By Ross Kerber
April 16 (Reuters) – Shareholders have filed 184 proposals promoting environmental, social and governance themes at U.S. companies so far this proxy season, a new study found, about half as many as last year, as Republicans in Washington work to shift corporate power from investors to managers.
At a comparable point in last year’s springtime proxy season investors had filed 355 proposals, according to the report’s co-author Michael Passoff, CEO of Proxy Impact, an advocacy and proxy voting service for sustainable investors.
The proposals urge companies to take steps like reporting more about their carbon emissions or workforce diversity. While most are nonbinding, they can lead to significant corporate changes.
Passoff attributed the decline in filings this year partly to a new willingness of company executives to bargain behind closed doors to avoid public controversies.
In addition, he cited new rules from Washington making it harder for activists to prevail in corporate contests. Regulators appointed by U.S. President Donald Trump restricted activists’ use of a securities database and gave companies more freedom to skip votes.
“Shareholders thought they weren’t going to get a fair shake in filing resolutions, so they thought, does it make sense to file resolutions or to focus on company dialogues,” Passoff said in a telephone interview.
With major shareholder meetings now underway, hot topics this year include rules for data centers being built for artificial intelligence and items pressing companies for more lobbying disclosure, he said.
Support for environmental and social measures has fallen in recent years. Big investors say companies have already made significant reforms, while ESG-focused critics say executives simply abandoned their onetime diversity and climate ambitions.
The report will be published by shareholder group As You Sow and was co-authored by Amy Galland of Empower Venture Partners.
(Reporting by Ross Kerber; editing by David Gaffen)
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