AkademikerPension: Integrating human rights into our multi-asset class investment strategy

PRI Awards 2024

Organisation: AkademikerPension

Signatory type: Investment manager 

HQ country: Denmark

The approach, initiative or process

Responsible investment has been an integrated focus for AkademikerPension for several years and our approach has continuously evolved as we have gained experience and as international norms and principles have developed. Joining the PRI in 2009 and the UN Global Compact in 2018 was especially important for this work. The year 2018 was also marked by the addition of human rights expertise to our fund’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) team to mainstream the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) across all asset classes.

To promote the mainstreaming of human rights considerations in finance and business in 2023 and 2024, we:

• filed shareholder proposals at Meta Platforms, Amazon, A.P. Moller – Maersk, Carlsberg, DSV and FLSmidth – the latter two were adopted, while the other four were not;
• engaged directly with several companies, including Tesla, Amazon, Meta Platforms, A.P. Moller – Maersk, Carlsberg, DSV, FLSmidth, Ørsted and Novo Nordisk;
• made a commitment to uphold the minimum social safeguards, including UNGPs, in direct real estate investments;
• implemented the UNGPs in a side letter for private equity and infrastructure investments;
• participated in networks such as the Labour Rights Investor Network and PRI Advance.

Our fund has integrated human rights into its overarching ESG policy, asset manager selection, appointment and monitoring processes and equity and corporate bond investment restrictions, as well as sovereign bond investments.

AkademikerPension is part of the Danish society for ESG professionals, Dansif. Having a representative of AkademikerPension on the Dansif Board has enabled us to contribute actively to the collaboration between Dansif and The Danish Institute for Human Rights. This collaboration has resulted in masterclasses for ESG professionals and a new peer learning network.

Human rights related resolutions in 2024

Maersk shareholder proposal (2024)

As shareholders, AkademikerPension and LD Fonde proposed that Maersk should publicly disclose documentation regarding its human rights due diligence process. This request was in line with Maersk’s commitment to respect human rights and the UNGPs. We recommended that the disclosure should include, but not necessarily be limited to, how the company:

• Identifies and assesses human rights risks, detailing:
  • how the actual and potential human rights and labour rights impacts of the company’s operations, supply chain and business relationships are identified;
  • salient human rights and labour rights issues to workers, local communities and society;
• Prevents and mitigates salient human rights and labour rights issues, such as:
  • how the company ensures that efforts are fit-for-purpose to prevent and mitigate potential future adverse impacts;
  • which risk-mitigation efforts the company applies to risks related to the supply chain and business relationships;
• Monitors the efficacy of its risk-mitigation efforts;
• Employs stakeholder engagement to inform the human rights due diligence process;
• Carries out heightened human rights due diligence in regard to projects and contracts that are considered to be high risk for human rights violations.

The proposal suggested that this information should be published at least once a year and be made public before the annual general meeting notice, starting in 2025. It could also be included in the current reporting suite.

Meta shareholder proposal (2024)

We were the lead filer of a proposal regarding reporting on human rights risks in non-US markets. We filed the resolution on behalf of Kapitalforeningen MP Invest; co-filers were Storebrand Asset Management AS, Amundi Asset Management and Christina O’Connell on behalf of Mari Mennel-Bell.

The request was for Meta Platforms Inc. (Meta) to report on the effectiveness of its measures to prevent and mitigate human rights risks in its five largest non-US markets (based on number of users). The request related specifically to the proliferation of hate speech, disinformation and incitement to violence enabled by Instagram and Facebook.

It is the filers’ belief that the dissemination of hatred that incites discrimination, hostility or violence violates international human rights standards.

Where content moderation systems have failed to effectively detect divisive content in non-English languages, there has been an associated increase in hate speech, disinformation and incitement to violence. Meta’s stakeholders and the public have repeatedly raised significant concerns regarding an apparent lack of proportionate investment in content-moderation resources and expertise in Meta’s global majority markets. This issue has been repeatedly flagged by reports from international organisations and Meta’s own oversight board and chief security officers.

Adequate resource for and investment in content moderation is increasingly critical in the 2024 super-election year, when an estimated 2.6 billion people will be taking to the polls globally. Media reports suggest Meta is putting in place advertising-related mitigations around the US election. However, Meta has not published any measures to address such issues in non-Western, non-English speaking markets. Given the current inadequacy of content moderation, these markets are more vulnerable to the proliferation of hate speech, disinformation and incitement to violence on Meta’s platforms.

We suggested that reporting should include data on the number of content moderators fluent in local languages in Instagram and Facebook’s five largest non-US markets and an assessment by external, independent, qualified experts of the effectiveness of Meta’s measures to manage hateful content, disinformation and incitement to violence.

The measures to ensure transparency and generate outcomes

Transparency is fundamental to our active ownership strategy concerning human rights. We prioritise clear and open communication regarding the fund’s active ownership efforts related to:

• Conflict-affected and high-risk areas;
• Digital rights;
• Risk to democracy;
• Labour rights;
• The responsibilities of sovereign nations.

We promote transparency and peer learning by detailing our processes, specific cases, data issues and the dilemmas linked to human rights risks and impact through policies, reporting, position papers, social media, participation in the public debate and research projects with, for example, Copenhagen Business School.

Some examples of this work are listed.

 

PRI disclaimer: This case study aims to contribute to the debate around topical responsible investment issues. It should not be construed as advice, nor relied upon. It is written by a guest contributor. Authors write in their individual capacity – posts do not necessarily represent a PRI view. The inclusion of examples or case studies does not constitute an endorsement by PRI Association or PRI signatories.