annual review indst 2024 public - Flipbook - Side 19
Annual Review 2024
Q. The UN High Level Meeting (HLM) on
antimicrobial resistance (AMR) took place in
September 2024. What are the key actions we have
taken to address this systemic risk?
A. The HLM was a chance for global leaders to review
the progress made on AMR and find solutions. In the run
up to the HLM, we co-signed the Investor Action on
Antimicrobial Resistance (IAAMR) Public Investor
Statement3 alongside 80 investor signatories. It called for
global leaders and policymakers to reinvigorate efforts,
coordinate action, and reaffirm their commitments on
AMR. The HLM resulted in the adoption of an extended
Political Declaration.4 Commitments were made around
reducing human deaths associated with AMR by 10% by
2030. It called for sustainable financing on national action
plans on AMR, the development of alternative treatments
such as vaccines, and the promotion of responsible use
in animal health.
We also provided input to a consultation on the draft
World Health Organization Guidance on waste and
wastewater management from pharmaceutical
manufacturing, with an emphasis on antibiotic
production. We suggested the guidance should
recommend that risk assessments be required at each
stage of the antibiotic production value chain and require
publicly available information on antibiotic pollution.
Increased transparency enables us to gauge whether a
company has sufficiently robust practices in place to
manage the risks associated with antibiotic residues
entering the environment and the development of AMR.
Other comments related to the need for annual updates,
the names and locations of manufacturing facilities and
how antibiotic pollution is managed.
In terms of our AMR engagement, we have targeted
pharmaceutical and food and beverage companies such
as Zoetis, GSK, and Hormel Foods. We generally ask
companies to limit their contribution to the spread of
AMR, develop alternatives to the use of antimicrobials,
and assess the risk that a high AMR scenario may have on
their business. Following Zoetis’s success in developing
vaccines as alternatives to its antibiotics offerings, we
encouraged the company to publish an AMR policy
outlining its governance and risk guardrails to guide
decision-making on AMR-relevant product development.
We also welcomed Hormel Foods’ attempts to reduce
the use of antibiotics in its supply chain through its
investments in animal husbandry facilities, and the
replacement of antibiotics with vaccination and
alternative therapies. We encouraged the company to
publish an AMR stewardship policy highlighting its
ambition to reduce antibiotic use, including via
preventative care. During voting season, we
recommended support for a resolution on AMR at Yum!
Brands, as we thought the company could reduce the
risks in its animal supply chain and protect its returns by
adopting a stronger AMR policy.
3
4
We also welcomed Hormel
Foods’ attempts to reduce the
use of antibiotics in its supply
chain through its investments
in animal husbandry facilities.
Q. What progress has been made to address
deforestation?
A. Halting and reversing deforestation remains critical for
addressing climate change and biodiversity loss. Many
companies have committed to deforestation and
conversion free (DCF) sourcing by 2025. Our
engagement focuses on maintaining momentum towards
that goal (or asking companies to commit if they have
not yet done so). In line with our Finance Sector
Deforestation Action (FSDA) expectations to
demonstrate DCF status for all commodities, regions,
and suppliers, we also encouraged full traceability of
commodities across all tiers of company supply chains.
In 2024, EOS led and supported FSDA engagement with
27 focus companies, including Adidas, Cargill, Home
Depot, Walmart, Unilever and Yum! Brands. Following
direct engagement and collaborative engagement
through Nature Action 100, we welcomed Chinese dairy
producer Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group’s
commitment to achieving a deforestation-free supply
chain in palm oil, pulp and paper, soy, and soy in
livestock feed by 2030.
We continued to implement our deforestation voting
policy, targeting companies that are lagging on the
disclosure and management of deforestation-related
risks. This year, we recommended voting against directors
or other relevant proposals at Wen’s Foodstuff Group,
WH Group and Cencosud, among others. At Tyson’s
AGM, we recommended support for a shareholder
proposal on deforestation-free supply chains.
We provided informal feedback to the FSDA initiative
and the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change
(IIGCC) on the deforestation investor criteria for
commercial banks, which were published in September
2024. Banks that fail to address deforestation are
exposed to financial risk through various channels,
including physical risk, transition risk and failure to align
US $13 Trillion Investors Call on Global Leaders To Tackle Antimicrobial Resistance Crisis | FAIRR.
World leaders commit to decisive action on antimicrobial resistance.
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