An investor group led by Local Authority Pension Fund Forum (LAPFF) and CCLA, representing £3.1 Trillion AUM has contacted the chairs of companies in the FTSE 1001 to urge them to provide shareholders with a vote on their firms’ climate risk and resilience strategies at least once every three years.
The financial materiality of disclosure on how companies manage climate-related risks, including transition plans, is highlighted in CDP’s annual ‘A List’2 which in 2024 showed that those achieving A List status outperformed their peers with an average of 6% higher stock returns over the past decade.3
The letter sent to the FTSE 100 by the investor group highlights guidance from the Transition Plan Taskforce (now under the ISSB), which recommends that companies update and disclose their plans on a three-year cycle. A dedicated shareholder vote on climate strategy allows investors to signal support for a company’s approach, including related capital expenditure, and provides a clear mechanism for raising concerns where necessary.
In the three years prior to 2025, 17 companies within the FTSE 1004 provided shareholders with the opportunity to vote on their climate strategies, with four companies doing so in two years or more.5 During that period, the most votes on climate strategy were offered in 2022, when 14 companies facilitated shareholder votes at their AGMs. In the period from 2023 – 20256 however, the provision of votes to shareholders declined with only ten separate companies7 offering votes at their AGMs and with two of those companies offering a vote in two or more years. In the year to date, only five FTSE 100 companies have done so.
For local authorities, the climate crisis is not just a longer-term financial risk but a pressing challenge for the communities we serve. The latest data suggests we could be at the start of a concerning retreat from providing shareholder votes on climate risk and resilience strategies. Our call for companies to do so seeks to reinvigorate momentum at a time when climate ambition is at risk of being diluted.
Cllr Doug McMurdo, Chair of LAPFF
Climate change is a systemic risk to investment markets and a material threat to shareholder value. Our clients continue to tell us that it is the issue about which they are most concerned. As stewards of our clients’ capital, we have a duty to push companies to maintain ambition and deliver credible transition strategies, regardless of geopolitical headwinds. With COP30 on the horizon, it is yet another reminder for investors and companies to ensure the real economy transitions in line with the Paris Agreement and keeps global warming well below 2°C.
Peter Hugh Smith, Chief Executive, CCLA
In 2024, LAPFF and CCLA coordinated a similar investor-backed letter to FTSE 100 companies8 that had not held a shareholder vote within the previous three years. Of the 76 companies contacted, 49 responded, with only two committing to hold a shareholder vote at a future AGM while 27 said they would keep it under review. There were 17 companies that responded to say that they would not put their transition plans to a shareholder vote.
1 Excludes investment trusts in the FTSE 100
2 The A-List is awarded to the top performing organizations in terms of their environmental disclosure and performance (on climate change, forests and/or water security). CDP, Glossary (reader can find below FAQs), A- List, https://www.cdp.net/en/faqs
3 CDP A List 2024: Only 2% of Companies Demonstrate Market-Ready Environmental Leadership, CDP, April 2025, https://www.cdp.net/en/press-releases/cdp-a-list-2024, Paragraph 3
4 Excludes investment trusts
5 The four companies that provided the opportunity for shareholders to vote in two or more years during the three-year time frame include: Aviva, National Grid, Shell and SSE
6 Data accurate up to end of September 2025
7 The three companies offering a vote in two years or more include: Aviva, Shell and SSE. BHP Group offered a vote at their AGM in 2024, but they were not in the FTSE 100
8 Excluded investment trusts in the FTSE 100