Boston Trust Walden's "2019 ESG Impact Report" reveals that the investor engaged last year with 60% of its portfolio (178 companies) on the following issues - in order of descending frequency: board diversity, climate change, ESG reporting, LGBT non-discrimination, lobbying, and EEO disclosure - with a 43% (76 portfolio companies) overall "impact" or success rate. The firm defines success in this context as progress toward one or more of three potential outcomes: better corporate policies, more sustainable business practices, and/or increased ESG transparency.
For the proxy year ending June 30, 2019, it voted "against" management on at least one shareholder or management proposal at 60% of 249 portfolio company proxy statements voted - most frequently against Nom/Gov Committee directors (31% of companies) for "insufficient" board diversity (defined by the investor as women and people of color constituting less than 30% of the board), followed by votes against overboarded directors (16% of companies), and say-on-pay (12% of companies). Walden voted against management on 88% of shareholder-sponsored proposals.
Also notable: Walden led or co-led 10 proposals on climate, equality, and governance, and co-filed an additional seven proposals led by other investors. Of those 17 proposals, nine were withdrawn based on a negotiated agreement with the company. Of those that went to a vote, the average shareholder support purportedly was 26%,
The report includes a summary of the proposals filed that identifies the proposal topic, target companies, and the vote outcome (or withdrawal based on agreement), as well as examples of the investor's impact by engagement focus (equality / climate change / governance) and companies engaged.
Access additional resources on our Institutional Investors, Shareholder Engagement and other relevant topical pages. This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!