As one of the world’s largest investment managers, each year State Street Global Advisors engages in dialogue with companies about a variety of issues critical to long-term performance—from business strategy to independent board leadership to sustainability. This year we will continue our active engagement with boards on sustainability, but also use our proxy vote to press companies that are falling behind and failing to engage.

ESG: No Longer an Option for Long-Term Strategy

Three years ago, we first called on boards to consider sustainability across the environmental, social and governance (ESG) spectrum. Having already engaged with companies on a number of governance matters for many years, we see that shareholder value is increasingly being driven by issues such as climate change, labor practices, and consumer product safety. We believe that addressing material ESG issues is good business practice and essential to a company’s long-term financial performance—a matter of value, not values.

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