The 2019 proxy season: How investors are stepping up on ESG

Investors have been stepping up efforts to prod companies to advance their commitments to environmental, social and governance (ESG) activities. While 2018 was a record year for investor support of environmental and social shareholder proposals, 2019 promises to become the year environmental and social issues take center stage.

Investors themselves rapidly have changed their own policies to put ESG factors more into focus. The Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report on Institutional Investors, which surveyed 500 institutional investors globally, found that 90 percent of respondents said their firm has changed its voting and/or engagement policy to be more attentive to ESG risks, and two-thirds said this change had taken place in the past year.

A glimpse of recent shareholder proposals submitted to U.S. companies highlights the topics investors are most focused on. Read Full Article - Green Biz, June 3, 2019