BlackRock’s bold move to accelerate ESG investing: engagement, not divestment

The world’s largest money manager announced that climate change will become a key focal point for its investment strategies. BlackRock has previously talked about climate change as a major issue, but it has not necessarily let these statements drive voting behaviour or pushed for transparency around climate risk. Putting management teams on notice, BlackRock stated that it is prepared to vote against management and boards where “companies are not making sufficient progress on sustainability-related disclosures and the business practices and plans underlying them.” That means that BlackRock will push the companies it invests in to adopt reporting in line with the guidelines of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures. Also within the last week, BlackRock also joined the Climate Action 100+ group, an initiative of investors working to put pressure on the world’s highest-emitting companies to address climate risk.