On an annual basis, HESTA reviews each service provider's Engagement Plan and discusses it with them to ensure that the plan:
- Outlines a robust process for identifying and prioritising ESG issues and/or companies with which to engage.
- Identifies the priority companies and key ESG issues (or vice versa depending on the service providers approach) for engagement and the rationale for engagement.
- Outlines behaviour change objectives and measurable targets for each company to be achieved over a specified timeframe e.g. 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 3 years, 5 years etc.
- Outlines a robust process for identifying and prioritising ESG issues or company behaviours that arise during the period warrant engagement (i.e. process of reactive engagement).
HESTA places particular emphasis on ensuring there are robust processes for identifying and prioritising companies and/or ESG issues for engagement. We believe that the right processes will ensure that the right companies and/or ESG issues will be identified and prioritised.
In 2018 HESTA began development of our own engagement plans. the purpose of these plans is not to replace our service-providers, but to effectively act as a filter, facilitating focus on issues of strategic importance and companies of strategic importance to HESTA.
HESTA's plan guides our involvement in collaborative engagement, ensuring that we participate in engagements that are strategic to HESTA and where we have capacity for influence, and also that engagement objectives are aligned to the material issues that we have identified.