Executive summary: Shareholder activism has shown promise as an effective advocacy tool for animal welfare causes, with some successes already, and opportunities exist to expand its use if done carefully in coordination with existing groups.
Key points:
Shareholder activism leverages partial ownership of companies to achieve reforms, with increasing use and effectiveness in recent years.
Key requirements include owning a certain amount of stock, dedicating staff time for advocacy, and having legal assistance to navigate procedures.
Shareholder resolutions typically receive <10% approval but can still prompt company action; proxy fights are an expensive escalation tactic.
Shareholder activism is most effective when coordinated with broader public campaigns on the target issue.
The literature generally finds significant positive effects from shareholder activism, with certain factors predicting greater success.
Shareholder activism is used less for animal advocacy than other causes, and is disproportionately US/Europe-focused with challenges in other regions.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, andcontact us if you have feedback.
Executive summary: Shareholder activism has shown promise as an effective advocacy tool for animal welfare causes, with some successes already, and opportunities exist to expand its use if done carefully in coordination with existing groups.
Key points:
Shareholder activism leverages partial ownership of companies to achieve reforms, with increasing use and effectiveness in recent years.
Key requirements include owning a certain amount of stock, dedicating staff time for advocacy, and having legal assistance to navigate procedures.
Shareholder resolutions typically receive <10% approval but can still prompt company action; proxy fights are an expensive escalation tactic.
Shareholder activism is most effective when coordinated with broader public campaigns on the target issue.
The literature generally finds significant positive effects from shareholder activism, with certain factors predicting greater success.
Shareholder activism is used less for animal advocacy than other causes, and is disproportionately US/Europe-focused with challenges in other regions.
This comment was auto-generated by the EA Forum Team. Feel free to point out issues with this summary by replying to the comment, and contact us if you have feedback.