Firm managing 69 airports including London Luton unleashes climate plan as it bows to pressure from UK hedge fund manager Sir Christopher Hohn
Spanish airport operator Aena has agreed to allow shareholders a vote on its climate policies following pressure from UK hedge fund manager Sir Christopher Hohn, in what is thought to be a world first for a public company.
The Financial Times reported yesterday that the company, which is Europe's largest airport operator by passenger volume, has endorsed proposals from one its largest independent shareholders - London-based TCI Fund Management - for investors to be given a say in the firm's climate plans as they evolve over the coming decade.
Aena, which owns a 51 per cent stake in London Luton airport and manages nearly 70 airports worldwide, has developed a new climate plan which it has agreed to give its shareholders an annual say over, committing it to transitioning all its energy to renewable sources by 2026, the FT said.
Speaking to the newspaper, Hohn - who as co-founder of TCI Fund Management sits on the Aena board - welcomed the airport operator's new climate strategy, and said offering shareholders a vote on the plan would enhance transparency and accountability.
The billionaire is a major donor to a number groups working on climate change and said he had spearheaded a year-long campaign for the shareholder vote. He told the newspaper that annual shareholder votes would help ensure that corporate climate ambition was matched with action. "This accountability mechanism is essential for ensuring that companies take the climate issue seriously and are both transparent and accountable to shareholders for their climate plans," he said.
Hohn's achievement marks a major victory for the growing band of climate-focused investors around the world that have been calling loudly for corporates to boost their climate commitments and bolster transition plans in order to reduce shareholders' exposure to climate risk and stranded asssets. A flurry of climate-related shareholder resolutions at banks, oil and gas, and mining firms lodged over the past 18 months, alongside new portfolio decarbonisation targets introduced by major institutional investors, have been explicitly designed to encourage companies to boost their climate efforts.
Also speaking to the newspaper, company chairman and chief executive Maurici Lucena Betriu stressed the new climate plan and decision to give shareholders a yearly vote on its plans would not hurt the company's profits.
"I am very convinced about the solidity of the plan and the ambition. I am also convinced it is a manageable plan," he said "There will be no trade-off between climate protection and overall profitability."
He added the group was "aware of the growing importance of this issue everywhere, but particularly in the air transport sector", and stressed that the move was "good news for the company and shareholders".
The resolution will go to a vote at the group's annual meeting later this month, where it is expected to be approved, according to the FT.