Berlin, April 10 (BUS): Volkswagen has rejected a shareholder proposal to explain how lobbying activities align with its climate goals — something that two of the auto industry’s main rivals have promised, one investor said.
A report submitted by a group of seven shareholders said that while Volkswagen discloses its membership in its trade union, it should go further and say whether the association’s goals are consistent with its emissions reduction goals, Reuters reported.
And our colleagues in the auto industry, Mercedes-Benz and BMW, have already committed to doing so.
“The board is failing to provide transparent oversight of the company’s climate stress,” said Charlotte Seidestrand, a sustainability strategist at Swedish pension scheme AP7, one of the contributors to the proposal.
Her comments were included in a statement from the Church of England pension group, which also supported the filing.
The statement said Volkswagen rejected the proposal on the grounds that the issue was deemed to be outside the purview of the general meeting.
Volkswagen could not be reached for comment.
Other supporters of the proposal include Schroders, Britain’s largest listed asset manager and a group of Swedish pension funds.
Pressure from investors on climate-related issues is growing rapidly.
Last week, 34 investors who manage more than $7 trillion in assets warned 17 of Europe’s largest companies, including Volkswagen, that they might challenge board members over their calculations of climate risk.