Real Assets Investment Management Inc. says that it received 27.1% of the vote on its shareholder proposal about social, environmental, and ethical issues at the TD Bank’s annual meeting last week in London, Ont.

Real Assets led the shareholder initiative asking TD Bank to report on how social, environmental, and ethical issues impact its business and what it’s doing to manage those risks.

Similar resolutions won 10.4% of the vote at the Royal Bank of Canada and 29.9% of the vote at the Bank of Montreal earlier this year. Ethical Funds Inc. and Meritas Mutual Funds co-filed the resolutions.

“This vote sends a strong message to all Canadian Banks, not just Toronto-Dominion,” says Deb Abbey, CEO and portfolio manager of Real Assets Investment Management.

“Because they have debt or underwriting relationships with nearly all of the companies in Canada, the banks have become a proxy for the social, environmental and ethical risk inherent in the operations of those companies. Investors want hard information so that we know how well management is coping with these risks.”

“You don’t need to win 51% to influence management. We’re optimistic that Toronto-Dominion Bank will work with us to implement reporting standards that address the concerns of more than a quarter of its shareholders,” said Abbey, “Better disclosure builds confidence.”