Voting, engagement get breakdown in Harbour sustainability report

As one of the parties that drafted the Aotearoa New Zealand stewardship code you would expect Harbour to focus on the topic in its 2022 sustainability report. While climate change grabs most ESG headlines these days, governance made up the bulk of active ownership outlined in the report.

On voting Harbour voted with 553 management recommendations and against 30. Executive remuneration and director elections continued to be controversial, but there was a growing number of shareholder resolutions, particularly across the Tasman, on climate change.

In an example of going against management recommendations, Harbour voted against an Australian healthcare company  issuing options to a non-executive director, saying it wasn’t consistent with best practice. The company acknowledged Harbour’s feedback and the practice has been stopped for new appointees going forward. The resolution carried with 60% of shareholder support.

Governance still the main topic