Voting on agenda items at annual general meetings (AGMs) is one of the most significant opportunities many investors have for influence.
The PRI aims to support investors during this process by promoting ESG-related shareholder resolutions, management proposals and director elections on the Collaboration Platform via the Resolution Database and through our weekly Resolution Alert newsletter that runs over the course of the northern hemisphere AGM season.
The Resolution Database is publicly accessible and allows investors to sort, filter and view the details of ESG-related shareholder proposals and votes. Additionally, the database offers PRI signatories the ability to pre-declare how they intend to vote on each resolution or vote (integrating the function of the separate Vote Declaration System that the PRI has offered in previous years).
Pre-declaring voting intentions via the Collaboration Platform
In 2017, in response to demand for more dedicated proxy voting tools, the PRI built an online form for signatories to voluntarily communicate how they intend to vote on shareholder proposals at company AGMs. In 2021, this vote declaration tool has now been upgraded and integrated into the Collaboration Platform to make sharing vote declarations simpler and clearer for signatories. Signatories can now include a rationale with each vote declaration and hence better communicate their reasoning alongside each voting decision.
This vote declaration tool aims to increase transparency and collaboration across the industry (in line with the PRI’s Principles two and six) by providing investors with the ability to share their own voting intentions with peers; gain insights into how peers are implementing their responsible investment activities through their voting on shareholder resolutions; and by providing asset owners with the ability to monitor how their investment managers intend to vote on upcoming proposals.
Visit the Resolution Database and view signatory vote declarations.
