Member AUM
$70 trillion
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Collaborative Engagements

Working with investors and companies to identify ESG risks and opportunities

Engagement Overview

What are collaborative engagements?

Engagement refers to the process undertaken by an institutional investor, or a group of institutional investors, to achieve a desired change in company disclosures, strategies or practices.

Investors with exposure to a company in their portfolio via shares, bonds, debt or other financial instruments use their ownership of the company or its capital as leverage, to enter a process of dialogue and evaluation. Collaborative investor engagements, such as those typically run by FAIRR, enable investors to join a larger group of institutions to amplify their impact and accelerate change. Investors may enter into a collaborative engagement for the following reasons:

  1. Individual investors may have limited influence due to the size of their holdings.

  2. The greater the aggregate support for an issue – in number of investors and AUM – the stronger the signal it sends to both target companies and the wider market.

  3. Knowledge building. Investors may not have the knowledge to launch their own engagement and want to learn from experts or other investors.

  4. FAIRR operates engagements on behalf of its investor members, functioning as an outsourced stewardship or engagement team for investors who typically have limited capacity to engage many companies in their portfolio. The FAIRR team coordinates the process, creates all documents and conducts all research and evaluation required. Investors can further learn from each other and FAIRR expertise during the course of an engagement.

Engagement-overview

How do engagements work?

FAIRR is responsible for coordinating engagements that are supported by our investor members. All our engagements have clear objectives underpinned by assessment frameworks informed by leading academics and industry experts, investors and corporates. These are used to measure and report on company progress.

The engagement process is structured around 4 fundamental actions:

  1. Formal notification of companies via an engagement letter signed by supporting investors;

  2. Formal dialogue with companies in meetings held with small group of investor representing the broader coalition;

  3. Measuring company progress based on primary (company response to letter and meetings) and secondary (public disclosure including company websites, media, reports) data;

  4. Reporting on progress against the engagement objective.

Engagements Cycle

Current Engagements

Animal Pharmaceuticals Engagement

This engagement tackles the lack of transparency from animal pharmaceutical companies over how they manufacture, market, and sell antibiotics – practices that could contribute to AMR hotspots in the environment and drive high levels of antibiotic use.

Project-Animal Pharma

Protein Diversification Engagement

This engagement assesses 20 global food retailers and manufacturers to Integrate protein diversification into climate transition plans

Project-Protein-diversification

Restaurant Antibiotics Engagement

This engagement addresses the quick-service restaurant sector on the need to improve antibiotic stewardship practices.

Project-RAB

Seafood Traceability Engagement

Full-chain traceability is key to addressing ESG risks and unlocking opportunities in global seafood supply chains

Project-Seafood Traceability

Sustainable Aquaculture Engagement

Climate and Biodiversity Risk in the Farmed Salmon Industry

Project-Sustainable Aquaculture

Waste & Pollution Engagement

Mismanagement of Manure Drives Pollution and Biodiversity Risk

Project-Waste & pollution

Working Conditions Engagement

Unpacking Labour Risk in Global Meat Supply Chains

Project-Working Conditions

Previous Engagements

Antibiotics Stewardship Engagement

Overuse of Antibiotics in Protein Supply Chains

Project-Antibiotics Stewardship

Meat Sourcing Engagement

Engaging six of the world’s biggest quick-service restaurant brands

Project-Meat Sourcing

Sustainable Proteins Engagement

Assessing 23 global food retailers and manufacturers to build climate-aligned protein portfolios

Project-Sustainable Proteins

Signatory Terms of Reference

Our Collaborative Engagement Terms of Reference applies to all investor signatories involved in our collaborative engagements established and coordinated by the FAIRR Initiative (‘FAIRR’). All FAIRR members can join FAIRR-coordinated collaborative engagements. View our Terms of Reference for FAIRR Collaborative Engagements below.

Engagement - Terms of reference