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The
investors - Swedish public pension funds AP7, AP2, AP3, AP4,
Danish AkademikerPension and the Church of England Pensions
Board - allege that the automaker's lobbying via its membership
of automotive and business associations runs counter to its
public messaging on the importance of the green transition.
This exposes the company, and their investments - representing
around 0.1% of Volkswagen shares - to operational and
reputational damage, they argued in a statement.
While Volkswagen does disclose its trade association
memberships, the investors have previously said it should go
further and say whether the associations' aims are compatible
with the car manufacturer's emissions-cutting targets.
The case, filed at the Braunschweig court in Germany, will test
whether companies have the right under the German corporate law
to refuse to include an item on an AGM agenda and whether
Volkswagen can keep it off next year's agenda as well.
A spokesperson for Volkswagen said that adding the provision
under discussion to the articles of incorporation would
interfere with the executive board's management authority in an
inadmissible way, so could not be solved in an AGM.
"We share the view that aspects relevant to climate protection
deserve even higher priority in reporting and are currently
considering various approaches," the spokesperson added.
"It is worrying that our shareholder right to contribute to the
annual meeting agenda has been refused. As a result, we felt the
need to go to court to clarify this grey area for corporate law
in Germany," Emma Henningson of AP7 said.
(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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