‘Hundreds’ of Alibaba staff tune in to hear shareholders talk about firm’s impact on nature
Hundreds of staff at Alibaba reportedly tuned into a ‘capacity building’ session hosted by shareholders concerned about the firm’s exposure to nature-related risks.
The global technology company is a target for Nature Action 100, an initiative that coordinates engagement between large institutional investors and their portfolio companies on issues of biodiversity, land and natural resources.
The group says Alibaba’s main risks and impacts relate to the sourcing of its packaging, the management of post-consumer waste, and its water and energy use.
Two of the company’s shareholders – Dutch asset manager Robeco and Sweden’s East Capital Group – were permitted to hold a capacity building session earlier this year, during an internal event on it was hosting on capital markets and ESG.
They claim “hundreds of Alibaba employees attended” the session, where they explained why nature-related risks and opportunities matter for the business, and how investors consider them.
“Using the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosure’s LEAP framework, material issues were identified across Alibaba’s operations and value chain, such as water usage, pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions,” the pair explained.
“We also provided suggestions for improvements.”
“The session sparked active dialogue, with company participants asking thoughtful questions about prioritising business units for impact assessments and identifying tangible opportunities for nature-positive action.”
The event was recorded so that all employees have long-term access to it, NA100 said.
Alibaba was one of just two firms showcased in NA100’s annual progress report, because of its “openness to investor engagement on nature-related issues”.
Overall, the initiative found that 68 of the 100 companies on its target list had committed to protect nature, and 46 had value-chain commitments.
“Only one company disclosed evidence of a comprehensive materiality assessment of nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks, or opportunities,” said the report, without naming the firm.
Nearly half disclosed targets to avoid or reduce their impact on nature, and 37 also disclosed strategies for achieving those goals.
“However, no companies disclosed evidence that their targets stem from assessments of material nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks, and opportunities,” noted NA100.