BPCE - 2018 Registration document
2 NON-FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE REPORT
A range of services to meet the challenges facing our customers
Mirova and its employees promote sustainable finance by participating in various financial center bodies, including Finance for Tomorrow, the European Commission’s Technical Expert Group, and UNEP-FI’s Positive Impact Finance initiative. Going above and beyond Because Groupe BPCE wants to go even further in terms of responsibility, Mirova has a 10-person responsible investment team that forms the backbone of the company and contributes to all activities. The team has four main jobs. The first is to teach investors about the complex and changing issues facing our society and the major transitions that lie ahead, which it does by performing extensive sector analyses or as dictated by current events, subsequently publishing its findings. The second is to aid in the investment process by providing sustainable development assessments of potential issuers in all asset classes. The third is to help institutional investors and asset managers exercise their voting rights and establish engagement initiatives, with the aim of making them active shareholders and working to improve practices. Finally, the responsible investment research team demonstrates the impact of Mirova’s strategies by providing clients with transparent and comprehensive ESG assessments of their investments. A strict voting policy In accordance with its responsible investor philosophy, Mirova bases its voting policy on a long-term vision of each company’s business. We believe that to deliver sustainable growth, a company must conduct its activities with the long-term interests of its stakeholders in mind. Its growth should not be achieved to the detriment of society or the environment. The value a company creates must be fairly distributed among the stakeholders contributing to its development: investors, company directors, employees and the local authorities that provide infrastructure and keep the region attractive. As a result, Mirova’s voting policy encourages the development of a sustainable shareholder structure, establishment of governance bodies that represent all stakeholders fairly and resolutely CSR considerations, a dividend policy that fosters sustainable growth and is fair for all stakeholders, and high-quality financial and ESG disclosures with audited reports that factor in sustainable development issues. These principles form the engagement priorities that Mirova applies in its dialog with issuers. In 2018, Mirova voted at 203 Shareholder Meetings and on a total of 3,186 resolutions. It voted against 20% of the resolutions submitted by management and abstained in 10% of cases. It supported 42 shareholder resolutions (69% of resolutions submitted). Mirova votes on 100% of its holdings, except on markets that suspend trading (2) , where it applies a ratio of 80%.
cases. It supported 320 shareholder resolutions (62% of resolutions submitted). Ostrum AM votes on 100% of its holdings, except on markets that suspend trading (1) , where it applies a ratio of 80%. Mirova: a subsidiary specializing in responsible investment Mirova is the asset management affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers specializing in sustainable investment. Through its conviction strategies, Mirova’s goal is to combine long-term value creation with sustainable development. Mirova manages € 10 billion spanning five asset classes: listed equities, fixed income, infrastructure financing, natural capital, and solidarity-based investment. Prevention of climate change is a major issue, one that is largely reflected in Mirova’s strategies. The company provides individual and professional clients alike with strategies that invest their funds in projects offering solutions to climate change problems. This ambition is met through its various offers: development of environment-driven equity strategies, low carbon strategies, investment in renewable energy infrastructure projects in Europe, and support for the development of green bonds. Mirova’s fourth renewable energy infrastructure fund, Mirova-Eurofideme 4, closed its first deal in 2018, giving institutional investors the opportunity to invest in energy transition infrastructures. The fund finances the construction of new renewable energy production and storage capacity in Europe, as well as e-mobility development projects. Mirova has developed carbon footprint measurement tools, employed in particular to monitor the carbon impact of its strategies. In addition, it systematically incorporates climate-related issues in its engagement policy and supports transparency initiatives such as certifications. In doing so, Mirova is able to carefully manage the carbon footprint of its investment strategies, and as a result reduced the footprint of its consolidated equity portfolio from 3.5°C in 2015 to 1.7°C in May 2018. It therefore observes the 2°C target set by the international community in all asset classes. In 2017, Mirova created a new range of products specializing in biodiversity conservation and natural capital, and also began developing innovative investment solutions aimed at mitigating and adapting to climate change while protecting local regions, biodiversity, soil and marine resources – the Althelia fund range. Althelia Sustainable Ocean Fund, a new investment fund dedicated to financing projects and innovative companies in the marine and coastal sector, closed its first deal in autumn 2018. Social and governance criteria are also central to Mirova’s investor approach. The company offers pro-employment equity strategies, invests in the social bond market and includes social and governance criteria in the investment filters applied to all asset classes.
Markets that suspend trading prevent the sale of shares for several days before or after the Annual General Shareholders’ Meeting (Switzerland, Norway and sometimes Germany). (1) Markets that suspend trading prevent the sale of shares for several days before or after the Annual General Meeting. This applies in Switzerland and Norway and to some German shares. (2)
58
Registration document 2018
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker