Climate Shareholder Proposals in the 2024 Proxy Season: Exploring Key Trends

4 minute read | July.23.2024

Shareholders submitted 95 proposals related to climate change this proxy season, including 81 without anti-ESG sentiment. Those 81 proposals called on companies to take actions such as:

Adopting greenhouse gas reduction targets.
Disclosing plans to achieve climate-related targets.
Conducting an inventory of and disclosing greenhouse gas emissions.

Orrick’s J.T. Ho, Bobby Bee and Meghan Conway explore climate proposal trends in the first of two posts in TheCorporateCounsel.net’s “Proxy Season” Blog.

The second post examines which industry saw both the highest number of climate proposals and the highest level of support and what influenced proxy advisors to recommend for these proposals.

Authors

Bobby Bee Practice Support Counsel, Capital Markets

New York

See my bio

D:+1 212 506 5000
E: rbee@orrick.com

Practice:

Capital Markets

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Bobby Bee Practice Support Counsel

New York

Prior to joining Orrick, he was with Lowenstein Sandler LLP from 2015 to 2022, with a practice focusing on public company governance matters and securities law compliance, including reporting and disclosure obligations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. He also advised companies regarding capital markets transactions including IPOs, SPACs, follow-on offerings, shelf registrations, and private placements.

Prior to Lowenstein Sandler LLP, Bobby’s experience included positions as a tax senior for Deloitte Tax LLP and a financial statement audit senior for Deloitte & Touche.

Meghan Conway Sr Resp Bus Sol Res Analyst, Corporate Governance, Capital Markets

Seattle

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D:+1 206 839 4389
E: mconway@orrick.com

Practice:

Corporate Governance
Capital Markets
Responsible Business

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Meghan Conway Sr Resp Bus Sol Res Analyst

Seattle

Prior to Orrick, Meghan worked at Ramboll, a global engineering, architecture, and consulting company. Meghan worked as an ESG and Sustainability consultant based in the Seattle office, where she served as the local subject matter contact for a global team of environmentally-focused ESG experts. In her role, Meghan delivered buy-side ESG due diligence assessments for private equity clients and assisted corporate clients with ESG program development through priority assessments, target setting exercises, disclosure framework alignment, and ESG report writing. In addition, Meghan worked with colleagues to develop competencies related to ESG, climate, air quality, and environmental justice deliverables. Meghan has worked for clients in several industries, including healthcare, food products, infrastructure, and beauty.

Meghan is a thought leader in environmental justice, and presented on the nascent state of environmental justice, corporate attention and regulation at the Pacific Northwest International Section (PNWIS) of Air & Waste Management Association (A&WMA) in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho in October 2022.