ESG & DE&I

Proponent wants to know if the company is on track for 2030 and 2050 emissions targets McDonald’s Corporation is asking the SEC for the go-ahead to exclude from its 2025 proxy statement a shareholder proposal addressing the fast-food chain’s ability to reach its climate goals. Green Century Equity Fund, which is advised by Green Century Capital Management, has filed the resolution. It requests that McDonald’s ‘disclose an assessment of whether its current climate transition plans and related resource commitments can reasonably achieve its 2030 and 2050 emissions reduction targets, or whether additional plans or commitments are necessary.’ The proponent recommends…

This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – The Wall Street Journal reported that activist investor Ancora Holdings has launched a proxy battle at US Steel. Ancora announced a strategy to rally shareholders around a plan that would remove US Steel’s CEO and drop litigation to salvage a merger with Nippon Steel. The firm isn’t interested in pursuing a sale of US Steel to another party and said its priority is seeing through a turnaround of the company in the public markets. Ancora has nominated nine director candidates to US Steel’s 12-person board, including former Stelco…

SEC declines company’s attempt to omit proposal Shareholders in Starbucks Corporation will vote at the coffee company’s March 12 AGM on a resolution about its approach to cage-free eggs in Asia. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is behind the proposal, which asks Starbucks to ‘disclose details of its implementation plans and timelines for reaching its cage-free egg commitment in China and Japan.’ In its supporting statement the society quotes Starbucks’ Form 10Ks as stating ‘the ongoing relevance of our brand may depend on making sufficient progress toward our social and environmental program goals’ including those related to…

Pro- and anti-DE&I resolutions are in the company’s proxy statement Shareholders in Deere & Company, also known as John Deere, will vote at the firm’s February 26 AGM on two contrasting proposals concerning the firm’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) efforts after the company unsuccessfully requested that the SEC allow it to omit one of them from its 2025 proxy statement. A proposal filed by As You Sow asks Deere to ‘report publicly on the effectiveness of its efforts to create a meritocratic workplace where no one is excluded from contributing to the company’s success because of an immutable characteristic,…

Such metrics reduce complex issues down to a simple number, argues Scott Lane At the core of most corporate ESG strategies, we are used to seeing a number. It’s expected that every major institution and organization should have a grand net zero target at the beating heart of their sustainability strategies; a date in the future when they promise their carbon emissions will reach net zero. Investors, too, are encouraged to take these standards into account when meeting their ESG requirements for their portfolio, ensuring that the spread of companies is on track for meeting net zero at a determined…

This week’s governance, compliance and risk-management stories from around the web – Reuters reported that the US Supreme Court declined to hear a bid by oil companies to scuttle a lawsuit by Honolulu accusing them of misleading the public for decades about the dangers of climate change brought about by the burning of fossil fuels. The justices turned away an appeal by the oil companies of a decision by Hawaii’s top court allowing the suit, which alleged violations of state law, to proceed. The suit was filed in 2020 by the city and county of Honolulu and the Honolulu Board…

Board argues that it and management ‘maintain active oversight of legal and regulatory risks and compliance’ Apple’s board is urging shareholders to vote at its February 25 AGM against a proposal asking the tech company to consider dropping its diversity efforts. The National Center for Public Policy Research, which filed the proposal, is one of the most active of the conservative groups that have been submitting anti-DE&I and other anti-ESG resolutions in recent years. In this case, the center directly requests in its proposal that Apple ‘consider abolishing its inclusion and diversity program, policies, department and goals.’ It notes the…

Proponent wants company to ‘designate a board committee’ Berkshire Hathaway is seeking the SEC’s go-ahead to exclude a diversity-related shareholder proposal from its 2025 proxy statement. The resolution, filed by an individual investor, requests that Berkshire Hathaway ‘designate a board committee to oversee the company’s diversity and inclusion strategy across its holding companies.’ The proponent writes: ‘Each year since 2021, over one third of Berkshire’s independent shareholders supported a shareholder resolution asking that it release aggregated promotion, hiring and retention rate data by gender, race and ethnicity for its diverse employees. This data is needed to understand the effectiveness of…

Dwayne Hampton, managing director at 2engage, presents a new way of approaching your company’s ESG disclosures In recent years, ESG priorities have come under fire in the US. Many opponents of ESG argue that these initiatives may divert companies from their primary focus on financial performance and shareholder value. Others take exception to perceived unfairness. This kind of scrutiny is poised to intensify since American voters re-elected President Donald J Trump, installed a Republican majority in the Senate and retained a Republican majority in the House of Representatives. As one example, consider HR 8706 – Dismantle DEI Act of 2024.…

Eleanor Lacey talks about the company’s AI ESG chatbot Governance Intelligence recently presented our 17th annual Corporate Governance Awards at a gala event in New York. We had the chance to speak with some of the distinguished attendees on the red carpet before the ceremony, among them Meighan McGowan, relationship manager at Sodali & Co. Sodali & Co works with companies across areas including governance and sustainability. We asked McGowan about some of the themes that governance teams have sought advice on in 2024 and potential issues for companies next year. The awards celebrate outstanding achievements by the governance profession…