Shareholders continue to pull back on environmental resolutions
The decline in shareholder pressure is one less incentive for companies to prioritize sustainability. Read More
- The number of environmental proposals from shareholders has halved since 2024.
- No large U.S. company passed an environmental proposal in 2026 or 2025.
- The total number of shareholder proposals also fell, but at a slower rate.
The number of shareholder resolutions focused on environmental issues continues to decline, according to a review of proposals filed during the first half of 2026. It’s now two years since shareholders at a large company voted in favor of an environmental resolution, researchers at business think tank The Conference Board found.
Seventy-five environmental proposals have been filed in 2026 by shareholders at Russell 3000 companies, which include the largest U.S. businesses by market capitalization. That’s half the number filed over the same period in 2025. Most large companies hold their annual meetings and vote on shareholder proposals during the first half of the year.
Environmental shareholder proposals at Russell 3000 companies
Broader trends
The decline in proposals lessens the pressure on companies to act on sustainability, particularly those that have made little progress to date. One of the proposals that passed in 2024, for example, prompted fast-food chain Jack in the Box to set its first targets for greenhouse gas reductions.
The drop in environmental proposals slightly outpaced the overall decline in shareholder proposals, which fell to 622 in 2026 from 923 in 2024, the board found. Anti-ESG groups filed 102 of those proposals, a number that’s been roughly flat since 2024. No proposal from an anti-ESG group has succeeded in the past three years.
The Conference Board carried out the research in collaboration with data provider ESGAUGE, leadership advisory firm Russell Reynolds Associates and the Rutgers Center for Corporate Law and Governance.
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