ESG Archive

ESG-related considerations are important to retail investors, with individuals tending to place slightly greater store in social issues above governance and environmental matters, according to research by Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America. But a lack of comparable disclosures may be hampering actual investment patterns. Much of the attention on the growing influence of ESG issues in recent times has focused on companies’ reporting and engagement with...

Petrochemical companies are facing pressure to disclose incidents where they have spilled plastic into the ocean, which leads to what is said to be a major source of pollution. As You Sow, a non-profit organization that promotes environmental and social corporate responsibility via engagement, investor pressure and other legal strategies, has filed proposals seeking such reports with four major companies this proxy season. If approved, the proposals would req...

Human capital management is fast becoming an important topic for corporations and investors alike, and governance teams and directors need to be prepared to tackle the challenges and opportunities it entails. Earlier this year, in his annual letter to chief executives, ...

New analysis from Ceres and FundVotes indicates robust growth in support for climate-related proposals among the largest institutional investors operating in the US. During the 2018 proxy season, 46 percent of asset managers voted for more than half of climate-related shareholder proposals tracked by Ceres, up from roughly 33 percent in 2017. The shareholder proposals analyzed asked companies to take action by, for example, setting greenhouse gas reduction targets, ...