ESG shareholder proposals down 47% from 2025 in US, Proxy Preview finds

In a rare interview, John Chevedden speaks to RI about his fears for the future of the proposal process

Shut out of the government’s filing system, activist investors launched a rival platform—and it’s already outpacing the original.

The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility has launched a public resource which names the companies that have declared their intention to unilaterally omit shareholder resolutions.

The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, an institutional investor group representing more than $4 trillion in assets, launched an initiative to track companies it deems are “arbitrarily” moving to omit shareholder proposals, following a change in SEC policy.

Who are the pivotal actors and interests shaping corporate governance?

It is early yet in the 2026 proxy season, but it has already been an eventful one. The theme for this year might be that while shareholder proposals making it to ballots, particularly on environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) topics are down, litigation is notably up.

On March 19, 2026, two investor advocacy groups filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking to vacate a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) policy that changed how the agency handles shareholder proposals.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is being sued over a new policy that gives companies “an effective rubber-stamp” to omit shareholder proposals in company proxy statements.