| For all the sound and fury against environmental, social and governance investing, efforts to sway companies away from it aren't making much headway with investors. Fifty-two anti-ESG shareholder resolutions were filed this year, generating a meager 2.4 percent support on average, according to data from Proxy Preview, a collaboration among As You Sow, the Sustainable Investments Institute and Proxy Impact. “ESG continues to feature in the campaigns of some presidential aspirants, though, and its opponents can draw on a deep funding pot to continue their efforts, including litigation,” the report said. “What remains abundantly clear is that the capital markets will continue to consider environmental and social policy metrics and corporate governance arrangements in investment management and corporate policy.” At the same time, shareholder support for resolutions favoring greater attention to environmental and social issues also dropped this year, as companies and investors continue to wrangle over how to address things such as climate impacts, working conditions and diversity. Just eight out of 335 proxy proposals tied to environmental and social issues garnered majority support — compared with three dozen in the previous two years. Support for such proposals on average dipped below 25 percent, continuing a decline that started last year after they peaked at 33.8 percent in 2021. Proponents withdrew 223 proposals before they went to shareholder votes, mostly in exchange for company action, a significant decline from the 275 resolutions withdrawn last year. The Securities and Exchange Commission is continuing to look critically at corporate attempts to exclude proposals from the ballot: Just 44 were omitted in response to “no-action challenges” this year compared with 39 last year. The drop in support for climate-focused resolutions in particular was significant. Even with these proposals surging to 144 filings — the biggest category of 2023 with three times as many votes as in 2021 — those resolutions got just 22 percent support on average, compared with more than 50 percent in 2021. On climate finance in particular, 10 proposals focused on disclosure performed better than eight about restrictions on financed activities, getting 27 percent and 8 percent support on average, respectively. Shareholders also voted on resolutions related to racial justice, reproductive health and union organizing rights. On the latter, New York State and City comptrollers launched a new effort for domestic trade union rights. Investors gave 52 percent support at Starbucks on this category, notable given the union-busting allegations levied against the company.
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