Investment giant BlackRock is divesting holdings in companies that generate more than a quarter of their sales from thermal coal production, chief executive Larry Fink said.

"We believe that sustainable investing is the strongest foundation for client portfolios going forward," Fink said in a letter to clients last week.

In line with that target, "we are in the process of removing from our discretionary active investment portfolios the public securities (both debt and equity) of companies that generate more than 25 percent of their revenues from thermal coal production," the letter said.

New York-based BlackRock, the world's biggest private investment fund, set a deadline of mid 2020 to reach that goal, it added.

Finally, "BlackRock's alternatives business will make no future direct investments in companies that generate more than 25 percent of their revenues from thermal coal production," the fund said.

Direct investments currently account for $1.8 billion of BlackRock's total $7.0 billion in managed assets.

In addition, Fink warned companies that "we will be increasingly disposed to vote against management and board directors when companies are not making sufficient progress on sustainability-related disclosures and the business practices and plans underlying them."

Last year, it did so with respect to 4,800 directors at 2,700 different companies, Fink said.

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