A group of global institutional investors are urging companies to disclose how they manage their global workforces in order to increase shareholder transparency.
The coalition of investors, including OPSEU Pension Trust and the United Church of Canada pension plan, signed the initiative, which is a collaborative project between the Shareholder Association for Research and Education and its counterpart in Britain, ShareAction.
“We believe integrating workforce issues into our investment process will improve long-term value and returns for our pension fund members,” said Katharine Preston, director of responsible investing at OPTrust, in a news release, noting the initiative is an important first step towards being able to measure how companies manage their workforces.
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The participating investors, which have nearly $8 trillion in assets under management between them, have sent an information request to 75 mega-cap companies listed on eight international stock exchanges. In Canada, the request has been sent to 10 large companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
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The initiative is aiming to provide investors with information about employees in companies’ global operations and supply chains, according to the release. It also aims to give them insight into companies’ workforce policies and allow them to assess how they manage risks and opportunities. Organizations surveyed will have to share their governance of workforce issues, global workforce composition and stability, training and development of people and employee engagement.
Investors will use the data to engage with companies, a practice many find difficult because of the current lack of information.
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“The number of investors that have come on board for the pilot year is testament to a growing consensus that good employment practices contribute meaningfully to better corporate performance and long-term value creation,” said Shannon Rohan, director of responsible investments at SHARE.