Funds data provider Morningstar says “anti-ESG shareholder proposals” were a growing feature of the US 2022 proxy season, but notes the majority received little shareholder support. A total of 43 anti-ESG proposals were filed by the National Legal and Policy Center, the National Center for Public Policy Research, and Steven J. Milloy, as tracked by Morningstar’s proxy database. Between January and June, proposals filed by these groups received an average of just 7% shareholder support, while resolutions filed by other shareholders achieved an average of over 30% support across the board. Of 12 anti-ESG shareholder proposals that received more than 5% support, ten were filed by the National Legal and Policy Center, with one proposal at Twitter on lobbying disclosures, receiving over 40% support. Lindsey Stewart, Morningstar’s Director of Investment Stewardship Research, said: “We’re seeing that these so-called ‘anti-woke’ proposals such as those requesting reporting on the impact of corporate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on groups with no history of socioeconomic exclusion—are getting almost no traction with voting shareholders.”
Anti-ESG Proxy 'Explosion' Ends With a Whimper, Not a Bang https://t.co/d9oW5tFZla pic.twitter.com/5DSkkckfvU
— Morningstar.ca (@MorningstarCDN) August 16, 2022
