The 2021 proxy-voting season was remarkable, in many ways. Shareholder proposals on environmental and social issues won record-breaking levels of support, and many say-on-pay resolutions were opposed by large fund managers. But proxy season could be even more dramatic next year, thanks to two developments – the universal proxy ballot and the growing clout of retail shareholders.

The votes are in. Exxon shareholders elected three directors backed by an activist shareholder who called for a stronger approach in the oil giant’s response to climate change. It’s the first proxy campaign at a major US company where directors were the target and climate change was the issue. Anne Simpson of CalPERS, which backed the rival directors, said the vote was a “day of reckoning”…

IR Magazine talks with G+P’s Richard Mahony about the state of climate disclosure in the United States and the growing influence of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). Listen to The Ticker podcast to hear their discussion.