Investor activism

Why investor activism?

Gigantic companies have a huge impact on the world's climate and people. Grünfin drives sustainability by meeting with major firms. We push companies on major initiatives that affect the planet like greenhouse gas reductions and that affect people like more nutritious food offerings.

You will recognize the companies we're talking to

Food manufacturers
Responsibility to decrease global obesity and malnutrition
Nestle
Unilever
Pepsi
Coca-Cola
Kelloggs
Mondelez
Kraft Heinz
General Mills
Danone
Banks
Responsibility to stop financing oil & gas companies
BNP Paribas
Societe Generale
Barclays
Chemicals
Responsibility to reduce greenhouse gases as this sector represents 6% of global emissions
BASF
Croda
Givaudan
Air Liquide
Covestro
Yara
Evonik
Lyondell Basell
DSM
LanXess
EMS

You can create change as part of something bigger. You are part of a major coalition of investors

  1. ShareAction

    We have partnered with our friends at ShareAction. A not-for-profit that brings together like-minded investors
  2. Trillions

    We have trillions of euros under management as a coalition. Large global companies listen to you when you're this big!
  3. Challenge

    We meet with these companies' top management and ask the tough questions.

Investor activism examples

We met with Nestlé, the world’s largest food producer.

We asked its Head of Marketing and Sales:

nestle

Q: “Will Nestlé move some marketing spending from less healthy products towards healthier ones to help shift consumers towards a healthier portfolio?" A: "We won’t commit to spending in one category or another, but marketing and R&D are two of the most important levers for accelerated growth within the healthy part of our portfolio. This has already started, with around 70% of our total marketing spending focused on the healthier side of the portfolio."

We represented you when meeting with the EU’s largest bank, BNP Paribas

We asked its Global Head of Corporate & Social Responsibility:

bnp

Q: “What targets is BNP committing to by 2030 to reflect its fair share of emissions?” A: “BNP has recently stopped all financing of new oil and gas fields and targets a low-carbon energy financing amount of at least €40 billion by 2030. We will publish this information annually for the sake of transparency.”

We attended chemical giant Covestro’s annual shareholder meeting

We asked its CEO directly a question that went something like this:

covestro

Q: “We applaud Covestro for its goal of net zero emissions and transition process to 100% renewable energy. However, how will you address any possible residual emissions you anticipate?” A: “Covestro’s goal is to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions in its production by 2035. We do our utmost to reduce our emissions through renewable electricity and green steam. Should there still be unavoidable residual emissions after this, we will consider high-quality compensation measures as a last resort in accordance with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.”

Grünfin's activism in the news

“Europe learned a hard lesson last year. Obtaining our energy from clean sources is critical for both protecting the environment and national security. Banks must act now.” Karin Nemec, Grünfin Co-founder