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A new report from ISS Corporate Services reviews shareholder proposals received in 2024. Among the report’s other conclusions, it says that pro-ESG shareholder proposals have seen a slight uptick in support during the current proxy season. Here’s an excerpt with some of the key takeaways:

– The volume of shareholder proposals submitted for annual meetings held between Jan. 1 through May 31 increased to 739 proposals with 273 voted thus far and 249 still pending.

– The median support level of all shareholder proposal is largely unchanged at 20.6% for 2024, but those receiving majority support is ticking up.

– Governance and compensation proposals are regaining focus and interest from investors, with 268 such proposals submitted for the first five months of 2024. The median support surged to 34.9%, a level unseen in the past five years.

– The volume of environmental proposals decreased to 130 proposals and social proposal volume remained mostly flat. However, support on both environmental and social proposals are up slightly, reversing the two-year consecutive decline in support since 2021.

– Anti-ESG proposals continue to increase in number, but the support remains low.

-Top 5 most prevalent proposals on ballot represent a broad range of topics, including shareholder rights, board accountability, executive pay, GHG emissions, and political spending.

To put some numbers around the excerpt’s characterization of “slightly” increased support for ESG related proposals, support for environmental proposals increased from 19.8% last year to 21.0% this year, and support for social proposals rose from 18.5% in 2023 to 20.7% this year. In contrast, support for anti-ESG proposals dropped from 1.7% to 1.6%. Part of the increase in support for environmental proposals may reflect a little more selective approach by proponents – the 130 proposals submitted this year represent more than a 11% drop from the 147 submitted last year.

– John Jenkins