Safeguarding shareholder rights leads Q1 Active Ownership report

Engagement work on Australia’s climate transition, the thorny issue of another kind of transition – large payouts for when CEOs move jobs, and preserving human rights in conflict areas round up the summary of the team’s work in Q1 2026.

The report begins with Robeco’s attempts to counter the continuing erosion of shareholder rights seen with barriers to voting, blocking resolutions at AGMs, and corporate self-interests that fail to protect minority shareholders in public markets.

“Strong shareholder rights act as a foundation for effective stewardship, sustainable value creation, and well-functioning capital markets,” says Engagement Specialist Diana Trif. “But they are being increasingly eroded by regulatory reforms and corporate actions on issues like shareholder resolutions or voting.”

“Key priorities include removing barriers to voting, improving AGM practices, enhancing shareholder proposal processes, and safeguarding minority rights,” adds Engagement Specialist Lucas van Beek. “Through targeted engagement with policymakers in key jurisdictions, Robeco aims to promote transparent and consistent governance standards that support long-term investor influence and sustainability outcomes.”

In a country the size of Australia, whose states and territories are larger than many nations, climate transition depends on strong alignment between federal ambition and state-level implementation. But there is now a divergence between national climate policy and what the states are doing, leading Robeco’s specialists to engage with representatives at the regional rather than federal level.

“Implementing ambitious climate transition policies requires everyone to sing from the same hymn sheet,” says Engagement Specialist Ghislaine Nadaud. “But this doesn’t always happen on the ground.”

“Queensland has shifted away from earlier ambition and Western Australia lacks transparency and pace, while Victoria has been more credible in reducing transition risk. These contrasting pathways highlight why regional engagement is essential for assessing climate policy credibility and long-term risk.”

The perennially sensitive issue of excessive executive pay often rears its head when they are fired, change jobs naturally, or join new employers with large golden handshakes.

“CEO succession planning and their transitional pay packages have become central governance issues amid rising CEO turnover,” says Engagement Analyst Manuel Sobral. “Boards are increasingly challenged to ensure that severance packages and sign-on awards are aligned with long-term shareholder interests.”

“With transition-related awards gaining prominence in Say on Pay voting outcomes, investors are scrutinizing whether compensation reflects disciplined decision making rather than reactive responses to leadership change.”

Finally, Robeco’s prior engagement on human rights due diligence in conflict-affected and high-risk areas is entering a new phase, following the continuance of wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

“Rising global conflicts and evolving regulations for sourcing supplies from war zones have increased expectations for companies to better manage their risks,” says Senior Engagement Specialist Yumi Fujita.

“Building on lessons from the first engagement cycle, the new phase targets companies with exposure to the Israel-Hamas war and other conflict zones, emphasizing how improved transparency and supply chain traceability can strengthen corporate resilience and mitigate risk.”