This year, shareholders filed 354 environmental, social, and sustainable governance (ESG) proposals as of February 21, 2025. Additional proposals will be filed as the year progresses, but the shape of the 2025 spring annual meeting season is now clear

The 2025 proxy season has seen a sharp drop in proposals filed from 2024, primarily due to the change in the presidential administration and what many expected to be a dramatic policy shift at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Proponents have largely taken a “wait-and-see” approach, electing not to file resolutions until they were able to assess the direction of the new SEC. This approach was validated as it quickly became clear that some proposals that had been allowed by the SEC for decades, began to be omitted. And in a move that clearly undermined proponents—after the majority of the 2025 resolutions were filed, the SEC formally changed the rules of what could be excluded and extended the timeframe for companies to submit or amend their no-action filings without allowing shareholders the same opportunity to amend their resolutions.