Fifteen shareholder proposals covering themes such as digital rights, climate change and tax avoidance have been filed at tech giant Amazon. Ahead of the company’s annual general meeting (AGM) in 2023, investors have “expressed frustration” that their attempts to engage with Amazon on various concerns have “been rebuffed”, according to the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), whose members filed the majority of the proposals. Several of the shareholder proposals focused on Amazon’s treatment of its warehouse employees in response to multiple allegations of abuse that have surfaced in the public sphere. One of these proposals called on the company to commission an independent, third-party assessment of Amazon’s adherence to its stated commitment to workers’ freedom of association and collective bargaining rights. The proposals also included a request for transparency over the reported removal of products and content from the e-commerce platform following pressure from authoritarian regimes without disclosing the removal to shareholders. Shareholders have also called out the company’s exposure to environmental risks, pressing for more stringent emissions reductions and asking Amazon to introduce more climate-forward policies. Other proposals are focused on governance structures that hinder shareholders’ access to information needed to evaluate risks and to participate more fully in company board elections.
Shareholders file a slate of 15 proposals at $AMZN calling for governance changes to address #Labor issues, #HumanRights abuses, #ClimateChange impacts, #tax transparency, and other risks to people and planet. https://t.co/uTHr8I5Ykv pic.twitter.com/OQ5rP9WJdY
— ICCR (@ICCRonline) December 15, 2022
