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Introducing Climate Engagement Canada

Financial community to engage 40 Canadian corporate issuers for alignment on Net-zero transition

Climate Engagement Canada (CEC) is a new three-year, Canadian, financial sector led corporate engagement program to accelerate Canada's transition to a low-carbon future. The Program was developed to support a broader and more consistent dialogue between investors and Canadian issuers around climate risks and opportunities. The CEC is centred around direct engagements between Participants (i.e., asset owners, asset managers, and their service providers) and select companies in which they are invested. Over the next months, engagements with the boards and senior leaders of these organizations will commence in order to spur organizational change. Through constructive dialogue, these companies will be encouraged to:

  • Disclose their climate data in alignment with the best-in-class standard of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD);
  • Develop and implement comprehensive strategies to reduce GHG emissions across value chains;
  • Align their advocacy activities, including those done through industry associations, with the goals of the Paris Agreement;
  • Define accountability and oversight of climate change risks and opportunities; and,
  • Set measurable targets of relevance to their sectors.

CEC will focus on forty select TSX-listed companies that will be strategically engaged for the alignment of expectations on climate risk governance, disclosure, and the transition to a low-carbon economy in Canada. CEC's Focus List companies have been identified as the top reporting or estimated emitters on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and/or with a significant opportunity to contribute to the transition to a low-carbon future and become a sectoral and corporate climate action leader in Canada. These firms operate across the Canadian economy in the oil & gas, utilities, mining, agriculture & food, transportation, materials, industrials, and consumer discretionary sectors. An additional six Canadian companies (CNRL, Enbridge, Imperial Oil, Suncor, TC Energy, and Teck) are already being engaged under Climate Action 100+ (CA100+), a global initiative that served as an inspiration for CEC.

Participants in Climate Engagement Canada will soon be commencing engagements with Focus List companies. An initial letter to each company will have been sent by the CEC Secretariat to introduce the Initiative. Following this letter, Participants may write to these firms and ask to hold an initial meeting to discuss alignment of expectations for the year ahead. Currently, CEC engagement teams are being formed and team leaders are being established. CEC engagement meetings may happen according to the appropriate cycle for the company and their market.

The Focus List will be announced publicly, and CEC Participants will also start amplifying the Focus List message through their respective social media and other channels. For additional information about the CEC, please visit our website at https://climateengagement.ca/.

More Information:

CEC was formally launched in October 2021 as the first Canadian, financial sector-led corporate engagement program to accelerate Canada's transition to a low-carbon future. The program is coordinated by several investor networks including the Responsible Investment Association (RIA), Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE), and Ceres. The UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) is also supporting the CEC. The RIA and SHARE serve as the Joint Secretariat.

  

Climate Engagement Canada

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