ACCR Company Engagement J-POWER
J-POWER (TYO: 9513) is Japan’s largest coal power operator, reporting 64.88 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in FY2020. It has interests in 17 power projects around the world - fueled by gas, coal, hydro and biomass – and also invests in Australian coal mines.
ACCR and a US$3 trillion investor group, including the Man Group, HSBC Asset Management and Amundi, has engaged privately with J-POWER on its decarbonisation commitments and strategy since January 2022, later working together on co-filed resolutions at the company’s ordinary general meetings in 2022 and 2023.
In 2023, despite J-POWER’s claims of working “steadily to achieve carbon neutrality”, ACCR found the company’s climate transition plan fell well short of alignment with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
ESG engagement initiative of the year, Asia: Investor coalition at J-Power
The initiative, representing around $3 trillion, became the first institutional investors to file a climate resolution in Japan when it called for more ambitious action by J-Power. The coalition was formed in January 2022 by the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility and is made up of Man Group, HSBC Global Asset Management, and Amundi.
Man Group told Environmental Finance it was "delighted to receive this award on behalf of the co-filing group". It said this "recognises the significance of these pioneering climate shareholder resolutions by institutional investors in Japan”.
