Middleby Corp – Environmental reporting (2017)

Outcome: 44.6%

RESOLVED
Shareholders request The Middleby Corporation (Middleby) issue a sustainability report describing the company’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies, performance, and improvement targets, including a discussion of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions management strategies and quantitative metrics. This report should be updated annually, be prepared at reasonable cost, and omit proprietary information.
SUPPORTING STATEMENT
Proponents believe tracking and reporting on ESG practices strengthens a company’s ability to compete and adapt in today’s global business environment, which is characterized by finite natural resources, changing legislation, and heightened public expectations for corporate accountability. Transparent, substantive reporting allows companies to better integrate and capture value from existing sustainability efforts, identify gaps and opportunities in policies and practices, enhance company-wide communications, and recruit and retain employees.
Support for the practice of sustainability reporting continues to gain momentum:
• In 2015, KPMG found that of 4,500 global companies 73% had ESG reports.
• CDP, representing 827 institutional investors globally with approximately $100 trillion in assets, calls for company disclosure on GHG emissions and climate change management programs. Seventy percent of the S&P 500 reported to CDP in 2015.
• One of the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) is to seek “appropriate disclosure on ESG issues”; the PRI has more than 1,500 signatories with over $60 trillion in assets under management.
The link between strong sustainability management and value creation is increasingly evident. A 2012 Deutsche Bank review of 100 academic studies, 56 research papers, two literature reviews, and four meta-studies on sustainable investing found 89% of the studies demonstrated that companies with high ESG ratings showed market-based outperformance. Similarly, a report published by WWF, CDP, and McKinsey & Company, found that companies with GHG targets achieved an average of 9% better return on invested capital than companies without targets.
Middleby last published a Sustainability Report in 2010 and has a website highlighting some of the energy efficiency benefits of its products. However, Middleby has not recently disclosed quantitative metrics conveying the company’s operational ESG performance, its GHG data, or established goals to improve environmental performance. In contrast, Assa Abloy, Cabot Corporation, Minerals Technologies, Cytec Solvay Group, and Lincoln Electric are examples of the numerous, small- to mid- sized industrial companies publishing sustainability metrics and improvement targets alongside qualitative supporting details.
As shareholders, we believe it is prudent for Middleby to disclose how it is managing its ESG impacts, which can pose significant reputational, legal, regulatory, and financial risk to the company and its shareholders. Without appropriate disclosure, investors and other stakeholders cannot adequately assess how MIddley is managing its material ESG risks and opportunities.
We recommend that the report include a company-wide review of policies, practices, and quantitative metrics related to ESG performance. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) index, CDP, and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board all provide resources and tools for guidance in developing this report.