Sustainability Reporting - GHG Emphasis

Resolution Text

RESOLVED: Shareholders request Old Republic International Corporation (“Old Republic”) issue a sustainability report describing the company’s present policies, performance and targets related to key environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities. The report should be available on the company website within a reasonable time frame, be prepared at reasonable cost, and omit proprietary information.


Supporting Statement: Proponents believe tracking and reporting on ESG practices strengthens a company's ability to address controversial policy issues such as climate change and to compete and adapt in today's global business environment which is characterized by changing legislation and heightened public expectations for corporate accountability.

Substantive reporting allows companies to better integrate and capture value from existing sustainability efforts, identify gaps and opportunities in policies and practices, enhance company-wide communications, and recruit and retain employees. Support for sustainability reporting continues to gain momentum:
• In 2017, KPMG found approximately three quarters of the 4,900 companies studied issue sustainability reports.1
• The Governance & Accountability Institute reports 86% of S&P 500 peers engaged in sustainability reporting in 2018.2
• One of the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) is to seek “appropriate disclosure on ESG issues”; the PRI has more than 2,300 signatories with over $86 trillion in assets under management.3

Many of Old Republic’s self-identified peers, as listed in its 2019 proxy statement, publish sustainability information such as metrics, improvement targets, and qualitative supporting details. These include: American Financial Group, W.R. Berkley Corporation, First American Financial Corp., The Hartford Financial Services Group, and Travelers Companies. In contrast, Old Republic has disclosed neither a qualitative description of its ESG policies nor quantitative metrics conveying the company’s operational ESG performance, its GHG data, or established goals to improve environmental performance. It also has neglected to take action when shareholder proposals repeatedly receive majority support.

As shareholders, we believe it is prudent for Old Republic to disclose how it is managing its ESG factors, which can pose significant reputational, legal, regulatory, and financial risk to the company and its shareholders. Without appropriate disclosure from the company, investors and other stakeholders lack the data to adequately assess how Old Republic is managing its material ESG risks and opportunities.

There is evidence that it is also good for the bottom line: For example, a report published by WWF, CDP, and McKinsey & Company, found that companies with GHG targets achieved an average of 9% better return on invested capital than companies without targets.4

Proponents believe Old Republic should review the resources and reporting recommendations made by the Investor Stewardship Group5, the Global Reporting Initiative, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, and the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures in preparation for this report. These platforms suggest Corporate Governance principles as well as topics such as operational environmental impacts (including energy and water use, air emissions and waste management), employee health & safety, and supply chain management.

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1 https://home.kpmg/uk/en/home/insights/2017/11/kpmg-international-survey-of-corporate-responsibility-reporting-2017.html
2 https://www.ga-institute.com/press-releases/article/flash-report-86-of-sp-500-indexR-companies-publish-sustainability-responsibility-reports-in-20.html
3 https://www.unpri.org/pri/an-introduction-to-responsible-investment/what-are-the-principles-for-responsible-investment
4 https://www.worldwildlife.org/projects/the-3-solution#overview
5 https://isgframework.org/corporate-governance-principles/

Lead Filer

Patricia Karr Seabrook
Miller/Howard Investments