Last checked at 
* LGIM plans more ambitious 'climate pledge'
* To engage with 1,000 companies, up from 100 now
* Expands sector coverage to steel and cement among others
By Simon Jessop
LONDON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Britain’s biggest asset manager
plans to increase the number of companies it assesses and
engages with over climate change to help to accelerate global
efforts to move to a low-carbon economy, it said on Wednesday.
Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), part of
insurer Legal & General, said it would increase the
number of companies covered by its Climate Impact Pledge - a
targeted engagement plan - to 1,000 from 100.
The group, which manages more than 1.2 trillion pounds
($1.55 trillion) in assets, said it would also make its climate
ratings for companies available on its website.
"We thought it was really important that our own engagement
framework really addresses this challenge of decarbonising very,
very rapidly in the next 30 years," said Meryam Omi, LGIM's head
of sustainability and responsible investment strategy.
Under the original pledge introduced in 2016, LGIM committed
to engage with the largest companies across six sectors in which
action was seen as crucial to help to meet the goals of the 2015
Paris Agreement on climate change.
As part of its engagement with companies in the oil and gas,
mining, electric utilities, automotive, food retail and
financials sectors, LGIM said it would publish the names of the
laggards, vote against their boards at the companies' annual
general meetings and potentially divest their shares from
certain funds.
LGIM said it would also begin engagement with companies in
the cement, steel, chemicals, technology and telecoms, apparel,
property, transport and food sectors.
Of the newly targeted companies, the worst-performing 500
would receive a letter warning their annual report would be
rejected at next year's AGM if action was not taken.
For about 60 companies seen as pivotal to the transition to
a low-carbon economy, the asset manager said it would develop a
more in-depth assessment framework to better understand their
strategy before engaging directly.
($1 = 0.7719 pounds)
(Reporting by Simon Jessop
Editing by David Goodman)
