Today a new Corporate Human Rights Benchmark for responsible investing was presented in London. Together with the Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO), Aviva and Nordea Wealth Management APG initiated this benchmark to rank companies on their human rights policies.
Designated on our own research, until now
Claudia Kruse, Director Global Responsible Investment & Governance at APG: "APG used to perform its own research. But this benchmark creates more standardization, provides access to more investors and will ensure that APG can be part of a broader front.” A total of 87 investors support the benchmark, including PGGM, MN, Kempen CM, Robeco, Actiam, Amundi, and BNP Paribas IP. Claudia: "We will use it in our engagement activities."
Benchmark for potentially 500 listed companies
The first edition of this benchmark assessed 98 companies in tree high-risk industries (agriculture, mining and apparel) based on hundreds of indicators per company. In the future, the benchmark will include 500 listed companies.
Results 2016
The first edition, which looked at 2016, has seen relatively low ratings for the companies (a mere 29%). Relatively good ratings are obtained by:
- Marks & Spencer and Unilever (agriculture)
- M&S, Adidas and Hennis & Mauritz (apparal)
- Rio Tinto and BHP Biliton (mining industry)
Relatively low ratings are obtained by:
- McDonald’s and Walmart (agriculture)
- Costco, Macy’s and Kohl’s (apparal)
- Coal India and China Petroleum (mining industry)