In my previous blog, I pulled from Meredith’s Proxy Season blog about SEC Staff no-action requests. Here, I continue on topic – borrowing from The Conference Board’s “Proxy Voting Weekly Digest:Week Ended May 30, 2025.”
“As the 2025 proxy season unfolds, the number of shareholder proposals reaching a vote remains behind 2024 levels (371 vs. 490), with notable declines across social (77 vs. 145), environmental (50 vs. 70), and human capital management (32 vs. 68) proposals. Meanwhile, more proposals have been omitted this year (181 vs. 136), though withdrawals are significantly fewer (121 vs. 194). Average shareholder support remains low and consistent with past years, with corporate governance proposals continuing to receive the highest average backing (40%).”
The downward trend reflects activist shareholder (begrudging) acknowledgement of the new administration’s anti-ESG direction, along with changing priorities of shareholders.
What should ESG/sustainability practitioners and advisors take away from this? Well… nothing.
You shouldn’t worry about shareholder proposals unless something actually comes out of them. Companies have a good deal of flexibility in how they respond to shareholder proposals – even those that go to a vote and are approved. Until your executive team or board comes to you with a specific mandate, shareholder proposals are a distraction to the already-challenging task of truly operationalizing sustainability into business functions and linking to business fundamentals.
Now more than ever, you should stay focused.
Members can read more about shareholder activism here.
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