Published on September 24, 2018
Following our longstanding engagement with the company and a meeting with several senior executives a few days before the general meeting, it is with great interest that we read Couche-Tard’s recent clarification regarding two shareholder proposals. Jean-Philippe Renaut, Æquo’s CEO, also presented one of these two proposals, on behalf of Bâtirente and PGGM, on September 20 at the company’s Annual General Meeting.
Like the vast majority of TSX companies, Couche-Tard has announced that it wants to put the remuneration of its directors to a shareholder vote (beginning in 2019).
Regarding the proposal that we presented to shareholders, which asked the company to improve its ESG disclosure (both in terms of performance and strategy), Couche-Tard has announced that it intends to publish a sustainability report before the next general meeting. Our proposal garnered 23% of the votes, which we consider to be a very good result given that the board has maintained its position to vote against it and that the founding shareholders hold more than 60% of the votes (through multi-voting shares).