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Shareholders Shareholder Proposals Environmental Social & Governance (ESG)

Jones Day

The Relevance of "Economic Relevance"

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For those who use “March Madness” to describe proxy season rather than basketball, they'll immediately know that the “economic relevance” exclusion under Rule 14a-8(i)(5) is something of a lore in the SEC's shareholder...more

Cohen & Gresser LLP

A New Chapter for the SEC: A Philosophical Shift on Shareholder Engagement, Shareholder Proposals, and ESG

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Only a short time has elapsed since President Trump named Mark T. Uyeda as Acting Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on January 21, 2025. Already, however, the regulatory climate has shifted significantly...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Glass Lewis Stands by Its Diversity-Related Voting Guidelines but Will Include Flag

As we reported in our Preparing for the 2025 Proxy Season client alert, Glass Lewis announced on February 18, 2025, that it was reviewing its diversity-related voting guidelines “in the face of the U.S. Administration’s...more

Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL

Proxy Season Update: SEC Restores Case-by-Case Approach for Shareholder Proposal Exclusions

Public companies navigating the 2025 proxy season just got some breathing room—at least when it comes to excluding certain shareholder proposals. Last week, the Staff of the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance—in a...more

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Antitrust Laws and ESG Shareholder Engagement

Shareholder activism to further environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals faces intense antitrust scrutiny in the United States. Some members of Congress and state attorneys general claim these efforts may violate the...more

Perkins Coie

Glass Lewis Voting Policy Changes for 2025: 8 Things to Know

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Recently, Glass Lewis announced the release of its 2025 U.S. Benchmark Policy Guidelines and guidelines for Shareholder Proposals & ESG-Related Issues that apply across markets. Here are 8 things to know about this year’s...more

Fenwick & West LLP

ISS Examines Trends in Shareholder Proposals Over the Past Decade

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Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recently released its “U.S. Shareholder Proposals: A Decade in Motion,” in which it examines trends in shareholder proposals submitted at U.S. companies from July 2014 to June 2024, as...more

White & Case LLP

Japan 2024 Proxy Season

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Summary of June 2024 Annual General Shareholder Meeting Season Shareholder Proposals - - While the total number of shareholder proposals is comparable to the June 2023 general meeting season, the number of companies...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Notable Trends in 2024 ESG/Sustainability Reports

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Teneo Insights recently published its fourth annual “State of U.S. Sustainability Reports,” which analyzes 250 sustainability reports from S&P 500 companies published this year through July 30, seeking to understand how...more

Cooley LLP

What were the major trends of the 2024 proxy season on ESG shareholder proposals?

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This article from Morningstar published on the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance examines three major trends of the 2024 proxy season regarding environmental, social and governance shareholder proposals. The...more

KPMG Board Leadership Center (BLC)

Learning by proxy - Highlights and trends from the 2024 proxy season

Both investors and companies are maturing in how they view critical issues raised at the corporate ballot box. Even amid a proxy season that included “the priciest shareholder fight ever,” according to The Wall Street...more

Cooley LLP

What’s happening with anti-ESG legislation?

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Reams of anti-ESG legislation have been proposed recently at both the state and federal levels. This article from Institutional Investor updates us on the status of state anti-ESG legislative efforts in 2024. And, following...more

Cooley LLP

Is ESG a “must have” only in boom-times?

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Not so long ago, zeal for corporate action on ESG was skyrocketing. Now? Not so much. What happened? Many have attributed the decline in appetite for ESG to the politicization of ESG and particularly to ESG backlash. This...more

Fenwick & West LLP

2023 Proxy Season Results in Silicon Valley and Large Companies Nationwide

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Broadly considered, stockholder activism has been a significant phenomenon among the largest U.S. public companies, with activists of a variety of stripes waging campaigns on a wide range of issues including in the form of...more

Cooley LLP

Alliance Advisors wraps up the 2023 proxy season

Cooley LLP on

Alliance Advisors, a proxy solicitation and corporate advisory firm, has posted its 2023 Proxy Season Preview, an analysis of trends from the 2023 proxy season. Its principal message: ESG proposals saw sagging results again...more

Cooley LLP

Hey, it’s “ESG month”—House ESG Working Group takes on shareholder proposal process

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“ESG month” may not be exactly what you think. It’s the moniker, according to Politico, ascribed to the plan of the House Financial Services Committee, reflected in this interim report from its ESG Working Group, “to spend...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Shareholder Activism: A High and Rising Tide

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In this V&E+ interview, Lawrence and Patrick share their thoughts on the 2023 proxy season, peacetime preparation for activism defense, and the HBO show that no one could seem to stop talking about....more

Cooley LLP

Lots of shareholder proposals on ESG this proxy season—and quite a few anti-ESG proposals too

Cooley LLP on

Notwithstanding legislative and executive action by several states in opposition to the supposed “woke” stances of some businesses on ESG and ESG investing—or perhaps because of it—this proxy season will see a significant...more

White & Case LLP

Japan 2022 Proxy Season

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The number of shareholder proposals made by activist shareholders, votes against management proposals and the number of publicly listed companies facing shareholder proposal continues its upward trend....more

White & Case LLP

Proxy Advisory Firms Issue 2023 Voting Guidelines

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Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") and Glass Lewis & Co. LLC ("Glass Lewis"), the two major proxy advisory firms, recently issued their updated proxy voting guidelines for the 2023 proxy season. These policy updates...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

ESG Momentum Remains Strong but May Face Headwinds in 2023

As companies grapple with the business challenges that rising interest rates and an uncertain economic outlook present, there are the inevitable questions about whether companies should worry less about environmental, social...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Preparing for the 2023 Shareholder Proposal Season

On November 15, 2022, Skadden held a webinar titled “Preparing for the 2023 Shareholder Proposal Season.” The panelists were Gianna McCarthy, Director of Corporate Governance for the New York State Common Retirement Fund (NYS...more

Cooley LLP

ESG Ratings: Considerations in Advance of Proxy Season

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As companies prepare for the 2023 proxy season, their ESG performance, as evaluated and rated by various third-party ratings providers, is a key focus. With the growing importance of ESG to institutional investors,...more

WilmerHale

Shareholder Focus on Reproductive Rights Post-Dobbs

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Companies are responding in a myriad of ways to the US Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (Dobbs), including by expanding healthcare travel benefits to reduce barriers to accessing care in...more

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

Going Beyond Climate: A Closer Look at Environmental Proposals

ESG-related shareholder proposals featured prominently in the most recent proxy season, with nearly 40% of large-cap public companies facing a shareholder vote on ESG topics over the first half of 2022. As introduced in an...more

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