Aotearoa New Zealand’s first Stewardship Code gives investors a clear framework for using their influence to steer the companies they own on critical environmental, social and corporate governance issues.

Stewardship is about creating and preserving long-term value for current and future generations by responsibly managing and allocating capital.

The industry-led code brings transparency and accountability to the practice of stewardship, also called active ownership.

Active owners use various levers to influence a company towards more sustainable outcomes, including voting, engaging directly with the company, filing shareholder resolutions, or advocating for policy changes.

The principles which form this Stewardship Code aim to codify investor expectations in seeking to achieve long-term value creation - not only for the economy, but also for our environment and society.

This Code was developed though an 18-month industry-led collaboration.  It is our inaugural Code.  It is expected this Code, and the principles herein, will evolve and improve with time.