VW rejects shareholder proposal, savers in the dark over investments

VW applies brakes on European investors

German car manufacturer Volkswagen has rejected a challenge made by seven European investors last week over its “climate lobbying”, according to an announcement by the Church of England Pensions Board. The shareholder group, which includes the CofE board, asset manager Schroders, Swedish pension funds AP2, AP3 and AP4, and Denmark’s AkademikerPension, called on VW “to explain how its lobbying activities help to address climate risks”. At the start of April, the CofE Pensions Board said that investors had submitted an amendment to the company’s articles of association “intended to ensure that future sustainability reporting includes an assessment of their lobbying’s impact and alignment with its climate goals”. The proposal came after more than three years of dialogue with VW, which the board said “have not yielded any significant improvement in the company’s position”. A VW spokesperson said: "The Volkswagen Group is of the opinion that the applicants' request for an addition to the agenda is not admissible. Irrespective of this, the Volkswagen Group already reports publicly on its public affairs activities on a voluntary basis. An annual report sets out the company's positions on the most important political issues."

Most savers don’t know where their pensions are invested

New polling reveals that more than 90 per cent of savers are “unable to confidently list the top companies in which their pension scheme is invested”, according to the Make My Money Matter campaign. MMMM’s calculations indicate that more than 19mn savers want more information from their providers regarding where their contributions are being invested. The campaign has published a new film to raise awareness over links between pensions and deforestation, which in recent research has claimed that for every £10 put in pensions, £2 is invested in companies with a high risk of deforestation.