As reported in our Q4 2021 sustainability review, Storebrand recorded initial progress in its collaborative shareholder dialogue with Toyota to review and change its climate lobbying practices. However, this dialogue has reversed with the company declining during the first two quarters of 2022 to follow up the desired changes.
The shareholder group, made up of Storebrand along with AkademikerPension, AP7, and the Church of England, had initially engaged Toyota during 2021 about the company's climate lobbying practices. This engagement resulted in the company publishing a report "Toyota's Views on Climate Public Policies", in November 2021. However, the report fell short of investor expectations, and the company continued, in countries such as France, the U.K. and the U.S.A., to lobby against climate-related regulation and policies.
As a result, AkademikerPension filed a shareholder resolution backed by the investor collaboration, for Toyota's 2022 annual general meeting. In a disappointing move, the company ultimately rejected the proposal, claiming that it was sent a day after a deadline previously disclosed.
After the initially positive talks with Toyota, the company’s decision to not want to commit to an annual review of its lobbying activities is unfortunate and falls short of Storebrand's expectations. If Toyota continues to support organizations that work to delay or dilute climate regulations, Storebrand believes that this will have a lasting negative effect on the company's reputation and valuation. We hope that Toyota will change its mind, committing to align itself with the goals of the Paris Agreement, and we will continue to press for this in our dialogue with the company.
