Corporate Secretary – On the shareholder proposals front in 2019, the Shareholder Association for Research and Education and ISS counted 84 shareholder proposals submitted at 32 companies, excluding TSX-listed issuers that are US domestic issuers. This is a significant jump from the 2018 count of 40 proposals at 21 companies.
The shifting focus of shareholder proposals is arguably even more noteworthy than their overall numbers. The increasing emphasis on ESG is reflected by significant growth in environmental and social shareholder proposals. ESG issues were the focus of 45 percent of all proposals in 2019, up from 30 percent in 2018, including 18 proposals aimed at integrating ESG metrics into compensation determinations, according to Gryphon Advisors.
