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Is Say-on-Climate Losing Steam?

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Is Say-on-Climate Losing Steam?

 

Harlan Tufford, Florian Sommer, Gül Demirtaş, and David Muirhead
April 17, 2024

Since 2021, multiple high-profile companies have brought their climate-transition plans to an advisory, management-sponsored shareholder vote, opening a new engagement channel on climate issues. We saw a notable decline, however, in the number of companies holding these votes in 2023 compared to 2022. What lies ahead in the upcoming proxy season?

Fewer votes, more support on average in 2023

After say-on-climate votes increased to 48 in 2022, our latest analysis showed a decline to just 27 such votes last year. Of these companies, 37% held their first votes (newcomers) in 2023. This contrasts with 2022 when 79% of companies that held say-on-climate votes were newcomers. Additionally, none of the 10 newcomers in 2023 committed to annual votes and only two committed to hold votes on a triennial basis. These developments suggest waning interest from companies to offer shareholders a say on this issue.

Average shareholder support for these resolutions increased, from 87% in 2022 to 91% in 2023, indicating higher investor approval for companies’ approach to the climate transition. Last year, most of these votes (70%) took place at companies in France, the U.K. and Spain.

Going into the 2024 proxy season, 13 companies are expected to have follow-up votes, based on our analysis.1 Though any newcomers could further increase the overall number, this suggests that the downward trend may continue in 2024.

The interactive chart below may help investors screen for companies with previous or upcoming say-on-climate votes by their Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®)2 sector, ownership category and other characteristics. The level of shareholder support on previous votes is plotted on the y-axis and company size (enterprise value including cash) on the x-axis. The dot colors indicate the alignment of the company’s emissions trajectory with global temperature targets, according to MSCI Implied Temperature Rise.

Tracking say-on-climate votes over time

 

Analysis covers companies in MSCI ESG Ratings coverage that have held management-proposed say-on-climate votes. MSCI Implied Temperature Rise estimates the increase in average temperatures this century that would occur if the economy over- or undershot the global carbon budget by the same amount as the company or portfolio in question. It is a forward-looking metric, expressed in degrees Celsius. Shareholder support for the annual general meeting proposal means the percentage of votes in favor, accounting for votes against and votes withheld/abstained. Three companies changed their names in the observation period. The chart reflects their most recent names. Data as of March 2024. Source: MSCI ESG Research and company disclosures



1 Expected follow-up votes are based on companies’ statements on the frequency of their say-on-climate votes. In addition to these 13 companies, one company, Sasol Ltd., already held a vote in 2024.

2 GICS is the global industry classification standard jointly developed by MSCI and S&P Global Market Intelligence.

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Engagement Is a Powerful Force in Climate Action

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Are Shareholders Turning Against ESG?

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