Unilever to put net-zero emissions plans to a shareholder vote

London-based consumer goods giant Unilever has said it is to put its plans for cutting carbon emissions to a vote by shareholders, making it the first blue-chip company to involve investors in its climate policy.

At the company's annual general meeting on May 5, shareholders will get the opportunity to vote on proposed measures including a plan to cut operational emissions down to net-zero by 2030 and to halve its products' environmental impact.

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The announcement comes following the launch of the "Say on Climate" campaign, which was started by UK billionaire Chris Hohn and aims to encourage companies to give shareholders more of a voice in climate strategy.

"Unilever believes that the economy-wide shift to net-zero emissions will require a greater and deeper level of engagement between companies and their investors about their climate transition plans," said the company in a press release.

"In setting out our plan, we hope this increased level of transparency and accountability will strengthen the dialogue with our shareholders and encourage other companies to follow suit."

In October, Procter & Gamble, one of the company's larger competitors, faced a shareholder revolt over proposed plans to increase transparency the sourcing of palm oil and its deforestation reduction strategy.

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Unilever, which is worth $120 billion (€98.7 billion), is looking to reach net-zero emissions from sourcing to point of sale by 2039, 11 years before the 2050 Paris Agreement deadline.

The company said it will share its climate plan ahead of the annual meeting and that it would seek advisory votes on any material changes enacted or proposed every three years, with annual progress reports beginning in 2022.

The announcement comes a month after UN Climate Envoy Mark Carney gave his backing to calls by investor groups to force companies to submit climate plans to annual shareholder votes. 

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