March 2014 European Corporate Survey Next is ESG Communication SUPER IRO HAS SUSTAINABLE PLANS IMPORTANT. Please refer to the last page of this report for “Important disclosures” and analyst certification(s) keplercheuvreux.com IRO Survey No2 About Kepler Cheuvreux Kepler Cheuvreux is a leading independent European financial services company specialised in advisory services and intermediation. The company has four business lines: equities, debt & credit, investment solutions and corporate finance. Headquartered in Paris, the group employs around 500 staff. This multi-local company is also present in Amsterdam, Boston, Frankfurt, Geneva, London, Madrid, Milan, New York, San Francisco, Stockholm, Vienna and Zurich. www.keplercheuvreux.com About our investor access services Our ambition as Europe’s leading local broker is to satisfy both investor and corporate needs by developing a full range of access products and services. Our salespeople, analysts and corporate access teams work together to provide solutions that best meet all requirements. Kepler Cheuvreux has a strong track record in organising ESG meetings and events between European corporates and investors. Our unique PRI sell-side commitment translates into more than 8,000 ESG OoOs completed over the last seven years, building up a unique experience in ensuring an integrated dialogue between investors and corporates. About the Author Bénédicte Thibord has been Head of Corporate Access and Client Management at CA Cheuvreux since 2008 and Group Head of Corporate Access & Marketing at Kepler Cheuvreux since 2013, in charge of corporate/expert access, roadshows and conference activities. Previously, she worked for ten years at PricewaterhouseCoopers as a banks/insurance auditor, then as a capital markets consultant. She holds a master's in banking, finance and insurance from the University of Paris Dauphine, as well as a Certified European Financial Analyst diploma from the French Society of Financial Analysts (SFAF). She taught a course in financial communication at French business school HEC for 10 years. 2 keplercheuvreux.com IRO Survey No2 Contents About Kepler Cheuvreux .................................. 2 About our investor access services 2 About the Author 2 Executive summary ............................................. 4 Saving CSR/ESG communications 4 Best practice sharing .......................................... 5 CSR/ESG communications 5 Survey sample ....................................................... 6 Saving CSR/ESG communications................... 8 Is CSR/ESG communication perceived as strategic? 8 Which priorities for the IR department? 10 What does your ESG strategy favour? 11 Communicating on corporate governance 12 How many mainstream RS days did you set up in 2013? 13 ESG roadshow plans in 2014 14 Mainstream communications and ESG 15 Integrated reporting and communications 16 Appendix ................................................................ 17 List of companies that participated in the survey 17 Your Access Team* .............................................. 21 Legal and disclosure information .................... 23 .................................................................................... 3 keplercheuvreux.com IRO Survey No2 Executive summary According to our IRO Survey No1, extra-financial communication is a major topic for investor relations teams in Europe. Kepler Cheuvreux carried out this survey in partnership with AERI (Spain), AIR (Italy), BIRA (Belgium), CLIFF (France), DIRK (Germany), FIRS (Finland), irclub (Germany), IR Club (Switzerland) and NEVIR (Netherlands), with the participation of 237 IROs across Europe. Saving CSR/ESG communications CSR/ESG communication: seen as a strategic priority by most companies surveyed: According to the IROs surveyed, 50% of CEOs perceive CSR/ESG communications to be strategic. More than half wish to increase the proportion of ESG long-term investors in their shareholder base. 50% of IROs surveyed said they include ESG in their corporate strategy communications. IROs fairly comfortable with current practice: Nearly 50% of IROs surveyed consider their approach to corporate governance communications to be proactive. More than half respond to investors’ SRI conference call/one-on-one requests. Close to 50% said that they are comfortable with integrated reporting. But considerable efforts still needed to optimise ESG communication: Less than 10% of companies surveyed have a dedicated ESG IRO. Only 20% of CSR departments communicate with ESG investors. Only one-third of IROs (35%) also stated that inclusion in an ESG index was a priority. Less than one-quarter of the companies surveyed aim to increase the readability of their CSR reports for investors. Less than 15% of the companies