Among the extremely noteworthy takeaways from EY's "Four ESG highlights from the 2020 proxy season" are these Fortune 100 proxy disclosure statistics based on the 78 companies that filed proxy statements as of June 15:
- Board Diversity
- 50% of companies (compared to 24% in 2017) disclosed the board's racial/ethnic diversity based on directors' self-identification, which EY notes some directors may opt out of for personal reasons. Of those, all but two disclosed on an aggregated (in lieu of individual director) basis as a percentage or number of racially/ethnically diverse directors on the board. Among the companies that disclosed, racial/ethnic diversity averaged 25%.
- 40% of companies disclosed the board's overall diversity compared to 24% in 2017.
- Human Capital
- 77% of proxies highlighted the company's human capital initiatives and commitments (most commonly, workforce diversity) compared to 32% in 2017.
- 69% assigned board or committee oversight of human capital, with oversight most commonly assigned to the compensation committee (37%), followed by the full board
(23%).
- Environmental
- 77% of proxies highlighted the company's environmental sustainability initiatives and commitments (most commonly, climate change/emissions) compared to 37% in 2017.
- 81% assigned board or committee oversight of environmental sustainability, with oversight most commonly assigned to the Nom/Gov committee (47%), followed by a public policy committee (17%).
Key takeaways for the board and management home in on how companies can evolve their disclosures to keep pace with changing investor expectations and priorities triggered by COVID-19 and other macro developments. See the online version with infographics here.
This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!