Just over one year on from the launch of Climate Action 100+ at the One Planet Summit in Paris, what have investors achieved?

The Siam Cement Public Company Limited (SCG) is a diversified industrial company in Thailand. The company's operations include cement manufacturing; petrochemicals manufacturing; paper and packaging manufacturing; building product manufacturing; and distribution.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, also known as Sinopec, is one of the major oil and gas companies in China. The company is a majority-owned subsidiary of the state-owned Sinopec Group. Its operations include the exploration, production, storage and transportation of petroleum and natural gas.

Ahead of the Alibaba (“NYSE: BABA”) AGM on Wednesday 31 October 2018, Dr Christine Chow, Director of Hermes EOS, highlights the issues that Hermes EOS are raising with the Board of Directors and outlines voting recommendations to clients.

Society’s addiction to plastics is pushing the environment to the limit. Despite the recent media focus on plastic as an environmental issue, its popularity as a raw material continues to rise – experts estimate production will increase by a further 40% over the next decade. However, in a recent engagement insight, Full cycle: investing for a circular economy, Dr. Christine Chow, Director, and Emma Berntman, Engagement, Hermes EOS, explain that behind the demonisation of plastic itself lies the need for a paradigm shift in the way we produce and consume goods – one in which we can participate as investors as well as consumers. Plastic planet There are reasons for the ongoing ubiquity of plastic: it is cheap, lightweight and waterproof. Plastic has become emblematic of the problems inherent in the traditional consumption-led economic model. Its durability and visibility mean we are now literally seeing it everywhere: of the 8.3bn metric tonnes of plastic ever produced, an estimated 4.9bn tonnes have been discarded rather than incinerated or recycled. While it is possible to reduce the environmental impact of plastics, such as the Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) widely used in drinks bottles, through more effective and comprehensive recycling, the way plastic is used in other products makes recycling almost impossible. This is because they were never designed to be recycled: they remain part of an economic model in which products are produced, used and thrown away.

Ahead of the Hon Hai Precision Industry (“Foxconn Technology”) AGM on Friday 22 June, Dr. Christine Chow, Director of Hermes EOS, highlights the issues that she will be raising with the Founder and Chair, Mr Terry Gou, and his senior team. Hermes EOS has been engaging with Hon Hai since 2010 and we have been encouraged to see the company make progress on the areas of human capital management, transparency and communications and improved sustainability reporting. All of which are instrumental in creating value for long-term shareholders. However, Hon Hai is now at a critical stage of transformation as it evolves from a traditional hardware manufacturing firm to a company that provides smart platforms and solutions. We are now asking the company to build on the progress and fully address the concerns of the shareholders that we represent. Strategy With this evolution of the business it is clear that Hon Hai needs a well-defined, long term strategy with clear targets which is articulated to shareholders in a transparent and in-depth way. We believe that the company can make improvements in this area, bringing it in line with the reporting provided by its peers. There are three key areas in which it can achieve this:

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, also known as Sinopec, is one of the major oil and gas companies in China. The company is a majority-owned subsidiary of the state-owned Sinopec Group. Its operations include the exploration, production, storage and transportation of petroleum and natural gas. The company has faced a number of environmental and social allegations on which we engage. Another important topic is the disclosure of the company’s environmental performance, which is a crucial step in the development of a strategy for the transition to the low-carbon environment.

China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation, also known as Sinopec, is one of the major oil and gas companies in China. The company is a majority-owned subsidiary of the state-owned Sinopec Group. Its operations include the exploration, production, storage and transportation of petroleum and natural gas. The company has faced a number of environmental and social allegations on which we engage. Another important topic is the disclosure of the company’s environmental performance, which is a crucial step in the development of a strategy for the transition to the low-carbon environment.

We recently returned from the OECD’s 12th Forum on Responsible Mineral Supply Chains in Paris. The forum gave its attendees an opportunity to engage with stakeholders from miners to smelters and refiners, local communities, NGOs, government organisations from Africa’s Great Lakes region, as well as global technology, consumer and automobile companies. We have come away with several lessons, namely that a) existing due diligence processes do not address human rights issues at mines

The $3.8 billion Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) has proved to be a highly controversial project, with its impacts exceeding the wildest expectations of investors. It was accompanied by protests, court cases, accusations of political interference and even a presidential memorandum. The banks financing the project claim to have adhered to the Equator Principles[1] (EP or the Principles), a credit risk management framework for determining, assessing and managing environmental and social risks in projects. They have been adopted by 92 financial institutions in 37 countries, covering over 70% of project finance debt in emerging markets. An Equator Principles Financial Institution (EPFI) will require its clients – the borrowers – to conduct environmental and social impact assessments for each project.

Following the launch of bitcoin futures on 10 December 2017, it is a good time to look at the technology that has enabled their ascent and application in many sectors – blockchain. Bitcoins originate from Satoshi Nakamoto’s 2008 paper called Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. The standardised, decentralised blockchain registration process serves as an ongoing cryptographic proof-of-work, providing transparency of the value chain.

KB Financial Group is a financial services holding company headquartered in South Korea. Its activities range from personal and corporate lending to insurance and asset management. Over the past few years, the company has been diversifying its revenue sources by acquiring a non-life insurance company, enhancing its asset management business and developing its lending to small and medium-sized enterprises. It was one of the first conglomerate financial institutions to commit to the Korean Stewardship Code, which launched in December 2016.