With its inception just over a year ago, Climate Engagement Canada (CEC), has already been invited to participate on the international stage to share the perspective of Canadian asset owners and asset managers on investor collaborations. Most recently, CEC held a panel discussion at the Canada Pavilion during COP27 in Sharm-el-Sheikh.
The panel featured Priti Shokeen, Head of ESG Research and Engagement with TDAM, Michael Kelly, Chief Legal & Corporate Affairs Officer of OMERS, and Jodi-Ann Wang, Senior Climate Policy Analyst with PRI. Together, they highlighted the CEC’s inclusive engagement approach to help Canadian corporations implement climate commitments and accelerate Canada’s transition to Net Zero.
CEC panelists discussed the program’s efforts and contributions to meeting Canada’s Paris-aligned ambitions, which demonstrate how CEC can serve as an example for additional jurisdictions developing their own collaborative engagement initiatives. This conversation prominently featured CEC’s efforts in building investor and issuer knowledge specific to a set of indicators to evaluate performance relating to Canada’s Just Transition.
Some defining points made by the panelists during the session include:
- Priti Shokeen, TDAM: “Putting CEC on the radar of international collaboration mechanisms is a win as investor engagement is not really something well understood yet. We shared with attendees that CEC engagements are inclusive, positive, and constructive with a clear framework and goals within the fiduciary remit.”
- Michael Kelly, OMERS: “As a new initiative, it was great to have the opportunity to talk about CEC at the Canadian Pavilion at COP27 and to highlight the opportunity for enhanced engagements through the collective voice of large institutional investors.”
- Jodi-Ann Wang, PRI: “The CEC event shed light on a unique dimension of non-state actors’ climate action that has not been a frequent focus in previous COPs, and particularly not at the Canadian Pavilion.”
CEC has also joined events at PRI in Person in Barcelona and is currently attending COP15 in Montreal to discuss how institutional investors are organizing themselves to affect greater outcomes through engagement.
