La Caisse publishes its first Stewardship Investing Report
To provide a comprehensive and systematic overview of its commitments regarding environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, la Caisse today published its first annual Stewardship Investing Report. This report provides an overview of la Caisse’s strategic directions for stewardship investing and details the concrete measures it has taken on several key issues, including climate change, corporate governance, women in business and international taxation.
“We’ve been integrating ESG factors into our investment processes for many years now. And 2017 has been an important year for la Caisse in terms of stewardship investing. We adopted an investment strategy to address climate change that sets out ambitious and measurable objectives and defines a timeline and framework. Put another way, from now on, the climate will factor into each investment decision and our portfolio will evolve accordingly. Our approach is clear: contribute constructively to the fundamental transition the world is facing,” stated Michael Sabia, President and Chief Executive Officer of la Caisse.
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“We also published a detailed statement on international taxation and supported initiatives on greater transparency and increasing the number of women in business. These and many other initiatives are included in this first Stewardship Investing Report. It sets out a systematic approach to several important issues. An approach that forges the sustainable foundations our performance is built on,” added Mr. Sabia.
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Following are some highlights from the 2017 Stewardship Investing Report:
- Climate change: A summary of la Caisse’s climate change strategy, adopted in October 2017, including commitments to reduce the carbon intensity of its portfolio (by 25% by 2025) and increase its green investments (by 50% by 2020). The report also presents the carbon intensity of la Caisse’s portfolio for 2017, the breakdown of its emissions by sector and their weight, in terms of value, in the portfolio. Where possible, la Caisse also decided to implement, starting in 2017, the final recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), published in June 2017.
- Women in business: An overview of numerous programs and initiatives to increase the number of women in finance and in business that la Caisse supports. In 2017, la Caisse joined the 30% Club, which calls upon companies to make appointments to achieve at minimum of 30% women on their Boards of Directors.
- Corporate governance: A summary of la Caisse’s votes on governance matters, including the composition of Boards of Directors and executive compensation.
- International taxation: An outline of the tax system applicable to la Caisse in Canada and in certain countries, as well as detailed explanations of the types of investments la Caisse may have in low-tax jurisdictions. The report also describes la Caisse’s internal review policies and procedures for taxation matters and reiterates its support for various international initiatives to eliminate abusive tax practices.
- Integration of ESG factors into the investment process: A description of the process for ESG analysis and monitoring for la Caisse’s investments. The report also provides statistics on la Caisse’s shareholder votes on various topics and its engagement with companies in the portfolio.
The 2017 Stewardship Investing Report also includes a summary of la Caisse’s philanthropic activities and an overview of projects planned for 2018. It also includes la Caisse’s 2017 Sustainable Development report, which details the efforts undertaken during the year with regard to its action plan.
Consult our 2017 Stewardship Investing Report
ABOUT CAISSE DE DÉPÔT ET PLACEMENT DU QUÉBEC
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) is a long-term institutional investor that manages funds primarily for public and parapublic pension and insurance plans. As at December 31, 2017, it held CAD 298.5 billion in net assets. As one of Canada’s leading institutional fund managers, CDPQ invests globally in major financial markets, private equity, infrastructure, real estate and private debt. For more information, visit cdpq.com/en, follow us on Twitter @LaCDPQ or consult our Facebook or LinkedIn pages.
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