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Financial Community to Engage 40 Canadian Corporate Issuers for Alignment on Net-zero Transition

June 8, 2022

Climate Engagement Canada launches Focus List of corporate issuers to engage on climate risks and opportunities on the road to a net-zero future.

TORONTO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today, Climate Engagement Canada (CEC) announced the CEC Focus List—forty select TSX-listed companies that will be strategically engaged in a finance-led initiative for the alignment of expectations on climate risk governance, disclosure, and the transition to a low-carbon economy in Canada.

Over the next months, engagements with the boards and senior leaders of these organizations will commence in order to spur organizational change. Through constructive dialogue, the forty focus companies will be encouraged to:

Disclose their climate data in alignment with the best-in-class standard of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD);
Develop and implement comprehensive strategies to reduce GHG emissions across value chains;
Align their advocacy activities, including those done through industry associations, with the goals of the Paris Agreement;
Define accountability and oversight of climate change risks and opportunities; and,
Set measurable targets of relevance to their sectors.

CEC’s Focus List companies have been identified as the top reporting or estimated emitters on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and/or with a significant opportunity to contribute to the transition to a low-carbon future and become a sectoral and corporate climate action leader in Canada. These firms operate across the Canadian economy in the oil & gas, utilities, mining, agriculture & food, transportation, materials, industrials, and consumer discretionary sectors. An additional six Canadian companies (CNRL, Enbridge, Imperial Oil, Suncor, TC Energy, and Teck) are already being engaged under Climate Action 100+ (CA100+), a global initiative that served as an inspiration for CEC.

“Canada’s major investors want to support the corporate sector in the transitioning economy, and understand the power of a collaborative approach,” said Barbara Zvan, CEO of University Pension Plan and Chair of the CEC Steering Committee. “Partnering to constructively and consistently engage with top emitters is critical for the success of Canada’s transition to a low carbon economy and the long-term prosperity of Canadian communities as we move toward a net zero world.”

“There are no sidelines in the climate transition,” said Kevin Thomas, CEO of SHARE—an investor network which is coordinating corporate engagement and research for CEC. “No Canadian sector will be untouched by climate change, and they each have a role to play. We’ll be expecting ambitious climate action plans from every focus company, in every sector. Our participants are serious about this, and we expect the companies on our focus list to get serious as well. It’s time to move fast and fix things.”

“It is paramount that investors work together to align capital with sustainable and inclusive development in Canada,” said Patricia Fletcher, CEO of the RIA—Canada’s industry association for responsible investment that supports the CEC’s administrative and communication efforts. “We are steadily gaining momentum as investors join issuers under the CEC initiative and move forward in having meaningful conversations with identified emitters in Canada. We are on our way to establishing a uniquely Canadian blueprint for investor-led climate action.”

The CEC Focus List of Companies:

Oil & gas | Energy (25% of focus list companies): Cenovus Energy Inc.; Pembina Pipeline Corp.; Crescent Point Energy Corp.; MEG Energy Corp.; Keyera Corp.; Tourmaline Oil Corp.; Whitecap Resources Inc.; Vermilion Energy Inc.; Enerplus Corp.; and ARC Resources Ltd.

Utilities | Utilities (20% of focus list companies): Emera Inc.; TransAlta Corp.; Fortis Inc.; Capital Power Corp.; Atco Ltd.; Brookfield Infrastructure Partners; AltaGas Ltd.; and Superior Plus Corp.

Mining | Materials (20% of focus list companies): Nutrien Ltd.; Barrick Gold Corp.; First Quantum Minerals Ltd.; Kinross Gold Corp.; Lundin Mining Corp.; B2Gold Corp.; Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd.; and Hudbay Minerals.

Agriculture & food | Consumer Staples (12.5% of focus list companies): Alimentation Couche- Tard Inc.; Saputo Inc.; Loblaw Companies Ltd.; Empire Company Ltd.; and Metro Inc.

Transportation | Industrials (7.5% of focus list companies): Air Canada; Canadian National Railway Co.; and Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.

Other | Industrials, Materials, and Consumer Discretionary (15% of focus list companies): GFL Environmental Inc.; Waste Connections Inc.; Methanex Corp.; Stelco Holdings Inc.; West Fraser Timber Co Ltd.; and Magna International Inc.

More Information:

CEC was formally launched in October 2021 as the first Canadian, financial sector-led corporate engagement program to accelerate Canada’s transition to a low-carbon future. The program is coordinated by several investor networks including the Responsible Investment Association (RIA), Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE), and Ceres. The UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) is also supporting the CEC. The RIA and SHARE serve as the Joint Secretariat, and the Initiative has leveraged strategic leadership from Barbara Zvan, who served as a member of Canada’s Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance and currently chairs the CEC Steering Committee.

Inspired by the Panel and its recommendation to establish a national engagement program, akin to the CA100+ initiative, CEC was developed to support a broader and more consistent dialogue between investors and Canadian issuers around climate risks and opportunities.