Month: May 2024

May 24, 2024 /3BL/ – In a notable move for the 2024 proxy season, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and New York City Public Pension Boards (NYCERS) submitted six shareholder proposals asking banks to disclose a novel metric for assessing their progress towards their net zero targets and contributions to the clean energy transition. The proposals yielded significant commitments and above-average support, reflecting a growing investor demand for a comprehensive understanding of banks’ funding practices to ensure alignment with responsible objectives.

As of now, there is little comparable information on banks’ green energy financing. The Clean Energy Supply Finance Ratio shareholder resolutions filed by NYCERS call on each bank to regularly disclose a figure comparing their financing of clean energy to their financing of fossil fuels. To align with the goals of the Paris Agreement, banks must significantly scale up financing for the transition, targeting a crucial 4:1 ratio of financing to renewables over fossil fuels by 2030 (i.e., for every $1 dollar supporting fossil fuel supply, banks must supply $4 to support low carbon energy by 2030). The proposals ask the banks to set a ratio target and work to improve their ratio going forward.

The NYCERS resolution was withdrawn for commitment at three banks – JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Royal Bank of Canada – which all agreed to disclose their financing ratios. Proposals at three other banks – Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley – were brought to a shareholder vote, garnering an average support of 26% (26%, 29%, and a preliminary 23% vote, respectively). Based on a review of the 2023 US proxy season by Columbia Threadneedle, the average vote was 23% last year, suggesting 25% is the new benchmark for meaningful shareholder proposal support in 2024.

“If more institutions adopt, disclose, and improve their clean energy finance ratios, they can help reduce risks to themselves and the entire financial system while increasing financing for the business opportunities in the transition to a clean economy,” said Rob Berridge, Sr. Director of Shareholder Engagement, Ceres. “The results of these proposals have positioned the clean energy supply financing ratio as a vital metric for evaluating banks’ progress in financing the transition.”

Other noteworthy proxy season results centered around corporate lobbying disclosure, particularly those seeking greater disclosure in the financial services sector. Votes at Truist (41%), BNY Melon (39%), Goldman Sachs (39%), Wells Fargo (36%), and Morgan Stanley (31%, preliminary) all garnered solid shareholder support. A similar resolution at Capital One was withdrawn for commitment. These results are poised to set a new standard for disclosure in the banking industry as the proposals have prompted significant discourse among banks and investors.

Berridge added, “The high votes for lobbying disclosure are also a significant signal that investors want banks to address the reputational risks of participation in trade associations whose positions contradict the banks’ public position. We hope these efforts will help catalyze enhanced transparency and ambition in the banking sector.”

About Ceres 

Ceres is a nonprofit advocacy organization working to accelerate the transition to a cleaner, more just, and sustainable world. United under a shared vision, our powerful networks of investors and companies are proving sustainability is the bottom line—changing markets and sectors from the inside out. For more information, visit ceres.org.

Media Contact: Vivian Melody, vmelody@ceres.org, 617-247-0700 ext. 353

The “Amazons” of the Kingdom of Dahomey were known for their bravery, their audacity, and their innovation. The 18th-century Amazons challenged archetypes, stimulated debates, revolutionized gender roles, and contributed to the advancement of women’s rights. Like their ancestral sisters in Dahomey, the Amazons of Côte d’Ivoire are modern-day warriors.

Instead of using the implements of war to stake their claims, today’s Amazons of Côte d’Ivoire use financial tools. They are members of Village Savings & Loan Associations (VSLAs), who have decided to establish and expand these essential community financial resources throughout Côte d’Ivoire, empowering vulnerable and marginalized communities, particularly women.

I recently spent time with some of the Amazons in New York at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW68) where they talked with ministers and other government officials, civil-society organization leaders and funders about the impact of their work.

In 2006, CARE began to set up VSLAs in areas of Côte d’Ivoire predominantly made up of rural women. Today, CARE is working with approximately 15,000 savings groups in the region, and this model has been replicated by other global nonprofits and state institutions, including Côte d’Ivoire’s Ministry of Solidarity and Poverty Eradication (aka “the Ministry”).

