Shareholder proposals on environmental and social issues were down during the 2026 proxy season in the United States – the period from April to June when most publicly traded companies hold their annual shareholder meetings – a new report has found.
According to the report, from The Conference Board, ESGAUGE, Russell Reynolds Associates and the Rutgers Center for Corporate Law and Governance, proposal filings related to environmental issues fell by 32% compared to the previous year, while human capital proposal filings fell 37% and social proposals declined 33%.
Compared with 2024, the decline was even greater, with environmental proposals down 50%, human capital proposals down nearly 60%, and social proposals down 47%.
Investor agenda
“Companies shouldn’t interpret fewer proposals as evidence that these issues have fallen off investors’ agendas,” commented Ariane Marchis-Mouren, author of the report and senior researcher at The Conference Board. “Instead, investors are placing greater emphasis on proposals that are company-specific, financially material, and clearly connected to long-term value.”
Governance-related proposals moved in the opposite direction, however, accounting for nearly half of all shareholder proposals – a 19-percentage-point increase on last year. Also, governance proposals received average support of 33%, a higher level than other ESG proposals, although this was lower than in previous years.
“Governance proposals continued to stand out in a lower-volume proxy season,” added Matteo Gatti, professor of law at Rutgers Law School. “Investors remain focused on board accountability, making proactive engagement on governance issues increasingly important.”
The report, which was based on public disclosure data from Russell 3000 companies through to the end of June 2026, found that overall shareholder proposal filings declined 20% from 2025 and 33% from their 2024 peak. The number of proposals that passed fell 45% from 2025, while average support remained at 24%, compared with 23% in 2025.
Shareholder activism
Notably, shareholder activism campaigns were also down significantly, falling more than 60% since last year, and nearly 75% from 2024. However, the report noted that this should not be interpreted as reduced activist pressure, with parties also seeking to exert corporate influence through private engagement, negotiated settlements, transaction-focused demands, and other interventions.
Finally, AI-related proposals increased from 18 in 2025 to 24 in 2026, reaching a three-year high, with proposals tending to focus on energy use, water demand, and data governance rather than broad AI governance frameworks.
“AI remains a small part of the proxy landscape, but investor expectations are evolving quickly,” commented Umesh Chandra Tiwari, executive director of ESGAUGE. “Shareholders are paying less attention to broad governance frameworks and more attention to AI’s real-world impacts – from data governance to energy use.” Read more here.
