ESG’s Political Side Bubbles Up in Tense Proxy Season Debates

Annual meetings kicked off with a bang this year as companies and their executives confronted increasingly thorny questions from both liberal and conservative stakeholders over a wide range of environmental, social, and governance topics including diversity, abortion, and climate change.

Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger dove into the political debate at the company’s annual meeting last week, calling Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ pushback of the entertainment giant’s support for LGBTQ rights as “anti-business” and “anti-Florida.” Royal Bank of Canada found itself on the defensive at its annual meeting two days later, as the bank ...