US shareholder activist group As You Sow conducted 210 engagements with 169 companies on ESG-related themes during this year’s proxy season, with 51 subsequent resolutions withdrawn following an agreement with the company. As You Sow’s ‘2023 Shareholder Impact Review’ report noted that its engagements targeted 11 core areas, including climate change and racial justice. Forty-eight of these resolutions went to vote, achieving an average support of 23%. Further, 96% of resolutions that went to vote reached the threshold for resubmission with close to a 30% average vote, the report said. Companies challenged eight of the total 111 resolutions filed by As You Sow at the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the report said, adding that only two were omitted from the ballot. Notable resolution outcomes include 32.3% of Amazon shareholders voting in favour of a proposal calling for the company to produce a report on reducing use of plastic packaging, as well as 28.5% of shareholders in Bank of America voting in favour of the bank publishing a climate transition plan outlining how it will align financing activities with its 2030 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets. Andrew Behar, As You Sow’s CEO, said: “Overall, more companies are quietly taking action to reduce material risk on ESG issues. Despite some companies being cautious about taking a victory lap, we saw more action and deeper impact than ever before, even with an orchestrated attempt to make sound business practices into a political buzzword and drag companies and investors into a culture war. Shareholders persevered.”
The fact that only 23% of our engagements in 2023 went to a vote is a testament to our skill working with corporate management to find solutions. Read the full report: https://t.co/LEIlJxuhQE
— As You Sow (@AsYouSow) September 8, 2023
