From Beef to Palm Oil, Investors Worry about Climate Risk in the Food Industry.
DiNapoli led a push by investors in May to force Exxon to better explain the impacts of climate change on its business.
Shareholder resolutions like these are rising in both number and variety, according to research from the sustainability advocacy group Ceres, which has tracked shareholder resolutions within the top publicly traded U.S. food companies in recent years.
The number of climate-related resolutions filed with food and beverage companies is up from 12 in 2011 to 131 this year.
Of those, most were focused on deforestation linked to supply chains—from the production of palm oil, beef and soy—as well as climate change and animal welfare.
The group released a guide last week for food company investors that illustrates the climate-related risks that each of eight commodities represents to supply chains and businesses.
Shareholder resolutions on the rise The upward trend comes as climate-related shareholder resolutions are gaining traction among corporations in the oil and gas industry and beyond.
But, the group points out, oil and gas proposals were getting similar numbers until recently.
"But investors now are starting to use their power and voice to try and impact these other commodities through the supply chain."
"Investors are very concerned with food companies and the impact of agriculture," Pearce said.