Guerilla Gorilla Creative
The dog days of summer signal the end of yet another season of annual shareholder meetings — that time of year when investors at some of the world’s biggest corporations vote on important decisions: who serves on the board, whether to support climate proposals, and more. These annual shareholder meetings are important opportunities to hold some of the world’s biggest corporations accountable and to push for responsible business practices.
Join the movement: Tell public pensions to hold polluters accountable!
This year’s annual shareholder meeting season had a few bright spots: dozens of Sierra Club activists attended shareholder meetings in person to pressure corporate polluters to address their contributions to the climate crisis.
In Omaha, Nebraska, activists with the Sierra Club and the Clean Up Midam Coalition attended the annual shareholder meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, whose energy subsidiary Berkshire Hathaway Energy is actively contributing to the climate crisis by operating the dirtiest fleet of coal-burning power plants in the U.S. At the meeting, high school student Kansas Lohmeier asked board members directly why the company lacked concrete plans to retire its polluting coal-fired power plants.
In Hartford, Connecticut, activists with the Sierra Club’s Connecticut Chapter, Third Act Connecticut, and Connecticut Citizen Action Group rallied outside the annual shareholder meetings of major insurance companies Travelers and The Hartford, holding up signs asking why it’s acceptable to insure fossil fuel infrastructure but drop coverage for environmental groups, after The Hartford made headlines for dropping insurance coverage for a local chapter of the Audubon Society.
These actions are part of a growing movement of activists leveraging existing power structures — such as financial regulations and shareholder meetings — to hold corporations accountable for their role in the climate crisis.
Tough year for corporate accountability and shareholder proposals
Despite ongoing activism from Sierra Club supporters and partners in the climate movement, it has been a tough year for corporate accountability. U.S. banks have walked back their climate goals and doubled down on fossil fuel financing. Major corporations have weakened their net-zero targets, scaled back on emissions disclosures, and reduced investments in clean energy.
According to Proxy Preview, during this year’s annual shareholder meetings, shareholders filed over 850 shareholder proposals focused on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues. This might seem like a lot, but the total number of proposals actually declined from 2024, largely due to unfriendly changes in the federal administration and unfavorable policy shifts at federal agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission that prevented some proposals from moving forward.
Thankfully, the share of environmental proposals stayed the same from 2024 to 2025, which signals that shareholders continue to view environmental issues as key areas of concern for corporate accountability. However, environmental proposals are facing stronger headwinds. Overall support for environmental and social proposals declined in 2025, with none of the 47 environmental proposals receiving majority support, and just 2 of the 98 social proposals receiving majority support.
This concerning uptick in political influence over corporate action on climate change shows why it’s more important than ever to call on major investors like public pensions to use their power as shareholders to pressure corporations to address their role in the climate crisis.
Major investors like pensions can lead on corporate accountability
Although this year’s annual shareholder meeting season has ended, our work is only just beginning. We need your help to push public pensions — some of the largest investors worldwide — to be climate leaders. Since public pensions have a mandate to provide benefits to their beneficiaries for decades to come, their long-term investment horizon means they have both the responsibility and the power to safeguard a stable economy and a livable planet.
This fall, pensions and other major investors will update their proxy voting guidelines, which are a set of rules that inform how they will vote on shareholder proposals at annual meetings in 2026 and set clear expectations for corporate action on climate change and other issues. Pushing public pensions to take action works. How pensions vote on shareholder proposals at annual meetings can meaningfully impact corporate behavior.
- Read more: What is proxy voting?
During last year’s annual shareholder meeting season, we succeeded in encouraging a number of public pension funds to vote in line with our 2024 recommendations on shareholder proposals. This year, we encouraged pensions to go further and pushed them to vote in line with our 2025 recommendations on issues like Indigenous rights, just transition, and biodiversity. (Keep an eye out for the next Hidden Risks report to see how public pensions voted this year!) These successes show that pensions are receptive to feedback about their role in addressing climate change, and we’ll keep organizing to strengthen their votes on climate-related shareholder proposals every year.
Tackling the climate crisis isn’t only the right thing to do — it’s essential for anyone saving for the future. The same storms, floods, and heatwaves that threaten our communities also undermine the economy.
Public pensions must step up to address how the climate crisis will impact the economy and take action to protect people’s hard-earned savings. By speaking up, you can encourage your local pension to support corporate action that protects our economy, our planet, and our savings. Tell your public pension to vote for a better future!
- Sign the petition: Tell public pensions to hold polluters accountable!