Number of politically incorrect propositions increases year by year in the largest US companies; majority of shareholders are against
The number of politically incorrect proposals made by shareholders within the 3,000 largest companies in the United States is growing year by year, driven by conservative groups.
Survey of consultancy ISS-Corporate with information from the first 5 months of the year shows that the number of proposals contrary to the ESG manual (good social, environmental and governance practices) rose from 13 to 82 in the period from 2020 to 2024.
Adherence, however, is still low. The median vote in favor of shareholders for these proposals is less than 2%.
On the other hand, proposals that follow the ESG guide had a strong reduction in shareholder support from 2021 to 2023. In the first 5 months of 2024, however, there was a slight recovery.
Proposals at shareholder meetings related to sustainability, for example, went from a median of 49.4% favorable votes in 2021 to 19.8% in 2023. In the first 5 months of 2024, the median rose slightly, to 21% .
“Anti-woke” movement
Politically incorrect proposals are driven by conservative think tank NCPPR (Public Policy Research Center, in its acronym in English), shows a recent report (in Englishfor subscribers) of the Washington Post.
They are a reaction to what is seen by conservatives as an “exaggeration” of policies in favor of minorities.
The organization says ESG policies and other socially and environmentally responsible practices can affect businesses.
They cite as examples:
- Bud light – lost its position as the best-selling beer in the USA for a few months after the reaction of conservatives to a campaign social media with a transgender influencer;
- Target – department store sales fell for the first time in 6 years in the summer of 2023 after a controversy involving campaigns in favor of LGBTQIA+ pride month. Conservative activists rose up against the store, which removed part of its pro-diversity marketing and ended up being criticized by the LGBTQIA+ community.
The conservative movement at shareholder meetings is part of a larger movement to react to the agenda embraced by several companies in recent years regarding social and environmental policies.
Conservative activists are beginning to use proposals and votes at shareholder meetings to try to stop companies from adhering to ESG practices.
It is an attempt to use the same pressure exerted by groups linked to sustainability and the defense of minorities in companies in the opposite direction.
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