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Report

EOS 2022 Annual Review

EOS Insight
15 February 2023 |
EOS publishes 2022 Annual Review, with full engagement and voting highlights.
EOS 2022 Annual Review

Fast reading

  • Engaging on the rising cost of living and sexual harassment
  • Progress report on EOS’s Climate Action 100+ activities
  • Q&As with engagers on deforestation, methane emissions and digital rights
  • Case studies on LyondellBasell, Starbucks and Alibaba

2022 was dominated by food and fuel price inflation, creating a cost of living crisis as household budgets were put under severe strain. In recognition of these pressures, we integrated cost of living engagements into our wider stewardship programme. In EOS’s 2022 Annual Review of its engagement activities and voting recommendations, engager Justin Bazalgette explains how we challenged companies on their role during this difficult period.

The steep rise in fossil fuel and soft commodity prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed climate change engagement into new territory as coal enjoyed a rebound in demand. However, with record summer temperatures in Europe, devastating flooding across a third of Pakistan, and Hurricane Ian wreaking more than US$100bn of damage, the growing climate crisis was impossible to ignore. In 2022 we continued to play a leading role within Climate Action 100+, engaging with some of the world’s biggest emitters for a low carbon transition. Engager Owen Tutt reflects on the achievements to date, and the challenges that lie ahead.

Although the COP27 climate conference in Egypt failed to secure an agreement on fossil fuel phase out, the year ended on a more positive note. At the COP15 biodiversity conference in December, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted by almost 200 countries. As co-chair of the Finance for Biodiversity Foundation’s public policy and advocacy working group, we had called for an ambitious framework. In a Q&A, engagers Sonya Likhtman and Zoe de Spoelberch highlight our leading work on biodiversity, and the related themes of deforestation and sustainable food systems.

In addition, there is a comprehensive look back at the voting season, in which shareholder proposals on social issues came to the fore. We also highlight changes to our voting policies for the upcoming 2023 proxy season.

To find out more, read the EOS 2022 Annual Review.

EOS 2022 Annual Review

EOS 2022 Annual Review

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