This article first appeared on Diligent Market Intelligence's Voting newswire. To register for a demonstration and trial of the product, click here.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) no-action hiatus has thinned the ESG pipeline to U.S. ballots, with the number of shareholder proposals advancing to a vote in Q1 almost halving when compared to the same period last year and with support also dipping to a multi-year low. According to Diligent Market Intelligence (DMI) data, 32 proposals faced a vote in the first quarter of 2026 with average support at 17.8%, compared to 57 in the same period last year, which attracted average backing of 23.8%. The falloff comes amid growing tensions between companies and investors on how to best respond to and manage such proposals following a shift in no-action policy from the SEC, which in November said it would no longer provide guidance on most “no-action” requests due to resource constraints. Since the regulator's shift in approach, some proponents have opted to let the courts decide, with at least six lawsuits initiated in a bid to have proposals placed on the ballot. While the number of environmental proposals was broadly flat versus the same period last year, social-focused proposals fell sharply, underscoring the growing dominance of governance-related asks, which represented about 53% of all proposals that reached a vote in Q1. Environmental Four environmental-focused proposals faced a vote in Q1, with consumer targets in focus. Average support slid to 1.6%, down from 6.5% in the same period in 2025. While reporting on climate risk in retirement plans accounted for the bulk of resolutions in the opening quarter of 2025, many efforts in 2026 were led by an anti-ESG proponent — the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR)—with a request for disclosure on return on investment linked to climate commitments at Walt Disney and at Deere & Company. Climate advocate Green Century was also in the mix, pushing for disclosure at Tyson Foods around environmental and health impacts from waste lagoons, with 2.5% backing for its efforts. Social Social-focused proposals saw the steepest decline of all within the ESG umbrella. After 18 such proposals reached a vote in the first quarter of 2025, volumes in Q1 2026 were roughly half that level, with average support dropping to 1.3%. Once again, anti-ESG groups such as NCPPR and Bowyer Research were among the most active filers. Apple was pressed to conduct a “China entanglement” audit, while Intuit faced a proposal requesting a report on the return on investment of its DEI programs. A proposal at Walt Disney calling for a review of the company’s accessibility and disability inclusion practices drew the highest level of support among social-focused topics in the quarter, at 5%. Governance Governance continued to dominate investor attention, with 17 resolutions coming to a vote in Q1 compared to 20 in the same period last year, and many at large tech and consumer companies. Average support remained comparatively robust at 30%, albeit down from 35% in the first quarter of 2025. Veteran shareholder advocate John Chevedden was behind almost half of the governance proposals to surface to a vote, seeking to expand shareholder rights through written consent and special meeting provisions. His proposal to enhance special meeting rights at Keysight Technologies received the strongest support of any governance-focused resolution in the period, drawing almost 65% of votes cast. Fellow advocate James McRitchie also notched a notable win at tech company Zscaler, where his proposal to declassify the board secured 51% support. Elsewhere, drinks giant Starbucks faced three governance proposals. The Accountability Board pushed for the adoption of a majority vote standard in director elections, the National Legal and Policy Center called for an independent chair policy, and The Heritage Foundation questioned the use of diagnostic tools alleged to be created by "politicized corporate partners."
