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Proxy Preview 2015 — the 11th edition of the insider’s guide to social and environmental shareholder proposals — is now available
Download the full report here- www.proxypreview.org/proxy-preview-2015
Proxy Preview covers the record-breaking number of resolutions filed this proxy season. Shareholder demand for more transparency of corporate political spending account for almost a quarter of the resolutions filed. Proposals related to climate change and other environmental sustainability issues account for about another 40%. Human rights and diversity in the workplace make up much of the rest.
Proxy Preview provides analysis and expert insight to help you navigate the issues and successfully vote your shares. Download your copy of Proxy Preview 2015 for:
• A summary of the record-breaking 433 resolutions filed so far this year and re-cap of the 2014 proxy season
• In-depth analysis of the resolutions by co-author Heidi Welsh (Sustainable Investments Institute)
• Background and resources on shareholder proposals and advocacy by co-author Michael Passoff (Proxy Impact)
• A user-friendly index of all companies facing social and environmental proposals this season
• Insights on key proposals and proxy voting from Nell Minow (Co-Founder of GMI Ratings and former President at Institutional Shareholder Services), Jon M. Jensen (Executive Director of the Park Foundation), As You Sow, Ceres, the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, Center for Political Accountability, Office of the New York State Comptroller, Trillium Asset Management, Calvert Investments, AFSCME, and more
Executive Summary
Investors are poised to break further records in 2015 in the number of shareholder proposals they have filed seeking corporate disclosure and action on a wide range of environmental and social issues. Sustainable Investments Institute (Si2) has identified 433 resolutions filed so far—up from 417 at this point last year. Corporate political activity of all sorts and environmental matters—predominantly climate change—continue to vie for top billing with 26 percent and 27 percent of the total, respectively; increasingly these are linked by investors who seek corporate action to bypass some of the vitriol that stymies government solutions. All told, environmental and sustainable governance resolutions combined represent 39 percent of the total so far, as in 2014, while political activity accounts for just over one-quarter of the total—down 4 percentage points from last year’s mid-February share.
The proportion of resolutions about human and labor rights is boosted this year to 15 percent of the total by a surge of requests for reports on pay disparity, which are grounded in concerns about the damaging effects of growing income inequality in the United States. On the other hand, workplace gender and color diversity proposals and those seeking more diversity among corporate board members—account for 9 percent of the total, as in 2014.
A significant change in the last two years has been a surge of proposals—some two dozen—largely filed or coordinated by the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), a conservative Capitol Hill think tank; these account for 5 percent of the total this year and held 4 percent last year. New this year are those asking companies to protect political free speech rights, but all of those that have been challenged at the SEC have been omitted.
The final 6 percent include two new proposals on foreign military sales, which won’t go to votes and some on drug pricing, which may, with another few about animals.
Fully 334 resolutions are now pending; comparable mid-February figures were 324 in 2014 and 284 in 2013. (A few more are likely to surface.) Companies have lodged challenges seeking to omit a total of 113 proposals at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which so far has rejected eight objections and sustained 22. The SEC still must decide another 62 (up from only 49 pending challenges at this time in 2014 and just 41 in 2013). Proponents have withdrawn 21 of the challenged resolutions—about what they had last year—sometimes after agreements with the companies and sometimes for tactical reasons because they have concluded that they are likely to be omitted and wish to avoid unwanted precedent. All told, this seems to document increased corporate legal resistance to shareholder resolutions—but decreasing success for these company challenges.
New developments in a nutshell: New climate change and energy proposals include one that raises questions about transporting oil and gas by train and several taking up different angles on deforestation that connect ecological and human rights impacts. Investors also want more information from companies about the impact of neonicotinoids on bees and other organisms, in a new resolution. On political spending, the volume of lobbying resolutions has clearly surpassed those on election spending. For health, new this year are proposals about the high price of specialty drugs. Regarding human rights, religious investors are newly asking for an end to fees levied on migrant tobacco workers—although the voting outlook is uncertain—while three proposals on a set of fair employment principles for Israel-Palestine will go to votes for the first time. In addition, the New York State Common Retirement System (NYSCRF) is inquiring about lethal injection drugs at two companies, an issue not raised in the past. Religious groups are leading an expanded campaign to persuade companies to report on pay disparity. Finally, a proposition about more board oversight of gun sales may reach Walmart’s proxy statement, after a U.S. District Court ruled in favor of its inclusion after an SEC omission last year, although the case is on appeal.
Contributors to this report: Si2 is grateful to all the shareholder proponents who provided detailed information about their plans for the upcoming proxy season, in particular the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, the Ceres coalition, the Center for Political Accountability and AFSCME. This report would not have been possible without the cooperation of all proponents. Si2’s Research Director, Robin Young, provided critical supporting research and assistance and Carolyn Mathiasen edited an earlier version of this report.
Download the full report here- www.proxypreview.org/proxy-preview-2015
Proxy Preview is a unique collaboration between:
As You Sow – http://www.asyousow.org
Sustainable Investment Institute (Si2) – http://www.siinstitute.org
Proxy Impact – http://proxyimpact.com
Source: Proxy Preview