Shareholders at logistics company FedEx have rejected two proposals at its 2023 AGM requesting that it report on how it is protecting employees from climate risk arising from its retirement plan investment options. The majority of investors voted against the proposals, but FedEx has not yet provided the results of the votes. One of the resolutions was filed by NGO As You Sow which requested that the board publish a report disclosing how the company is protecting plan beneficiaries with a longer investment time horizon from climate risk in the its default retirement options. In a statement, As You Sow said that there is a “growing concern among employees” about the “risks of investing retirement dollars in industries that contribute significantly to climate change”. It said that FedEx is “failing to act” on its public recognition of climate risk or its commitment to achieve net zero operations by 2040 by continues to “direct billions of employee dollars into fossil fuels and companies responsible for rainforest destruction”. Danielle Fugere, President at As You Sow, said: “Carbon-intense investments create systemic risk for all employee’s retirement plans, but younger employees are at particular risk because they are required to hold their funds until retirement. Companies that fail to address material climate risk in their retirement plans could be exposing themselves to potential legal liability.”
