Engagement – background

 

Engagement is of great importance for EAM‘s sustainable investment approach.

It combines own initiatives with collabora-

tion on a national and international level. The structured engagement process is based on the „EAM Engagement Guideline“ which determines engagement issues,

approach and procedures.

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The four kinds of EAM engagement

 

The best-in-class selection, ethical exclu-

sions, and engagement play a crucial

role in Erste Asset Management’s sustainability approach. It is the goal

of our engagement activities to induce companies to pursue a more sustainable form of business policies. EAM follows

four engagement approaches in order

to generate a maximum impact.

 

Thematic engagement

Erste Asset Management regularly discusses issues relevant from an ESG perspective and analyses them on the basis of the data provided by the re-

search partners. In doing so, up to ten companies are queried with regard to their approach and future strategy. This form of engagement is closely linked

to ERSTE RESPONSIBLE RETURN – The

ESG-Letter, in which the results of the thematic engagement approach are published.

 

Engagement cooperation

Investors who invest in sustainable pro-

ducts can strengthen their influence on companies by bundling their interests. Investor networks lend themselves as platforms for these activities. To Erste Asset Management, this approach serves as opportunity to proceed with focus and with a high probability of success. We frequently act as engagement leader, which means that we suggest topics for engagement. The selection of the topics and the companies to be contacted is coordinated with the respective network.

 

Austrian engagement

As Austrian market leader, Erste Asset Management feels obliged to focus on domestic companies. EAM’s market position and reputation foster an effi-

cient dialogue with companies. The engagement process is launched as soon as regularly executed analyses suggest that engagement should make sense.

This automatically ensures a focus on relevant issues.

 

External engagement partner

This strategy consists of the involvement of a specialised external partner, GES (Global Engagement Service). The agency bundles the capital of numerous inves-

tors and thus increases the chances of being accepted as equal partners by companies. GES contacts by companies (especially in emerging countries) as soon as a violation of sustainability criteria is identified. Topics such as human rights, environmental and sustainability

management, healthcare and safety measures, working rights, and corporate ethics are addressed.

(Richard Boulanger)