Say On Climate resolutions at Aena
Aena adopted Say On Climate shareholder resolutions proposed by TCI requiring it to publish a multiannual comprehensive climate transition action plan and to put this to an advisory shareholder vote on an annual basis, and to amend its byelaws accordingly so a vote occurs automatically every year.
This follows a letter sent by TCI to Aena’s CEO in November 2019 which identified areas for improvement in Aena’s sustainability and climate plans [1].
Aena then produced an updated Climate Action Plan that makes several improvements on its previous plans, including a target to generate all of its energy from renewable sources by 2026. It also includes a commitment to further update the plan in 2021 to set out annual decarbonisation objectives covering scopes 1, 2 and 3 and a programme of actions to achieve those objectives [2].
Following further engagement with TCI, Aena’s Board changed its recommendation from opposing the resolutions to supporting them, and made the following statement [3]:
“the Board has decided to take the initiative that Aena not only have a solid plan to deal with climate change, but also, in the interests of transparency and the participation of its shareholders in the development of this plan, be the first Spanish company to incorporate the obligations it undertakes in this fundamental problem into its articles of association. In addition, proposes the intervention of the General Shareholders’ Meeting with consultative voting capacity on these plans.”
While there remains significant room for improvement in Aena’s updated Climate Action Plan, the accountability mechanism introduced by an annual shareholder vote will enable shareholders to ensure continued progress.