardship report builds on more than two decades of responsible investing,” says Gordon J. Fyfe, BCI’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer. “Active ownership is critical to delivering the returns our clients depend on, both through the management of risks associated with responsible investing and by capturing sustainability-related opportunities.”
This inaugural report furthers BCI’s annual ESG and climate-related disclosures, which are moving towards alignment with the globally recognized IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, and provides an in-depth look at how BCI leverages its influence as one of Canada’s largest asset managers to drive continuous improvement with our portfolio companies.
“The challenges we face require action from all parties. As a global investor, we play a role in creating a resilient and productive investment environment for generations,” says Jennifer Coulson, BCI’s Senior Managing Director & Global Head of ESG. “While there is significant work ahead, the progress we are seeing from companies and policymakers alike reinforces our belief that multifaceted engagement can drive real-world outcomes.”
Highlights
- Engaging beyond equities: BCI directly engaged 134 public and private portfolio companies, achieving our objectives or observing positive momentum in 58 per cent of cases, and supported collaborative engagements targeting over 2,000 additional public companies. Within fixed income, a less targeted asset class, BCI’s engagement with sustainable and conventional bond issuers supported the structuring of instruments more aligned with ESG best practices.
- Pursuing value creation: BCI engaged with 31 portfolio companies and partners in our private equity and infrastructure & renewables resources programs, leveraging governance rights like board representation to support alignment on ESG and implement sustainability initiatives that will lead to stronger performance over time, generating value that can be realized at exit.
- Voting on climate disclosure: BCI voted at 2,445 public company meetings in 52 countries during the most recent proxy season. We voted against over 100 directors for insufficient climate disclosure and supported 67 per cent of climate-related shareholder proposals, including those calling for additional emissions data from companies in high-emitting sectors and the incorporation of climate risk assessments into audited financial statements at oil and gas companies.
- Driving systemic change: BCI contributed to 26 ESG-related policy consultations, roundtables, and joint statements globally to advance priorities like ESG disclosure and methane regulation. We actively participated in the development of the International Sustainability Standards Board’s global disclosure baseline, released last year, and continue to advocate for its widespread adoption, especially in Canada.
BCI’s annual ESG and climate-related disclosures are published in our 2023-2024 Corporate Annual Report.
Read the 2023-2024 Stewardship Report on BCI.ca.
ABOUT BCI
British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) is amongst the largest institutional investors in Canada, with C$250.4 billion in gross assets under management as of March 31, 2024. Based in Victoria, British Columbia, with offices in Vancouver, New York, and London, U.K., BCI manages a portfolio of diversified public and private market investments on behalf of its 29 British Columbia public sector clients.
With a global outlook, BCI integrates ESG factors into investment decisions and activities that convert savings into productive capital to meet clients’ risk and return requirements over time. Founded in 1999, BCI is a statutory corporation created by the Public Sector Pension Plans Act. For more information, visit BCI.ca or LinkedIn.
