Shareholders in 2023 have filed about 540 proposals asking companies to address ESG issues, 25% focused on climate change, up by 12% from 2022.

 

Shareholders in 2023 have filed about 540 proposals asking companies to address ESG issues, 25% focused on climate change, up by 12% from 2022.  Shareholders want companies to set targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and report on their progress, according to Proxy Preview. Resolutions have won majority shareholder support or have been withdrawn after deals are made with companies. In 2022, Shareholders withdrew a record 110 proposals on climate change after they struck deals with firms, according to Ceres.  Activist investors are targeting big insurance companies such as Chubb Ltd. Chubb is already cutting its greenhouse gas emissions and plans to reduce methane emissions in the oil and gas industry. Like other insurers, Chubb doesn't directly produce a lot of emissions, but some of its clients do.  A shareholder advocacy group, "As You Sow," stated that many oil and gas companies already have plans to reduce methane emissions. As You Sow wants Chubb to commit to the Paris Agreement's goals which require all greenhouse gas emissions to be eliminated or offset by 2050. Chubb is urging investors to vote against the resolution, stating that there is still no "well-established and widely accepted" way to measure emissions from all its customers.