The number of environmentally focused shareholder resolutions plunged this year by 47 percent after the Trump administration made it harder for smaller investors to submit so-called ESG proposals with corporations.
The steep decline is largely due to a series of Trump-era rule changes implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission that have constrained shareholders’ ability to publicly pressure corporate leaders, according to the 2026 Proxy Preview, an annual overview of ESG proposals, shorthand for environmental, social and governance. The report is produced by the sustainable investment advisory firm Proxy Impact and the nonprofit As You Sow.
It comes as many of the nation’s largest companies are preparing to hold their shareholder meetings over the next few months. The annual events represent one of the only times retail investors can provide direct input to corporate leaders via board elections and votes on resolutions from management and shareholders, all of which are documented in securities filings known as proxy statements.
“Shareholder engagement is being curtailed on all sides,” Nell Minow, chair of the firm Value Edge Advisors, said in the report. This year’s “proxy season presents us with a vast stretch of uncharted territory.”
