California Water Service Group | Climate Transition Plan and GHG Reduction Goals at California Water Service Group

Status
32.81% votes in favour
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
6
Resolution details
Company ticker
CWT
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
Utilities
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
Shareholders request California Water Service Group, within a year, issue near and long-term science-based GHG reduction targets aligned with the Paris Agreement’s ambition of maintaining global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius and summarize plans to achieve them. The targets should cover the Company’s full range of operational and supply chain emissions.
Whereas clause
Whereas: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has advised that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must be halved by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050 in order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and avoid the worst impacts of climate change.  Every incremental increase in temperature above 1.5 degrees Celsius will entail increasingly severe physical, transition, and systemic risks for companies and investors alike.
In its 2022 10-K, California Water Service Group (or “the Company”) noted that the impacts of climate change, particularly severe weather and natural disasters, may negatively affect its operations, customer demand, and the population of its service areas and potentially result in “unrecoverable costs” for the Company.
Despite acknowledging these risks, the Company’s climate goals may be insufficient to mitigate climate risk. The Company has not published science-based near or long-term GHG reduction targets, and it is unclear how its current climate efforts align with limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. By contrast, 17 water utilities have either set or committed to setting science-based GHG reduction targets through the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), including 9 who have committed to reaching net zero by 2050.
Investors seek increased disclosure on how companies are addressing the climate crisis and their plans to transition their business models to ones that align with limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. To assist companies in developing viable transition plans, groups including We Mean Business, CDP, State Street Global Advisors, and the Task Force on Climate-Related Disclosures have provided guidance.
California Water Service Group is asked to take additional action to comprehensively address its climate impact and mitigate both the physical risks to its operations and the transition risks associated with new regulation and a global shift to a clean energy economy. Proponents believe adopting 1.5 degree Celsius-aligned science-based targets for its full carbon footprint will help the Company mitigate these risks.
Resolved: Shareholders request California Water Service Group, within a year, issue near and long-term science-based GHG reduction targets aligned with the Paris Agreement’s ambition of maintaining global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius and summarize plans to achieve them. The targets should cover the Company’s full range of operational and supply chain emissions.
Supporting statement
Supporting Statement: In assessing targets, we recommend, at management’s discretion:
Consideration of approaches used by advisory groups like SBTi;Development of a transition plan that shows how the Company plans to meet its goals, taking into consideration criteria used by advisory groups and investors; andConsideration of supporting targets for renewable energy, energy efficiency, and other measures deemed appropriate by management. 

How other organisations have declared their voting intentions

Organisation nameDeclared voting intentionsRationale
Tareno AGForA climate transition plan and specific targets for the reduction of GHG emissions are essential to be able to meet the Goals of the Paris Agreement
Inyova Impact InvestingFor

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