Responsible Investment Solutions | For professional investors/qualified investors only

Introducingreo®

Our Responsible Engagement
Overlay service

Introducing reo®

Introducing reo®

Discover how our Responsible Engagement
Overlay service (reo ) can help clients advancetheir responsible investment strategy,
wherever they are on their journey.
®

At Columbia Threadneedle Investments we have built apowerful responsible investment capability with research at its
heart and deep expertise encompassing a broad spectrum of
ESG risks, across issuers, sectors and geographies.
Through reo , clients can access the full suite of our active
ownership expertise including ESG research, engagement, andproxy voting. Clients gain greater influence to effect positivechange by pooling their assets under engagement with ourasset base.
®

A wealth of Responsible investment experience
We have a 24-year track record of active ownership and ateam of 45+ responsible investment specialists.

Driving effective outcomes through targeted
engagement and proxy voting
We use in-depth research to identify financially material
ESG risks and opportunities and use constructiveengagement with the aim of generating and sustaining
long-term investor value.

Excellent client service is paramountreo clients can expect regular communication to keep
up-to-date on the engagement programme as well as client
reporting to help meet regulatory requirements.
®

We incorporate client's views into ourengagement programme through ourannual client consultation

A responsible corporate citizen
reo is backed by a research-driven, global asset manager
with a responsible ethos and continuous improvement
at its core.
®

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Introducing reo®

Our responsible investment specialists have a wide range ofsector and thematic expertise.

2023 coverage:

1,424*

RI-related interactions with 867* companies across 45* countries
and achieved 217* milestones

76%

engagement coverage of MSCI AC World Index over a 3 year
period (by weight)

106,139

total proposals voted at 10,546 company meetings with 18%
votes against management on behalf of our reo clients®

Be part of our holistic engagement
programme
We define engagement as having constructive dialogue withissuers on environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks that
could have a material negative impact on their businesses and,
where necessary, encouraging improvement in ESG management
practices. Our purpose with engagement is to support longterm investment returns by mitigating risk and capitalising on
opportunities linked to ESG factors.

Aligned with the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs)
We align our engagement to the 17 SDGs andthe 169 underlying targets adopted by the UN –providing a globally recognised way to articulate
sustainability.

Recording engagement
progress
RI analysts record Milestones where companies
make tangible improvement in their policies andpractices in alignment with our Objectives. We
rate milestones from one to three-stars based onmateriality and align them to our ESG themes aswell as the SDGs.

Issuers engaged byregion in 2023

Our engagement programme is structured around high-level
themes encompassing ESG issues most relevant to investors.
We engage companies in both developed and emerging markets
across the globe. Our knowledge, scale and experience help us gain
access to key decision-makers and we engage at different levels,
talking to the board, executive management, investor relations,sustainability leadership, and operational specialists.
If issuers do not demonstrate progress on matters that webelieve are in our clients’ best long-term economic interests, wemay consider further escalation, such as proxy voting, publicstatements, filing shareholder resolutions and intervening atan AGM.
Our reo engagement covers listed equities, and corporate(financial and non-financial) credit. Engagement activity isreinforced by the broader public policy engagement.
®

*For these figures, we sought independent limited assurance from KPMG LLP. Please refer
to our Reporting Criteria document for our approach to the classification, calculation andreporting of stewardship data.

■ Europe36%■ North America

31%■ Asia (ex Japan)

21%■ Japan7%■ Other6%

3Introducing reo®

Chosen withclients’ preferencesin mind
We incorporate client views into ourengagement programme through ourClient Consultation.

Unique to reo , each year we give clients the opportunity to voice their thematic ESG engagement priorities. The results feed into ourengagement programme and related project work for the year. Below are examples of recent engagement projects.
®

Improving board gender diversity in Asia
Yu-Ting Fu

Industry:

Theme:

StatusAnalyst, Responsible Investment

Cross-sector

Corporate governanceOngoingAll-male boards are still commonly seen in Asia. This project intends to cover the largest issuers in Asia which still have an all-male board. There is clear
evidence that an inclusive and diverse issuer, especially at the highest leadership level, often outperforms other less diverse peers.