surveyed establish an SRI/ESG roadshow plan in advance and 5% hold an ESG/SRI investor day. More than two-thirds of responding companies put the number of days spent on SRI roadshows at less than five. Only a handful of IROs organise carbon-free roadshows (via conference call/webinar). Less than one-third of companies include ESG data in their financial presentations, while the majority of IROs underline that "mainstream" investors show little interest in such issues. Few companies communicate with the market on corporate governance issues: less than one in ten companies have already held a corporate governance roadshow with either management or a board member. Less than 10% plan to do so. 4 keplercheuvreux.com IRO Survey No2 Best practice sharing CSR/ESG communications Proactive communication once a year, following the publication of your sustainability and/or CSR report. Prioritising your critical ESG issues and testing them (e.g. with Kepler Cheuvreux ESG team) to better meet investor expectations. Including a few slides on the key ESG & sustainability points in your mainstream IR and management presentations. Embedding sustainability into your long-term strategic view and value-creation drivers: it pays. Providing investor access to the board via the chairman, or the leading independent director if the chairman is also CEO. 5 keplercheuvreux.com IRO Survey No2 Survey sample Kepler Cheuvreux carried out this survey in partnership with AERI (Spain), AIR (Italy), BIRA (Belgium), CLIFF (France), DIRK (Germany), FIRS (Finland), irclub (Germany), IR Club (Switzerland) and NEVIR (Switzerland). 237 IROs across Europe participated in the survey. Sample breakdown by region UK 1% Benelux Switzerland 9% Spain/ 8% Portugal 10% France Other 21% 5% Nordic countries 9% Italy 9% Germany 28% Benelux: Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands Nordics: Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway. Source: Kepler Cheuvreux Most European countries were represented in the sample: primarily Germany (28%), France (21%), Spain/Portugal (10%), the Nordics (9%), Benelux (9%), Italy (9%) and Switzerland (8%). Sample breakdown by market cap Large Caps Mid Caps Small Caps 30% 39% 31% Source: Kepler Cheuvreux 6 keplercheuvreux.com IRO Survey No2 The companies in our sample were very diverse in terms of market cap: 39% were large caps (>EUR6bn), 31% mid caps (EUR2–6bn) and 30% small caps (<EUR1bn). Sample breakdown by sector Banks Auto & Aerospace & 6% auto parts defence Building materials & 4% Utilities 1% construction 5% 7% Transportation 6% Capital goods 8% Telecom services 6% Chemicals Tech equipment 5% 3% Food & Pharmaceuticals beverage 2% 4% Insurance Other 6% 11% IT software & services Oil & oil 2% Luxury Metals & services goods Media 2% Medtech mining 4% 7% 3% 4% Source: Kepler Cheuvreux Looking at the above chart, we observe that the following sectors were represented the most in our sample: capital goods (8%), media (7%), building materials & construction (7%), transportation (6%), banks (6%), insurance (6%), telecom services (6%) and utilities (5%). 7 keplercheuvreux.com IRO Survey No2 Saving CSR/ESG communications The following questionnaire was drawn up in collaboration with Kepler Cheuvreux’s ESG research team and SRI Connect.com Is CSR/ESG communication perceived as strategic? CSR/SRI communication perceived as strategic (% companies per market cap) CEO CFO Board of Directors 64% 59% 53% 56% 56% 49% 51% 39% 41% 32% 33% 28% Large Caps Mid Caps Small Caps Grand Total .Source: Kepler Cheuvreux According to 56% of the IROs surveyed, their CEOs perceive CSR/SRI communication to be strategic. Likewise, 51% of the IROs surveyed feel that their boards of directors are conscious of the strategic ramifications of ESG communication. However, only one-third of the CFOs surveyed share this view. Note that, according to the IROs surveyed, a higher proportion of CEOs and board members at mid cap companies is convinced of the strategic importance of CSR/ESG communication than their large cap peers (59% and 64%, respectively vs. 53% and 49%). Stéphane Voisin, Head of Sustainability Research & Responsible Investment, Kepler Cheuvreux “We see a larger endorsement of sustainability issues and communication at corporate strategic levels.” Mike Tyrrell, CEO, SRI Connect “The IRO survey usefully charts current and emerging ‘best’ practice in how companies communicate their sustainability performance and corporate governance practices to investors.” 8 keplercheuvreux.com IRO Survey No2 Internal resources employed in communication on sustainability CSR Dpt responds to CSR agencies' questionnaires CSR Coms is a fair and increasing portion of IR team's time CSR Dpt involved in ESG communications 59% 62% 53% 44% 37% 37% 36% 24% 28% 18%