Our voting intentions for 2025

Our investment stewardship activities are focused on supporting the creation of long-term sustainable value for our clients. We believe that exercising voting rights is an important part of this process, and of being a good steward of our clients’ assets more generally.

Sometimes, we may choose to declare our vote intention ahead of meetings, to clarify our views to the market, clients and other companies to a particular issue, resolution or outcome. The decision to do so can be undertaken where we deem the vote to be particularly contentious, or as part of an engagement programme. 

Over 2025, we will be updating this blog on a regular basis to highlight our vote intentions in advance of certain shareholder meetings. For information about our voting actions and rationales, please visit our dedicated website: VDS Dashboard (issgovernance.com)   

More information about our Investment Stewardship activities, policies and engagement activities  can be found on our website: https://am.landg.com/en-uk/institutional/responsible-investing/investment-stewardship/ 

Rio Tinto Plc

Meeting: AGM, 03 April 2025

Summary of resolution: Resolution 19 – Approve Climate Action Plan

Our vote intention:  For resolution 19 (in line with management recommendation)  

Rationale: 

The mining and diversified metals sector produces minerals that are essential to the energy transition. As such, we believe that long-term, responsible investors, such as L&G, can support these companies as they decarbonise and realise the associated financial opportunities. In August 2024, we published our updated assessment framework for mining companies’ climate transition plans, which sets out our expectations and has formed the framework for our ongoing engagements with mining companies on this topic. 

We have been engaging in detailed and constructive discussions on this topic with the company since voting against its previous Climate Action Plan in 2022, aiming to bridge the remaining gaps, particularly regarding its approach to scope 3 emissions and customer decarbonisation.

Following what we view as substantive progress by Rio Tinto in this area, primarily through enhanced disclosure of its plans to decarbonise its value chains, as well as the clear and quantified actions set out to meet its emission reduction targets, we believe the company’s enhanced strategy closely aligns with our framework above, and should support its decarbonisation journey and the creation of long-term value as the climate transition unfolds. Therefore, we will be supporting resolution 19.

More information on our Investment Stewardship activities can be found on our website: 

https://am.landg.com/en-uk/institutional/responsible-investing/investment-stewardship/