Shareholder advocacy continues to build its impact as investors press the companies they own to increase their responsibility. Proxy voting for shareholder resolutions that align with your values is a powerful force for creating positive, lasting changes in corporate behavior. Some highlights from As You Sow’s 2014 shareholder engagement season:
- We filed 23 shareholder proposals this year, the most resolutions we’ve ever filed. We plan to file even more in 2015.
- The 14 As You Sow resolutions that went to vote this proxy season earned the support of shares totaling over $109 billion.
- Our shareholder proposals earned an average of almost $4 billion in support. Our highest dollar total in support of a resolution was at Chevron, where our proposal asking the company to address the economic risks of climate change was supported by over $38 billion of investments.
- Our average vote in support was 16.3%, the highest support we’ve ever seen. Our highest vote percent was at Dr Pepper Snapple Group, where our resolution asking for increased recycling received 30.3% support, nearly a third of all shares voted.
- We withdrew six resolutions after successful dialogues with company management, leading to significant changes in corporate policies.
On the Horizon
- Our 2015 shareholder resolutions will press companies for more corporate responsibility and offer shareholders an opportunity to align their investments and their values.
- Our Survey of Sustainable Packaging at beverage and fast-food companies in collaboration with NRDC will be released before the end of the year.
- The second Disclosing the Facts fracking report will be released in December, looking at key performance indicators of the world’s biggest frackers.
- A new Executive Compensation Report on the top 100 overpaid CEOs in the S&P 500 will be released in early 2015.
- The Responsible Sourcing Network in collaboration with Sustainalytics will release an analysis of the first round of conflict minerals disclosure reports.
- The 11th annual Proxy Preview returns in early March 2015, offering an overview of environmental and social shareholder resolutions you’ll find on your proxy ballots. Proxy Updates will offer timely alerts on upcoming votes at select companies.
We will continue to use the power of shareholder advocacy to press companies to adopt strong environmental and social policies.