What were the major trends of the 2024 proxy season on ESG shareholder proposals?

This article from Morningstar published on the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance examines three major trends of the 2024 proxy season regarding environmental, social and governance shareholder proposals.  The author, the Director of Investment Stewardship Research at Morningstar, reports that, while the number of ESG-related proposals increased, there was a “twist in the tale”:  the increase primarily reflected a jump in anti-ESG proposals. Although support for ESG proposals on the whole was relatively flat at 23%, Morningstar found a “rebound in support for governance-focused proposals,” offsetting a decline in support for E&S proposals.