The UN Pension Fund has just published its first voting and engagement reports. As a shareholder in many companies across the world, the Fund is committed to promoting long-term sustainable business practices through engagement and proxy voting, which are considered key pillars of sustainable investing and investment stewardship.
“Good governance and sustainability are a must for companies from the perspective of the Fund, as a long-term investor,” said Mr. Toru Shindo, Chief Investment Officer at the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF).
By engaging with companies and exercising its voting rights as a shareholder, the Fund aims to promote good governance, social responsibility, and environmental sustainability that are important to its participants and beneficiaries. Engagement and voting are used to mitigate against environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks to our portfolio, while also generating sustainable long-term returns.
The UN Pension Fund targeted 12 ESG themes through engagement and proxy voting in 2022, including climate change, human rights, board diversity and executive compensation, among others.
Overall, the Fund engaged with a total of 581 companies. The Fund also uses engagement as a tool to encourage corporate progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals, as can be seen on the report.
The Fund also voted at a total of 1,032 meetings during the year, mainly on governance topics but also on environmental and social issues. A robust system of corporate governance within investee companies provides strong signals of sustainable and long-term growth.
The engagement and proxy voting reports provide a detailed view of our stewardship activities and how, with the help of services providers, we use our voice as shareholder to encourage best ESG practice.
“Looking forward, the Fund is going to publish these reports annually, in an effort to increase transparency and reporting with its stakeholders,” Mr. Shindo added.
The 2022 Voting and Engagement Reports can be found below.
