NGO ShareAction has identified key resolutions that asset managers should prioritise this AGM season that will serve as a “litmus test” for how serious they are about supporting social and environmental progress. Its report cites Follow This’ shareholder resolution filed at BP, aimed at ensuring the oil and gas major’s Scope 3 emissions reduction targets are Paris-aligned on the path to net zero by 2050, mitigating systemic climate risks for investors, for voting on 12 May. It also highlights a resolution by a coalition of investors at McDonald’s which asks the fast-food giant to reinstate a commitment made in 2018 to addressing antibiotic overuse in its supply chain on a defined timescale. ShareAction cites a shareholder resolution filed at Alphabet (Google and YouTube’s parent company) in response to the firm’s influence on how privacy, AI and online content are being managed, and recent class-action lawsuits regarding privacy and misuse of data. It requests that the company reports on how effectively its audit and compliance committee is at assessing any consequential risks to public wellbeing from the company’s practices. Recent research by ShareAction showed that in the 2022 AGM season, the world’s largest investors are still dragging their feet when it comes to showing support for ESG resolutions. On average the Big Four asset managers (BlackRock, Vanguard, Fidelity Investments and State Street) supported just 20% of resolutions on these themes.
