Pablo Pérez Abella on LinkedIn: Investors pull back support for green and social measures amid US… (2024)

Trends in #esg petitions in the US diminishing while they increase in Europe and beyond. Some really interesting stats care of the Financial Times -oPetitions asking US companies for more action on climate change won an average of 23% shareholder support May 22-23, down from 36.6 % last year (according to the Sustainable Investments Institute)oOnly five US shareholder resolutions on environmental and social issues have won majority support of company shareholders this year, down from more than 35 in 2022 and 2021.oHowever, the number of petitions increased suggesting activism is increasing.The picture is different outside the US - oAverage support for environmental and social proposals at European companies inched up to 11.6% from 10.6% and 5.5% (in 2023, 22 and 21 respectively) (according to Diligent).oFewer shareholder proposals are filed in Europe — only eight environmental or social proposals went to a vote through May 31, 2023.oSupport for environmental and social resolutions outside of Europe and the US stood at 17 per cent this year, up from 11.3 per cent last year (Diligent).What does all this mean? Public attention on sustainability and social issues is here to stay. It's more mainstream today in the US, but it's becoming top of mind elsewhere too as societies believe companies aren't doing enough, fast enough. https://lnkd.in/eS74HZxcWickett Advisory #esg

4

2 Comments

From greenwashing to … greenhushing? 🤫🤫Company executives and directors are increasingly in the crossfire as they struggle, on one hand, to address continued efforts by activist stakeholders to expand ESG commitments, and conflicting efforts by conservative politicians to punish companies for pursuing a purportedly “woke” agenda. Read more here ➡️➡️ https://lnkd.in/eEaYaMty#governance #esg #greenwashing #greenhushing

5

1 Comment

The Empire Strikes BackYou noted a large uptake in 2022 on ESG related proposals gaining investor votes. In 2023 approvals for activists voter proposals have declined significantly.What is happening?1. As State Street notes, overly prescriptive initiatives are failing to win support 2. Particularly in the USA political considerations and affiliations are clashing with ESG3. The illegal war in Ukraine and related geopolitical tensions are shifting priorities How are your boards approaching #sustainability and #esg in your #strategy for the future?What are the thoughts of your investors- activists or not?Strategy is Mastery.Investors pull back support for green and social measures amid US political pressure https://on.ft.com/43LpghU

31

29 Comments

The climate change crisis is transforming not just government, but business and consumer attitudes and behaviours. While sustainability goals for organisations have clear tangible benefits, are consumers willing to pay a premium for sustainable products and services and can they trust companies’ green claims?In this article, Natasha Durkin, Senior Associate in our Regulation and Markets team, offers commentary on the UK regulatory response to greenwashing and the increasing level of climate-related litigation and claims that are being pursued by activist shareholders. #sustainability #climatechange #litigation

11

1 Comment

While social issues among ESG priorities may take a backseat to environmental issues, both are intertwined and critical for organizations to considerhttps://lnkd.in/eJ5ShWSA

While social issues among ESG priorities may take a backseat to environmental issues, both are intertwined and critical for organizations to considerhttps://lnkd.in/eSaRS9WG

3

Are you greenwashing in your social impact reporting & goal-setting? Greenwashing is very much on the regulatory agenda in Australia, and it is not limited to environmental targets or claims that could be classified as misleading and/or deceptive conduct. Social targets & social impact claims can expect to come under scrutiny too. The ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court (speaking at the Connexus Super Chair Forum, 1 February 2024) states clearly that greenwashing around both E&S targets is an enforcement focus for 2024. "Going forward our focus will be on net zero statements and targets made without merit; the use of terms like ‘carbon neutral’, ‘clean’ or ‘green’ that are not founded on reasonable grounds; and the use of inaccurate labelling or vague terms in sustainability-related funds.We expect boards to engage directly on sustainability claims – whether they are aspirational statements, targets, active stewardship commitments or investment descriptions.If trustees are making environmental, social or ethical claims to attract potential members, those claims need to be backed with evidence and transparent about their basis". My general advice around social value targets & social impact claims (whether it be for a company or for an infrastructure or energy project) is to ask critical questions:1. Is it justifiable? (i.e. can we evidence that the extent of change occurred and is consistent with stakeholders’ views on importance? That means social targets need to be achievable & relevant to context)2. It is attributable to us? (i.e. what part did we play? Have we reflected what roles different organisations, the surrounding context, or other factors contributed? This is critical to avoid overclaiming) 3. Is it assured or assurable? (Is there confidence that our approach, assumptions and conclusions are reasonable, e.g. due to checks by an independent third party? Social targets & social impact claims can't just be plucked out of thin air) Just like how washy environmental targets/claims are not acceptable, social claims & targets need to have reasonable rigour around them too. #socialimpact #sustainability #socialvalue #greenwashing

16

7 Comments

Is support for climate activist proposals still holding strong in 2023? ♻️This proxy season has been a mixed bag for ESG. While organizations such as Follow This and Market Forces have managed to maintain support in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, many leading environmental shareholder activists have seen a decline in support since June. Anti-ESG movements and rising inflation have been cited as some of the key factors contributing to the decrease in votes❗“In the U.S., sadly, support plummeted,” said McKenzie U., legal advisor at Follow This. “This year, companies have basically said to go ahead and file proposals. They are not as threatened, I think, and that really came out in the results of the votes this season.”Read our full report to dig into the data behind the challenges and successes of leading climate activists in 2023 and discover how the trends compare to the results of previous years. 🔍#ActivistProposals #ClimateActivists #EnvironmentalActivists #ESG

5

As we are busy preparing our special (super thick) year-end issue (out next week), here's the cover story from our ESG magazine last month. The theme of the magazine was to interview companies that are doing unique things in the ESG realm, so I thought that the cover story should get the perspectives of non-corporates: Academics, NGOs, activists. I often get very different reactions to "ESG" depending on who I speak to, and I think it's important to highlight the spectrum of opinions on what ESG is. Also worth noting that most people outside of this circle probably don't know what ESG is...

95

5 Comments

Interesting read and it sparked some thoughts for me:What a company spends its time and effort lobbying for should be a natural part of rating their ESG performance. Most providers of ESG rating tools do not include (or very rudimentary) include this perspective and I think data quality is a major problem. It poses interesting questions on how you would set up internal controls to collect, control and report on lobbying activities. Especially in a global company where the concept of lobbying is not uniform across the operational jurisdictions. Working in a sector which is innovative and fast paced fintechs are always on the forefront of regulatory developments. Which responsibility should we take for the process of lobbying and how would we quantify our efforts to do good into a rating?

7