Mid-Year 2014 Report on Corporate Political Activity Shareholder Proposals

Si2 published for its clients a mid-year report on the record-breaking results from the spring corporate annual meeting season in mid-August, with a detailed analysis of the social and environmental proposals filed during proxy season.  An excerpt from this report that includes information on trends over the last five years and a complete description of all the corporate political activity proposals is now available for download:

Si2 2014 Proxy Season Mid-Year Review – Corporate Political Activity EXCERPT

Proxy Preview 2012: Energy and Politics

FEB. 28, 2012: Si2 released today Proxy Preview 2012, a comprehensive look at all the shareholder resolutions filed for the spring corporate annual meeting season, in collaboration with As You Sow and Proxy Impact. The report includes a collection of viewpoints from investor proponents of the resolutions and profiles of key players. It finds that political spending proposals now account for one-third of all social and environmental filings, about even with environmental and sustainability proposals. Key environmental issues raised include coal risks and the community impacts of hydraulic fracturing.

The full report is available for free download on the As You Sow website.

Executive Director Heidi Welsh was interviewed by NPR’s political money reporter, Peter Overby, on Morning Edition, in a story that also featured SEC Commissioner Luis Aguilar, Allen Dickerson of the Center for Competitive Politics, New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Bruce Freed of the Center for Political Accountability. Listen to the story here.

Majority Vote at Ameren

The first majority vote of the season is in. Investors at Ameren cast 52.7 percent of their shares in support of a resolution that asked the company to report, “above and beyond current compliance, to identify and reduce environmental and health hazards associated with past and present handling of coal combustion waste, and how those efforts may reduce legal, reputational and other risks to the company’s finances and operations.” The company reported the resolution did not pass, since it counted abstentions in its voting calculation (figured that way, it was 46 percent). However it’s figured, it is clear that investors want the company to tell them more about how it plans to cope with regulations that are putting increasing restrictions on coal-burning–a major source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Preliminary results from Energen, which received a proposal asking for a report on hydraulic fracturing, show that about half of the investors there also are not sanguine about fracking’s risks and want more information, as well.

Here’s Si2’s Action Report on Ameren for more on the company and its exposure to coal risks:2011 Si2 Action Report – Ameren – Natural Resource Management (Coal)

Proxy Preview Webinar

PROXY SEASON FORECAST: Si2’s comprehensive 2011 Proxy Season Forecast became available to members on February 15, with information on all the new issues, SEC developments, and predictions for this spring. In a new collaboration this year, a version of the impartial Si2 Forecast will be included in Proxy Preview 2011, published by the As You Sow Foundation, alongside a collection of 14 advocacy group viewpoints. The report will be launched with a free webinar on February 23.

See more information and sign up for the webinar at www.proxypreview.org.

New Action Report on Microsoft

We recently published an Action Report on the pending shareholder resolution about sustainability at Microsoft, which investors will vote on at the company’s annual meeting on November 16. The report is one of the last to be issued for the 2010 proxy season year. Here’s the report: 2010 Si2 Action Report – Microsoft – Sustainability

Mid-Year Proxy Season Review

Mid-year results from the 2010 proxy season show unprecedented levels of support for social and environmental issues. A copy of the executive summary is available here: 2010 Si2 Proxy Season Mid-Year Review – Executive Summary

Here’s a quick overview of the issues shareholder activists raised this year:
Proposals Results Jan – June 2010 – All Proposals Filed Pie

Proxy Season Highlights Update

Updated results are now available for the 2010 proxy season for all but one of the 160+ proposals that came to votes in the first six months of the year. Support for proposals surged to an all-time high, with 79 resolutions receiving more than 20 percent support–up from 66 that did so in 2009. Highlights of the season’s best-scoring proposals appear here: Si2 Proxy Season Summary June 2010 Si2 will issue a more detailed report on the season in July.

ExxonMobil shareholder proposals

Eight shareholder proposals on the environment, human rights and diversity will be voted on at the May 26 ExxonMobil annual meeting. Si2’s reports on the pending resolutions are available for download. Resolutions include the following:

Adopt sexual orientation non-discrimination policy

Adopt policy on the human right to water

Adopt coastal wetlands protection policy

Report on oil sands risks

Report on hydraulic fracturing (of particular interest given the pending XTO merger)

Report on energy independence leadership options

Adopt goals to cut greenhouse gas emissions

Report on fossil fuel demand risks

Here are the reports:
2010 Si2 Special Report – Exxon Mobil Environmental Policies
2010 SI2 Action Report – ExxonMobil – Natural Resource Mgt (Coastal Wetlands)
2010 SI2 Action Report – Exxon Mobil – Natural Resource Mgt (Oil Sands)
2010 SI2 Action Report – Exxon Mobil – Natural Resource Mgt (Hydraulic Fracturing)
2010 Si2 Action Report – Exxon Mobil – Climate Change
2010 SI2 Action Report – Exxon Mobil – Human Rights (Water)
2010 SI2 Action Report – Exxon Mobil – Diversity