HESTA seeks climate response from ASX 300 boards

HESTA has sought responses from ASX 300 boards about how they are planning for and responding to long-term systemic risks to the environment.

This was the third annual letter the $68 billion fund had written to boards, this year opting to expand from the ASX 200 to all of the ASX 300 companies.

The letter outlined the fund’s engagement themes for the 2022/23 financial year, particularly focusing on climate change and the financial risk it posed to members. It also encouraged companies to assess if their operations and supply chains could be exposed to risks due to either a dependence on nature or were causing a loss of nature.

HESTA chief executive, Debby Blakey, said: “This decade is critical for managing a range of systemic risks that are relevant both to the companies we invest in and the overall management of our portfolio.

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“That’s why we’re encouraging management and boards of ASX 300 companies to be ambitious in their responses to systemic risks such as climate change, social inequality and the loss of biodiversity.”

In 2020, HESTA was the first major super fund to set the ambition to reach net zero carbon emissions across its entire investment portfolio by 2050.

As well as climate, HESTA also sought boards’ views on gender inequality, skills shortages, secure work and employee productivity.