Creating guardrails to protect our common interest
2022 shareholder proposals
Click here to view a complete list of our 2022 shareholder proposals with upcoming meeting dates
NEW: System Stewardship
TSC recently launched a full set of tools for investors– click here to learn more!
the shareholder commons is tackling capital system failures that are endangering our future
Free market capitalism has made us healthier and wealthier for more than two centuries. But there is growing recognition of the costs we are paying for short-sighted business decisions that prioritize profits over our natural environment and human needs.
CAPITALISM IN CRISIS
MARKETS CONTINUE TO SEE EXTREME PROFITS EVEN AS ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL SYSTEMS WEAKEN
Trust in market systems deteriorates while current business approaches to sustainability fail to address the systemic issues. In an increasingly stressed and stratified society, business as usual is not tenable.
WE CAN DO BETTER
Preserving Human Dignity and the Earth’s Abundance
The Shareholder Commons seeks to redesign the creative engine of market capitalism to respect the dignity of all human beings and preserve the earth’s bounty. We believe capital markets should distinguish between profits earned through authentic value creation and profits that come from unsustainable and inhumane practices.
AN INNOVATIVE APPROACH
COLLECTIVE ACTION
COLLECTIVE ACTION
the power of universal owners
By harnessing the power of universal owners—large institutional investors with diversified portfolios that have a financial interest in the well-being of the economy as a whole—we are working to ensure our capital markets give priority to long term systemic health over individual company profits.
the power of universal owners
By harnessing the power of universal owners — large institutional investors with diversified portfolios that have a financial interest in the wellbeing of the economy as a whole — we are working to ensure our capital markets give priority to long term systemic health before individual company profits.
LEVEL PLAYING FIELD
To allow profit-seeking to serve its vital role in pricing goods and services, universal owners should use collective action to establish minimum standards of sustainable business practices that will establish a level playing field for sustainable competition.
LEVEL PLAYING FIELD
To allow profit-seeking to serve its vital role in pricing goods and services, universal owners should use collective action to establish minimum standards of sustainable business practices that will establish a level playing field for sustainable competition.
OUR PLAN FOR CHANGE
Modify the discussion of business responsibility in the public arena to include the need for a systemic approach and collective action by investors.
Modify and clarify the laws and regulations that govern investing, in order to ensure that investors focus on systemic value as well as individual company value.
The Pernicious Problem of Multi-Class Share Structures
Bloomberg columnist Matt Levine spelled out the problem with multi-class share structures. It’s time for underwriters such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase to stop enabling what the SEC Investor Advocate described as a “festering wound”
Response to System Stewardship Challenges
A recent article by Marcel Kahan and Edward B. Rock critiqued the sort of system stewardship we promote at TSC. But the authors do not really question the idea that in some circumstances diversified investment fiduciaries would want to address the threat from portfolio companies that externalize costs to other investees
Johnson & Johnson Proposal Survives SEC Challenge
Johnson & Johnson sought to exclude our proposal asking for a report on the costs it externalizes by limiting access to its COVID-19 vaccine technology, and how its diversified shareholders absorb those costs. By rejecting both arguments, the SEC made clear that shareholders have a legitimate interest in voting on proposals that address the macroeconomic implications of a significant policy issue.
Here Comes Proxy Season
Proxy season 2022 is right around the corner. This edition is dedicated to the 19 shareholder proposals we’re supporting this year. We also highlight a US$46B asset owner CEO’s public support for system stewardship.
Together, we're embarking on a fundamental transformation of our financial system...
