Metro Inc. | Climate Change - Long term GHG reduction target at Metro Inc.

Status
28.54% votes in favour
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
1
Resolution details
Lead filer
SHARE - Shareholder Association for Research & Education
Resolution ask
Set targets or plans
ESG theme
  • Environment
ESG sub-theme
  • Net Zero / Paris aligned
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Consumer Staples
Company HQ country
Canada
Resolved clause
RESOLVED: Shareholders request that Metro Inc. adopt near- and long-term science-based greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, inclusive of Scope 3 emissions from its full value chain, which are aligned with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal requiring net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner and to effectuate appropriate emissions reductions prior to 2030. The targets should: (1) Be publicly disclosed at least 180 days prior to the next annual shareholders meeting; (2) Follow the guidance of advisory groups such as the Science-Based Targets Initiative; (3) Be supported by an enterprise-wide climate action plan outlining the steps the company will take to achieve net zero emissions.
Supporting statement
In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change advised that greenhouse gas emissions must be halved by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 to limit warming to 1.5°C, prevent the worst consequences of climate change, and meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. Subsequent UN reports have warned that the world is “way off track” in its efforts to achieve these targets, and on “a fast track to disaster”. The physical and financial risks posed by climate change to long-term investors are systemic, portfolio-wide, unhedgeable and undiversifiable. The actions of companies that fail to align to limiting warming to 1.5°C pose material risks to those companies, the financial system as a whole, and to investors’ entire portfolios. Metro is exposed to significant operational, financial, reputational and regulatory risks associated with climate change. For example, Metro notes in its 2021 CDP Climate Change report (for which it received a ‘C’) that physical risks associated with climate change, “could impact our supply chain network, resulting in increased food and energy prices, as well as supply chain disruptions”. Against the backdrop of these climate-related vulnerabilities and need for urgent and ambitious action, Metro’s recent climate commitments are woefully inadequate. While Metro has a goal to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 37.5% by 2035, it is not aligned with the global 1.5-degree Paris goal. The company has also not disclosed a time-bound plan to measure and set reduction targets for its full Scope 3, or value chain, emissions which are likely to represent Metro’s greatest contribution to climate change. Metro lags peer companies in its greenhouse gas emission disclosures and targets. In 2022, both Loblaw Companies Ltd. and Empire Company Ltd./Sobeys announced commitments to achieve net-zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2040 and net-zero Scope 3 emissions by 2050 in line with the Science Based Targets Initiative. Sobeys’ recent GHG emissions inventory revealed that Scope 3 emissions make up a staggering 97% of its total emissions.

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