Editors note: This letter originally appeared in Proxy Preview 2025, a comprehensive annual report on ESG resolutions from As You Sow and Proxy Impact. Join them for a webinar to be held April 3rd at 1pm ET.
In Proxy Preview’s 21 years, investors have made undeniable and lasting progress toward building a just and resilient economy. When we started, it would have been hard to imagine a world where, under intense political pressure, more than 98% of shareholders would vote to uphold diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI, programs – yet that’s exactly what we saw recently at Costco, Apple, John Deere, and Disney.
Shareholders stood united in solidarity, overwhelmingly supporting boards of directors and management teams that were willing to defend policies promoting long-term value – even in the face of certain backlash. These extraordinary votes are a powerful reminder: Now more than ever, shareholders can reject false narratives, stand firm in our free-market principles, and make good business decisions based on data – not politics.
Let’s not forget how we arrived at this moment. Decades of incremental progress and hard-fought victories helped corporate leaders recognize the economy’s deep interconnectedness: A climate-driven extreme weather event halfway across the world can cripple supply chains and close factories, tank stock prices, and increase risk for all stakeholders. Systemic risks are timeless concerns at the heart of shareholder resolutions. How we deal with them will promote sustainable growth and long-term economic justice.
Exposing these business risks and pushing for change has sparked a backlash. Fossil fuel interests aligned with oligarchs and the “manosphere” are on a dangerous crusade to manipulate the free market, spread lies, and endanger our democracy. Empowered state and federal actors have been willing to abandon free-market principles by passing laws and executive orders that threaten the essential property rights of shareholders. The result is: less transparent markets, heightened material risks, and growing legal challenges for fiduciaries.
Savvy shareholders understand that turbulent times call for strategic persistence. As regulatory agencies and financial guardrails are removed, shareholders play an even greater and more critical role in ensuring corporate disclosure and transparency. We will continue to address material environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues even if they are currently out of political favor. Progress must continue by meeting companies where they are to continue economic growth.
Free markets depend on transparency and accountability – yet today, both are under siege. History shows us that efforts to suppress truth and progress are ultimately unsustainable. Every overreaching executive order, every state law that forces fiduciaries to abandon their legal duties, and every anti-ESG resolution that undermines corporate performance only hastens the pendulum’s inevitable swing back.
Our path forward is clear: Innovate, adapt, engage, and remain united. Shareholder proposals have a long history of educating investors on critical issues that improve corporate practices and policies. We must never forget that our rights are the bedrock of capitalism and that the board of directors of every company answers to us. We have the opportunity to capitalize on this historic moment as we continue to guide corporate decision-makers toward responsible stewardship – ensuring justice and long-term sustainable growth for all stakeholders.
Andrew Behar is the CEO of As You Sow.
