Updated Statistics on Political Activity Shareholder Proposal Voting Results

A recent opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal asserted that no shareholder proposal on a social or environmental issue has earned a majority vote, presumably counting in this tally those about corporate political activity. This is simply not accurate.

In the last five years alone, 10 proposals about political activity actually have earned support from more than 50 percent of the shares cast for and against; eight of of these votes occurred in 2013 and 2014. Results from the 2015 proxy season are not yet available, but right now investors are set to vote on 68 more proposals–and have already done so at three companies (giving lobbying disclosure proposals 24.5 percent at Monsanto and 39.8 percent at Emerson Electric–and 30.4 percent to a long-running resolution about political spending oversight and disclosure at Emerson).

Attached is a table showing where these votes occurred, as well as –and quite a few more that earned more than 40 percent support. In all, 51 separate votes on these issues since 2010 have garnered support from more than 40 percent of the shares cast.

High Corporate Political Activity Votes, 2010-2014

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

Corporate Political Spending Shareholder Proposal Results, 2010-14

Si2 has compiled a report summarizing the number of shareholder proposals filed in the five-year period 2010-14, and how investors voted on them. The report covers all proposals on corporate political activity, including direct and indirect lobbying and electoral spending and related issues, at all U.S. companies.

The report may be of interest to those debating the petition before the SEC that requests a rulemaking on mandatory corporate political spending disclosure in securities filings by U.S. companies.

View the report here:

Corporate Political Activity Shareholder Proposals, 2010-2014, as of 7-2-14

 

New Si2-IRRCI Report on Integrated Reporting

NEW REPORT ON INTEGRATED REPORTING (APRIL 29): Every company in the S&P 500 except one reports some form of sustainability disclosure, but fewer quantify those disclosures in bottom line impacts, according to the new report we issued today with funding from the IRRC Institute (IRRCI).  The report is the first to comprehensively benchmark the status of integrated reporting in the United States.

A webinar to review the findings and respond to questions about the report, Integrated Financial and Sustainability Reporting in the United States, will be held on Friday, May 3, 2013, at 2 PM ET.  Register here:

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/989588280

The 285-page report analyzes sustainability disclosures on a sector-by-sector basis, and examined a total of 56,000 individual data points, across both mandated SEC filings and voluntary sustainability reports issued in 2012.  It looks at industry trends and regulatory developments, presenting the results of a months-long analysis that looks at the extent to which companies are combining traditional financial reporting with quantifiable environmental and social metrics in their securities filings and sustainability reports.

Download the report and read the press release here:

http://irrcinstitute.org/news/first-comprehensive-study-on-state-of-integrated-reporting-in-united-states_pr_04_29_2013.php

Nuclear Power Safety Shareholder Proposal at Entergy

The New York State Common Retirement Fund has proposed several shareholder resolutions about nuclear power safety during the 2013 proxy season, continuing inquiries it began in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster.  This year’s proposal asks for a “policy to better manage the dangers that might arise from an accident or sabotage by minimizing the storage of waste in spent fuel pools and transferring such waste at the earliest safe time into dry cask storage,” and a report for investors.

The request comes in the wake from recommendations in two recent reports that nuclear plant operators transfer spent fuel to dry cask storage as soon as possible and take other steps to safeguard facilities and communities to avoid catastrophic events should accidents or terrorist attacks occur.  Entergy says that given the extensive regulations governing its operations and its own, time-tested programs, management and the board are best left to make decisions surrounding spent fuel storage.  It also says that the proponent’s proposal is overly prescriptive and would bind it to operating procedures that might not be the most prudent for the company or its shareholders.

Read Si2’s report on the resolution and background on the subject:

2013 SI2 Action Report – Entergy – Environmental Management FINAL-Blog