Fidelity to Vote Against Climate, Diversity Laggards Next Year
- The firm unveiled new policies for environment and equality
- The climate crisis ‘cannot be ignored,’ the money manager says
Fidelity International warned companies it invests in that if they don’t take sufficient action to combat climate change the asset manager will vote against management at shareholder meetings beginning next year.
The $787.1 billion investment firm announced new policies on climate change and gender diversity Monday that include requirements for portfolio companies to manage their environmental impact, reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions and provide specific disclosures about their emissions. To limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, every area of the global economy “will need to go through a radical transformation” and companies that fall short of Fidelity’s minimum expectations will be penalized by votes against their executives, according to a statement.