U.S. asset managers influence Dutch businesses' sustainability goals
The four largest U.S. asset managers — BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street, and Fidelity — now control nearly 12 percent of Dutch publicly traded companies, watchdog SOMO said in a study published in ESB (Economisch Statistische Berichten, Economic Statistical Reports).
Since Donald Trump’s election, U.S. climate policy has rolled back rapidly. “You see the increased influence of Trump on the business world: a harsh wind has begun to blow against sustainability,” Triodos economist Joeri de Wilde told NOS.
SOMO warned that this shift could undermine corporate climate policies. “Social views should not stand in the way of returns, and the existence of climate change is contested there,” the group said. By contrast, European law pushes companies toward sustainable practices.
BlackRock alone manages about 355 billion euros in Dutch assets, mostly pension funds. Shareholder votes are reportedly key on environmental issues, but most clients allegedly leave those decisions to asset managers.
SOMO researcher Boris Schellekens warned: “If your largest shareholder does not prioritize sustainability, and BlackRock is the largest shareholder in 14 of the 25 Dutch publicly traded companies, then you are also not going to draft or put forward sustainable proposals.”
This year, BlackRock quit a global climate investors’ alliance, after which Texas removed the firm from a blacklist of companies accused of pushing social and environmental goals too far.
The impact on Dutch companies is disputed. “The influence of American asset managers on Dutch companies is probably not very large,” Martijn Rozemuller, European CEO at Van Eck, told NOS. Still, he noted, “a number of large companies are less vocal about how committed they are to the environment or human rights.”
A ShareAction study found that last year major asset managers supported just 1.4 percent of social and environmental resolutions, the lowest ever recorded.
BlackRock said it cannot dictate corporate strategy as a minority shareholder. “That remains the responsibility of the company’s management itself,” a spokesperson said. The firm added that clients can vote themselves if they wish and that it offers a separate climate program for those who consider that important.
