The path toward transformative impact demands an unwavering commitment to Principled Investing.
We believe the integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations is part of our fiduciary duty to ensure client assets are invested in a set of securities well positioned to minimize risk and produce sustainable returns. We also recognize our responsibility to encourage improved ESG practices at the companies in which we invest client assets.
In 2022, Boston Trust Walden continued to advance solutions to the world’s most urgent sustainability challenges by engaging portfolio companies directly, voting proxies responsibly, advocating for smart public policy, and contributing to industry-leading practices related to climate risk, equality, and governance.
Report Highlights
TRANSFORMING SYSTEMS. ACCELERATING IMPACT.
In this 2022 ESG Impact Report, we share examples of actions we’ve taken on behalf of our clients to transform the systems that guide corporate decision-making and accelerate impact to address climate risk and persistent inequality.
2022 REACH AND IMPACT RESULTS
Boston Trust Walden's multi-faceted approach to active ownership — refined over nearly five decades of experience — enabled us to reach more than 80% of the companies held across our investment strategies. Nearly half of the companies we engaged took steps to strengthen corporate policies, enhance public reporting, or advance more sustainable business practices.
30 YEARS OF SAY NO TO NON-DIVERSE BOARDS
2022 was a landmark anniversary for Boston Trust Walden’s work to advance gender, racial, and ethnic diversity within corporate boardrooms — celebrating 30 years of our Say No to Non-Diverse Boards campaign.
GETTING TO NET ZERO
As an early signatory to the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, in June 2022 we formally announced our own targets, which focus on two key areas: moving the companies we invest in to set science-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets and reducing carbon intensity across our investment strategies.
ALIGNING LOBBYING WITH CLIMATE SCIENCE
Smart climate policies are essential to catalyze rapid emissions reductions needed in the market. In 2022, we directly engaged more than a dozen companies on climate lobbying and successfully withdrew five of the six shareholder proposals we filed asking for increased transparency on climate lobbying and alignment of direct and indirect policy advocacy with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
INFLUENCING STANDARD SETTING
Complex ESG challenges, such as climate risk and persistent inequality, are spurring massive corporate transitions and rapidly presenting new and evolving financial risks. In 2022, we continued our decades-long engagement with regulators and standard setters to drive efforts to improve corporate disclosure of material ESG information, seizing a pivotal opportunity to influence the creation of disclosure standards in the US and globally.
ADVANCING THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
Our active ownership initiatives touched 11 of the 17 goals, with strong results across those SDGs most aligned with our focus areas of climate risk, equality, and governance. Contributing to the achievement of the SDGs helps amplify Boston Trust Walden’s impact well beyond our portfolio holdings.
