ACSI engages with listed companies with the collective voice of our members to influence companies and financial markets in the interest of long-term investors.
Our company engagement aims to positively influence ESG performance. ACSI’s constructive dialogue with ASX300 companies over more than 20 years has resulted in significantly improved practices and transparency on a range of key ESG issues and, ultimately, delivered value to superannuation beneficiaries.
Each year, we hold over 250 meetings with ASX300 companies, aimed at enhancing long-term shareholder value by encouraging robust ESG practices and performance. Our Governance Guidelines outline the issues we focus on and the factors we take into consideration when making our voting recommendations.
We also provide a subscription for voting research and recommendations for ASX300 companies.
Our engagement priorities
Board diversity
Diversity strengthens decision-making and improves outcomes. We focus on companies with poor diversity in their boardrooms to boost gender and other kinds of diversity.
Corporate governance
Corporate governance issues such as board composition and renewal, director independence, board skills and experience and board and director performance evaluation.
We directly engage with the ASX-listed companies to resolve deficient governance issues, which are material risks to the company and the investor. These can include board renewal, remuneration arrangements, risk oversight and reporting.
Climate change
Climate change as source of investment risk and opportunity, encouraging companies to identify the relevant risks and disclose the strategy, metrics and targets they use to manage the risks.
Climate change is an investment risk and opportunity. We press for the development of more sustainable long-term business models, emissions reductions and disclosure of strategies to manage climate risk.
Workforce issues
From workplace safety to addressing modern slavery in supply chains, we engage with companies to improve performance and encourage disclosure of the way they identify, prevent, mitigate and account for workforce and human rights risks.
Corporate culture
Corporate culture plays a big role in driving company performance and good outcomes for employees, customers and stakeholders. Conversely, a poor company culture can court material reputational and financial risks. ACSI advocates to improve culture across corporate Australia.