BlackRock's 2022 voting spotlight and 2022 voting spotlight summary, which capture its proxy voting-focused stewardship activities for the 12 months ended June 30, reveals a plethora of noteworthy statistics, engagement examples, and instructive commentary that should help inform companies' engagement and disclosure going forward.
Key takeaways include:
- Noting the overly-prescriptive nature of many E&S shareholder proposals that went to a vote (which BlackRock previously articulated here and which we previously reported on here), BlackRock’s support for E&S shareholder proposals in the US declined from 43% last year to 24% this year.
We consider well-crafted, well-targeted shareholder proposals to play a useful role in the stewardship toolkit. Our research indicates that proposals that receive high support from shareholders lead to beneficial responses from companies. However, as we explained in our May commentary, 2022 climate-related proposals more prescriptive than 2021, we observed a marked increase in E&S shareholder proposals that went to a vote (e.g., in the U.S. we saw a 133% increase) and many more proposals were unduly constraining on management or were overly prescriptive as to information sought or timeframes. Others failed to recognize the progress made such that companies had largely met the ask of the proposal.
In context, the report notes that average shareholder support overall for E&S shareholder proposals in the US declined from 36% last year to 27% this year and the rate of majority support declined from 27% last year to 9% this year. SEC no-action relief declined 61% year-over-year.
- Globally, BlackRock supported 22% of shareholder E&S proposals (71 of 321), compared to 47% last year. Proposals it deemed overly prescriptive, immaterial, already implemented or largely implemented by the company, not beneficial to shareholders, or unjustified, did not garner its support.
- BlackRock did not support a director (or multiple directors) at 14% of US companies due to board diversity concerns. It also failed to support directors (i.e., it voted against at least one director) at 6% of US companies due to concerns about overcommitment; 6% of companies due to compensation concerns; and 4% of directors based on independence concerns.
See “Drop in BlackRock's support for environmental, social resolutions” (Reuters), BlackRock supporting fewer ESG shareholder proposals (Pensions & Investments), and additional BlackRock resources here.
This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!