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E-MailGeorge S. Dallas is Policy Director at International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN). This post is based on an ICGN memorandum by Mr. Dallas.
The winners of the first Global Stewardship Awards, recognising excellence and innovation in investor stewardship, were announced at a ceremony in London last night. The awards were presented by the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN), an investor-led body with members representing assets under management in excess of US$34trillion.
The winners were:
- ICGN Global Stewardship Disclosure Award for Asset Owners—CalSTRS
- ICGN Global Stewardship Disclosure Award for Asset Managers—BlackRock
- ICGN Global Stewardship Champion Award – Edward Mason (Church Commissioners for England), for leading the successful shareholder campaign to get ExxonMobil to disclose how its business model would be impacted by global efforts to address climate change.
Announcing the winners Kerrie Waring, ICGN’s CEO, said: “Investor stewardship contributes to sustainable and responsible value creation which benefits companies, investors and society as a whole. The ICGN has introduced these awards to celebrate the individuals and organisations who are making it a reality. We were delighted by the high quality of many of the disclosures we reviewed, and the many excellent examples of stewardship in action which were nominated. Congratulations to the winners and to everyone who was shortlisted. They should all be applauded—and emulated.”
On receiving the ICGN Global Stewardship Disclosure Award for Asset Owners, CalSTRS CIO Christopher J. Ailman said “CalSTRS’ decade-long involvement in ICGN has given us opportunities to maintain a leadership position in international governance. Receiving this award is a testament to the global footprint our team has planted in advancing disclosure practices. A special thanks to Aeisha Mastagni and Brian Rice who did the work that made this award possible”.
On receiving the Global Stewardship Disclosure Award for Asset Managers, Amra Balic, Managing Director, BlackRock EMEA, Investment Stewardship said: “ICGN is a highly respected driver of corporate governance and stewardship best practices globally. BlackRock investment stewardship team is delighted and honoured to be recognised by ICGN for our efforts in relation to global stewardship disclosures. We regard disclosure as a key aspect of our investment stewardship activities on behalf of clients/asset owners.”
On receiving the ICGN Global Stewardship Champion Award, Edward Mason said “I am thrilled that our collaborative effort to ensure Exxon discloses how it manages climate risk has been recognised in this way. The changes we are seeing in the oil and gas industry are testimony to the power of firmly exercised stewardship—now clearly established as a core investor responsibility”
Alongside the awards, the ICGN has published a series of Model Stewardship Disclosures practice notes to assist investors when reporting on their stewardship policies and activities. They draw on some of the examples of good practice identified during the award judging process. The documents cover conflicts and interest, monitoring investee companies, engagement with companies and voting practices.
