Many corporations embrace the compelling business case for sustainability, and its long-term positive impact on shareholder value. They endorse this direction because they understand this is a sensible and prudent way to do business. This is a growing trend in the global business community and is not one that companies are likely to retreat from in a wholesale manner. It is important to highlight examples of corporate commitment to sustainability to drive this point home. In the document below, we include a series of quotes from companies making the case for sustainability in their businesses. These quotes represent the tip of a very large iceberg.
The research for this project was done by a group of students at Yale University who are actively studying issues of sustainability and corporate responsibility as part of the Shareholder Engagement team at the Dwight Hall Socially Responsible Investment Fund. Tim Smith, Senior Policy Advisor, ICCR, provided key input.
Proxy voting is an essential part of investors’ fiduciary duty and stewardship. The proxy voting data of the largest asset managers offers useful insights into how they exercise their oversight of managements’ decision-making, reveals how they align their recognition of material risk with their asset owner clients and how they address significant environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks.
ICCR has worked with asset owners to engage asset managers on their proxy voting guidelines and records, and offered feedback to asset managers on their proxy voting records, policies and current disclosures. Such disclosure and transparency are essential. It allows clients, beneficiaries, and the public to see whether these powerful financial institutions are truly voting in alignment with long-term value creation, effective risk management, and responsible corporate citizenship. Our new report seeks to help investors do just that by comparing asset manager voting on key management and shareholder proposals in 2025.
During the 2025 proxy season, ICCR’s members continued to press their portfolio companies for changes in policies and practices to mitigate harmful environmental and social impacts. While engagement progress most often results from ongoing dialogues with companies, when dialogues stall or become unproductive, investors may file shareholder proposals as a means of escalation. What follows is a review of the outcomes of the 347 shareholder proposals that were filed this season by our members on a range of climate, environmental, worker rights, human rights, governance, health equity, and supply chain issues. With 66 withdrawal agreements and some exciting new proposals, we’re excited to share with you some highlights from the 2025 proxy season.
Published March, 2025. The upcoming 2026 edition will be released in late March, 2026.
ICCR has been publishing the Proxy Resolutions and Voting Guide annually since 1974 as a way to educate and build support for member proposals. In it, you will find all ICCR member-sponsored proposals for 2025 corporate proxies along with a preliminary overview of the proxy season and short features from proponents about their engagements on key environmental and social issues. Please feel free to share this resource widely with your networks. And, if you are an investor, we urge you to exercise your shareholder rights by voting your proxies.
ICCR Climate Crisis Issue Brief Three, November 2024
Major U.S. banks must play a pivotal role in a just transition to a net-zero carbon economy through their lending and investment practices. Investors concerned with the financial risks of the climate crisis look to evaluate the pledges, financing activities, and progress toward alignment with the Paris Agreement and a just transition as they engage banks on this issue. While no U.S. bank has explicitly committed to aligning their practices with a just transition framework yet, several leading banks have started to incorporate community risk and stakeholder engagement into their sustainability reports, and some have directly referenced the importance of a just transition in achieving a net-zero future.
This ICCR brief discusses the commitments and actions of six leading U.S. banks – Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley – in supporting a just transition to a low-carbon future.
ICCR Climate Crisis Issue Brief Two, August 2024
The decarbonization of the energy utility sector is a top priority for investors in the ICCR network. Investors are increasingly concerned about the expensive proposed “solution” put forward by major gas utilities to achieve “sustainability” of their networks, and should consider engaging companies on truly sustainable alternatives to the continued large investment in fossil gas infrastructure. The deployment of non-combusting thermal energy networks is a sensible path forward.
This ICCR brief discusses the aging infrastructure of the natural gas network and offers policy recommendations and guidance for shareholder engagement on thermal energy networks.
ICCR Climate Crisis Issue Brief One, June 2024
The transition to carbon-neutral economies will require a vast quantity of minerals. In essence, we must shift from a fossil fuel-intensive economy to one based on minerals, which are needed to harness and store the energy in natural systems. Due to their importance in new technologies, economic development, and even national security, these resources have been called “critical minerals” or “strategic minerals.” In this document, we will use the designation, “transition minerals” as we focus on their use in the urgent transformation towards decarbonized energy systems.
This ICCR brief provides an overview of the environmental and social impacts of lithium mining and offers policy recommendations and guidance for shareholder engagement on transition minerals.
This presentation explains the foundational elements of climate lobbying, from investor expectations and enterprise risk, to examples of leading corporate practices.
The Investor Environmental Health Network and Clean Action Production have released a report on the importance of corporations in addressing environmental justice. Environmental justice is an increasingly material issue for companies, and therefore an important issue for investors to track.
