Did you know that more than 60% of the 500 largest U.S. public companies are voluntarily reporting on Scope 3 emissions? In ESG 2023, Insightia research highlights how issuers are being held accountable for emissions reporting on a global scale, with regulators, standard setters and investors alike calling for mandatory Scope 3 reporting.
The report’s top findings include:
- Emissions-intensive sectors face sustained pressure to enhance their net-zero commitments, with climate change shareholder proposals winning 32% and 37% percent average support in the U.S. energy and aerospace/defense sectors, respectively, in the first five months of 2023.
- Although average support for E&S shareholder proposals appears to have fallen over the last two years, the number that passed remains elevated and more ESG requests are being withdrawn for agreements. 26 E&S proposals won majority support at S&P 500 companies in 2022, compared to 18 and 30 in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
- ESG metrics in compensation are becoming the norm. 73% of the S&P 500 tied executive compensation to some form of ESG performance in 2021, up from 66% in 2020.
- Rising inflation has placed ESG activism on the back burner for traditional activist hedge funds. 3% and 7% percent of environmental and social activist demands have been at least partially successful in the first five months of 2023, compared to 6% percent and 14% support, respectively, in the same period a year prior.
Read the full report.