
“Electric vehicles are important for the transition to a low-carbon economy – a transition that Nordea supports and wants to promote. But Tesla is a challenging company from a sustainability perspective, which is why we will continue the dialogue with the company.”
Katarina Hammar highlights that the Tesla case is a good example of how active ownership often works in practice. Engagement with companies often spans several years and covers several topics.
Engagement with more than thousand companies
Another company we engage with on labour rights is Amazon, which has been publicly criticised for neglecting fundamental labour rights especially in the US. At Amazon’s latest annual general meeting Nordea and 20 other global investors filed a shareholder proposal requesting Amazon to commission a third-party assessment of the company's commitment to freedom of association and collective bargaining. The proposal got 31% of the votes and while Katarina Hammar had hoped for a different outcome, Nordea will keep on engaging with the company to drive the needed change:
"Poor handling of issues concerning human rights and labour rights can mean operational risks, legal risks and reputational risks for the company. Last year we engaged with 1,179 companies on environmental, social and governance issues and we will continue to be active as we believe this is how we create most impact,” she says.