BlackRock has reaffirmed its commitment to push companies for details on how they treat material climate-related risks in its latest stewardship report.
In the asset manager’s 2023 investment stewardship report released on March 23, BlackRock cites no material changes in its approach to key engagement themes.
“There are no material changes in our approach to these themes, and our engagement with companies will continue the dialogue on material risks and opportunities relevant to their business models and sectors that we had in 2022,” the report outlined.
Such themes include board quality and effectiveness, company strategy, financial resilience, executive incentives, climate-related risks, and worker health.
On climate-related risk, the seven-page presentation stated BlackRock’s approach to climate-related risk, and the opportunities presented by the energy transition, is based on “our fundamental role as a fiduciary to our clients.” “Our role is to help our clients navigate investment risks and opportunities; it is not our role to engineer a specific decarbonization outcome in the real economy.”
It follows the release of CEO Larry Fink’s 2023 annual letter earlier this month which advised investors that BlackRock is neither pro- nor anti-ESG, and that “it is not the role of an asset manager like BlackRock to engineer a particular outcome in the economy.”
BlackRock continues to face political pressure from Republicans who argue its policies place too much emphasis on ESG factors in investing, while environmental groups contend the asset management giant should do more to push companies to address climate issues.