“It is urgent today to encourage local populations to join [these] groups in order to offer them greater opportunity to live with dignity,” said Myss Belmonde Dogo from the Ministry. “[VSLA] groups represent a culture of savings and the reinforcement of ties of solidarity for grassroots development.”

Before joining forces as the Amazons, local women who were running VSLAs were working diligently but separately to set up groups in their communities. They were actively recruiting other women at community events, including weddings, when chatting together while cooking or preparing the bride, and when they started to find out about each other, they knew they had the potential to reach more women and came to CARE asking for support to formally bring them together.

We responded by organizing training sessions on the VSLA methodology. The groups also received training in advocacy, leadership, entrepreneurship, and financial inclusion. We then brought these women together with Regional Directors from the Ministry so that the work of the Amazons could be formally recognized.

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Because of that key partnership, the Amazons are contributing to the national effort to combat poverty. Working directly with the Ministry’s Regional Directors, they have developed a system of establishing, supervising, and mentoring savings groups. This encourages women and girls to invest in themselves and their futures.

45,000 members and counting

The Amazons’ approach allows for a deep understanding of local realities and norms, enabling them to better support VSLA members in their financial, social, and political activities. The Ministry has formally recognized their role as scaling partners and credible leaders within their communities, supporting social cohesion.

Since March 2022, 49 Amazons have created nearly 2,000 groups with over 45,000 members across the country. Their goal is to create 2,000 more groups by 2026.

Gladys Zado Gbehi from Abidjan has personally helped to establish more than 80 groups, creating a chain of solidarity and mutual support among women. She was one of the attendees at the CSW68 in New York. She described the cascading effect that VSLAs have on women and families.

“Through our savings groups I regularly see women changing their lives,” she said. “I see women who now have regular income from selling cakes and baked goods, fresh juices, or sandwiches. Women who can now send their child to school. Women who are no longer lonely because they are part of a group, and who have support from their savings group for clothes and food when they are going through a tough time.”

For the Ministry, the Amazons are a trusted way to directly reach and support communities throughout the country to help reduce poverty in rural communities.

In addition to establishing savings groups, they are actively working to reduce harmful practices, such as forced marriage and gender-based violence. They have clear operating methods to gain support in the local community to recognize the value of VSLAs, identify potential leaders, train them on VSLA best practices, and help spread the word throughout the region.

‘An ideal partner’

“The Amazons are an ideal partner for the Ministry because they completely understand their communities,” says Kouakou Olivier Michel Houango, the Ministry’s Regional Director for Abidjan. “They also have concrete operating methods to reduce the vulnerability of women and young people living in poverty. They are essential partners, and we cannot work without them. We must listen to the aspirations and dreams of women.”

“When I joined the savings group, I was selling fish, & eventually I opened a small restaurant. I now have three employees, too. With the money I make, I pay for school for my seven children”

Gladys Zado Gbehi

For the Amazons, being connected to the Ministry has opened doors t, helping them work more freely in communities. Their determination is palpable.

“Having the government as a partner is important for our legitimacy in the community, for our growth and our access to the market. But VSLAs are for us women., It is the way forward for our development and our fulfillment. We will continue to engage and support this work on our terms and needs.”

For the future, the Amazons tell us they have great ambitions. As well as continuing to highlight the capacities and leadership of women through VSLAs, they will continue to raise awareness amongst women and girls on the benefits of joining VSLAs, supporting CARE’s ambitions to significantly scale savings groups.

They also plan to expand their Amazons network and will recruit younger women to succeed them, as well as identify men as allies who can help scale the groups. They will continue to lead advocacy efforts around specific issues, such as eliminating forced marriage, influence institutions for increased access to markets for women, and support group negotiations with financial institutions.

Ultimately, they plan to create a network of Amazons connecting women from different regions of the country, increasing their capacity to trade with their sisters from Abidjan to Korhogo. Furthermore, the Amazons will also explore the idea of ​​creating a women’s bank, which will tailor products and services to the needs and realities of women.