A powerful way to influence companies
When corporate dialogue is not working, NEI seeks the views of other shareholders on the environmental, social and governance issue facing the company. This is done by filing a shareholder resolution that is included in the management proxy circular and submitted to a vote at the company's annual general meeting.
Shareholder resolutions can be a powerful tool for raising the awareness of environmental, social and governance issues among directors, senior executives and other shareholders. The time between filing the resolution and the company finalizing the management proxy circular for publication is often fruitful for dialogue, because companies wish to see the resolution removed from the meeting agenda. This often prompts companies to allocate more resources to ESG concerns. As a result of this, shareholder resolutions do not always go to a vote. But by then, the point is made.
Review our history of shareholder resolutions below.