Sustainable critical mineral supply chains
Joe HorrocksTaylor

Albertine
Pegrum-Haram

Industry:

Theme:

StatusAnalyst,
Responsible
Investment

Analyst,ResponsibleInvestment

Automobile manufacturers, Automotiveparts & equipment, Diversified Metals &Mining, Electric utilities

Climate Change, HumanRights

NewThe energy transition requires substantial amounts of metals such as copper, nickel, cobalt, aluminium, lithium, rare earth elements as well as steel withlower embodied carbon. We focus our engagement with both the demand side (automakers and utilities) as well as the supply side (mining) to evaluate theconsistency in their identification of minerals that may become supply constrained over different timeframes.

Sustainable food systemsMarcus Wilert

Industry:

Theme:

StatusAnalyst, Responsible Investment

Consumer staples and consumer
discretionary

Environmental Stewardship,
Climate Change, LabourStandards, Public Health

New

The food and beverage industry is facing a number of social and environmental risks, while needing to provide food for a growing population. Our work
aims to take a systemic approach to challenges including addressing plastic pollution, reducing GHG emissions, managing water stress and soil depletion,
securing working conditions in operations and supply chains, and eliminating deforestation in raw material sourcing.

4Introducing reo®

Engagement reinforced by proxy voting
reo offers clients the option of a voting service, alongside ourengagement service.
®

We believe that voting is an impactful tool for driving
improvement in company practices and market standards, aswell as for reinforcing engagement.
For clients who adopt our voting service, we seek to exercise
voting rights on their behalf at shareholder meetings, acting

in their best long-term economic interests. It's an opportunity
to demonstrate preferences on relevant aspects of an issuer’s
business and promote industry best practices, or express
concerns identified through our research and engagement.
We have a well resourced team of proxy voting specialists,
structured on a regional basis to reflect local nuances in company
law and best practices codes.

You can expect:

Coverage of 25 market/regionspecific voting rules

An experienced team who play
active roles in global industry
groups with expertise on
governance and related public
policy issues

Tailored policy options

Detailed voting andengagement reports with votecomments

Reporting and resources

Notice of our vote position for
high-profile issues

For professional investors and qualified investors only.

Our engagement and voting policy framework includes the following:
Responsible Investment Engagement Policy
Corporate debt and Responsible Investment Policy
Proxy voting policy
Proxy voting policy addendum – conflicts of interest
Corporate Governance Guidelines
Environmental and Social Practices Statements
Conflicts of Interest Addendum to Engagement Policy

VIEWPOINT
Decarbonising steel: redefining the value chain
and the role of iron ore miners
Steel production is highly greenhouse gas-intensive,> makingup between 7% to 9% of annual global emissions;
reducing its environmental impact is technologically andeconomically challenging.

Albertine
Pegrum-HaramSenior Associate,
Responsible Investment

The need to decarbonise is driving innovation in the steel> sector,
which in turn is reshaping the global value chain for oneof its key inputs – iron ore.

lower-impurity, iron ore, which only makes up a
> Higher-grade,tiny fraction of the market today, is needed to produce greensteel. A potential shortage of suitable ores threatens thescalability of low carbon production routes.

October 2023 we visited Fortescue Metal Group’s new> Inhigh-gradeiron ore mine in Australia. Here we draw fromthat experience to discuss how iron ore miners can position
themselves to benefit from, and contribute to, the steel
sector’s decarbonisation.

Issued April 2024

We understand the importance of comprehensive and transparent reporting, andoffer access to a quality suite of content and our online reo Partner Portal.

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Example of thought
leadership content.

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This includes, but is not limited to:

Responsible Investment Solutions | For professional investors only

Client-tailored quarterly reporting for engagement and voting
Our annual review and outlook of the overall reo programme
UN PRI reporting assistanceThought leadership content®

reo® Outlook

Log into the Partner Portal to access your reports and content, and explore:Company engagement
Engagement projects
Engagement case studies
Records of milestones
Issuer level engagement and objectives

2024 Engagement projects
and priority issuers

Example of anannual engagement
priorities outlook.

5Introducing reo®

Contact us
reoclientservices@columbiathreadneedle.com

To find out more visit columbiathreadneedle.com
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investing involves certain risks and volatility due to potential political, economic or currency fluctuations and different financial and accounting standards. The securities included herein are forillustrative purposes only, subject to change and should not be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell. Securities discussed may or may not prove profitable. The views expressed are asof the date given, may change as market or other conditions change and may differ from views expressed by other Columbia Threadneedle Investments (Columbia Threadneedle) associates oraffiliates. Actual investments or investment decisions made by Columbia Threadneedle and its affiliates, whether for its own account or on behalf of clients, may not necessarily reflect the views
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