Shareholders for Change - European network for shareholder engagement

Who we are

We are a European network for shareholder engagement

The Shareholders for Change network (SFC) is a group of institutional investors involved in active engagement with corporations to enhance a sustainable development as an essential element of their role as bond – and shareholders.

In addition SFC will engage with institutions, proxy advisors, associations and other public or private organisations to support the development of sustainable financial markets and a global economy aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Framework.

Issues we care about

WORKERS AND HUMAN RIGHTS THROUGHOUT COMPANIES' SUPPLY CHAINS

It is crucial for our network to foster improvement of working conditions in producing countries. We shall work to prevent and interrupt any form of human rights abuses, including modern slavery and local population displacement.

GLOBAL HEALTH AND NUTRITION

As one of the emerging challenges of our time, this topic strikingly demonstrates the intersectionality of ESG issues, linking together problems of food chain paradigms and their environmental sustainability, sustainable agriculture and human rights as well as equal access to safe drinking water, a healthy diet, an affordable health system, obesity prevention and to fair marketing practices.

PRODUCTION AND TRADING OF WEAPONS SYSTEMS

Arms production and trading are today as linked with finance and banking as ever: they form a relevant part of global trading and economics to the extent that we can say that warfare, forced migrations and the displacement of people are a matter of economic interests and finance. That is why our network will focus on this sector while critically engaging corporations involved in this field of activity.

TAX AVOIDANCE AND INTERNATIONAL CORRUPTION

The network is committed to fight international corruption and agrees on focusing on the promotion of more transparency in relation to the presence of companies' subsidiaries in tax havens or countries that facilitate the creation of shell companies. The network will also engage financial institutions that foster aggressive tax avoidance possibilities with their products and services. Tax transparency through the promotion of country-by-country reporting by multinational companies will also be one of the priorities of the network’s shareholding agenda.

CLIMATE CHANGE

The results of the COP21 in Paris are currently under threat, both because of the negative attitude of the new American leadership and because of the general insufficiency of activity by other key world leaders. Nevertheless, a more open attitude to the need for strong and continuous action aimed to fight climate change is arising in other important countries, such as China, Canada, France, etc. Also, and most significantly, action is urged by the public opinion. Therefore, the network agrees on focusing - particularly during the engagement with companies involved in electricity production, transportation or in the coal and oil sectors – on the issues of climate change and energy transition as one of the most urgent and fundamental fields of its activity.

What do we do

interventions at companies’ AGMs

SfC organises collaborative participation in European companies’ Annual General Meetings (AGMs) as well as coordinated voting or submission of questions to their boards and managements.

Our main issues:

workers’ rights and human rights
fiscal practices and tax justice
CO2 emissions and climate change

dialogue

We coordinate dialogue with companies’ management by organising meetings and preparing letters and case studies. We promote dialogue and cooperation between organisation and movements of civil society and Sfc, with a view to improving the impact of the active and critical engagement activities.

Critical oversight and scrutiny

SfC promotes dialogue and cooperation between organisations and stakeholders of the financial markets, such as ethical rating agencies, regulators, etc. in providing critical oversight and scrutiny when challenging controversial corporate practices and to improve aspects of sustainable financial market.