Fast reading
- Changes to regulatory regimes are removing some longstanding requirements for drugs to be tested on animals.
- EOS has developed a framework to help investors identify a high-quality climate transition plan.
- How we use insights from our fossil fuel engagements to strengthen our climate discussions with companies for demand-side solutions.
Animal testing is a contentious issue that continues to resonate with consumers and investors, but mainstream coverage tends to focus on the ethics of the practice, and its use for cosmetic and personal care products. Pharmaceutical animal testing is less well understood. This is where animals are used in research to develop new medical products. However, changes to regulatory regimes are removing some longstanding requirements for drugs to be tested on animals, where certain alternatives are available.
In EOS’s Q2 2024 Public Engagement Report, EOS engagers Ellie Higgins and Pauline Lecoursonnois join forces with FHL’s head of impact and sustainable investing Ingrid Kukuljan to explore some of these alternatives. “Many alternatives are more efficient, cost-effective, accurate, and relevant to human biology than animal-based research,” they state. “These advantages are crucial, as alternatives must compete with, and outperform animal-based research to gain confidence and support from industry and regulators.”
Also in this issue, Owen Tutt and Will Farrell explain how to assess company climate transition plans, which are now regularly put to the vote during annual shareholder meetings in certain markets. Appraising such plans can be a complex and resource-intensive challenge. To tackle this, EOS has developed a framework to help investors, identifying four key principles that should be embodied by high-quality plans.
Keeping with the climate theme, Will Farrell and Hannah Heuser set out how EOS is using its supply-side insights from fossil fuel company engagements to strengthen our engagements on demand-side solutions. In many hard-to-abate sectors, the best green technology available is not always immediately obvious. Notwithstanding this uncertainty, we scrutinise the assumptions governing decision-making at companies, while also reminding them of the level of ambition required to be a competitive player in a net-zero world.
Finally, Richard Adeniyi-Jones and Dana Barnes round up some of the key votes and themes from a fractious proxy season in North America, Europe and Australia.
To find out more, read the EOS Q2 Public Engagement Report.
EOS Public Engagement Report Q2 2024
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