Quadrupled: In 2022, DNB Votes Four Times More Often Than in the Year Before
In 2022, DNB voted at 1,267 shareholder meetings, up from 324 the previous year. Such active participation, however, is only part of an asset manager's to-dos with regard to ESG, according to Lise Børresen. She is head of the responsible investing team at DNB Asset Management, which managed NOK 809 billion on behalf of clients at year-end.
Higher expectations and requirements
The regulatory engine of the EU continues to run, and it has been a busy year for responsible investments. There is rapid development in sustainable finance, but at the same time we see a clear need for data. In some areas, such as unlisted Norwegian bond issuers, we have to do a lot of the work ourselves because it is not covered by external data providers. At DNB, this is done via questionnaires, through which important input is identified. This is enormously important for both companies and investors, even though it is complex.
Given the difficult data situation, DNB Asset Management set up an ESG Lab three years ago, a platform where sustainability data is collected and processed centrally. For example, all activities and contacts DNB has with companies are recorded in the ESG Lab. The establishment of the ESG Lab helps us to continue to improve the integration of ESG criteria in our investment decisions.
The DNB ESG team consists of six people who primarily work on four key ESG tools:
1. Establishing standards: DNB Asset Management formulates and publishes documents relating to expectations that describe what is considered best practice in a number of areas. The team also participates in investor collaborations and working groups.
2. Active Participation: These expectations documents serve as a framework for active participation, the goal of which is to monitor the behavior of portfolio companies in the best interest of their shareholders.
3. Exclusions: Serious violations of standards and rules, for example, may result in exclusion. These exclusions apply to all DNB funds, including index funds.
4. ESG principles: Systematic application of environmental, social and governance principles in investment analysis and decisions.
Anti-ESG movement in the US.
As a result of the EU, Europe is in many ways a global leader when it comes to ESG, and clients will have to ask more questions about their relationship with responsible management in the future. Regionally, there are differences in the various ways of looking at responsible investing between Europe and the US. Currently, Europe has moved ahead of the U.S. in sustainability development. Asia is following the sustainability trend with some delay behind Europe.