Schroders, which manages around GBP 730 billion, said it was
declaring its intention to vote against management on the issues as an
escalation measure following talks with the companies.
While any move to declare voting plans is still relatively
rare among asset managers, more are starting to do so as part of efforts to
accelerate change on environmental, social, and governance-related issues such
as climate change.
In total, Schroders said it would vote against 11
resolutions across the three companies at their annual general meetings.
The money manager said its engagement with Amazon had
centred on supporting workers' rights, specifically improving staff pay and
benefits, the health, and wellbeing of workers and worker representation within
the company.
At Meta and Alphabet, Schorders said it would vote in favour
of improving their approach to digital rights, including the management of
exploitative content, misinformation and privacy.
"These issues are growing in importance for our clients
who are pressing us to do more to ensure the companies that we invest in are
acting responsibly," said Kate Rogers, Head of Sustainability, Schroders
Wealth Management.
"By voting against the management at Alphabet and Meta
we are signalling the importance of big technology companies acting to avoid
harm and tackling misinformation on their platforms. At Amazon, we stand with
the workers, seeking more disclosure on working conditions and their
treatment."
Schroders added that it was still considering and would
likely vote against other agenda items at the companies' AGMs. © Reuters