Animal rights extremist organizations are known for pressuring restaurant and retail brands from different angles. In recent years, groups such as the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and The Accountability Board are increasingly taking their plight to public-facing companies through purchasing stock and proposing shareholder resolutions.

The Accountability Board, an organization launched in 2022 and led by two former HSUS leaders, has been responsible for the bulk of the efforts, reportedly filing approximately 30 proposals in 2024 targeting national restaurant chains. HSUS has been responsible for another 10 proposals. These 40 shareholders proposals are reported to be double what was filed in 2023 against similar public companies because of what a Bloomberg article called “growing concern for animal treatment.”

Looking at shareholder meeting reports from major restaurant/retail/foodservice and CPG brands for the first half of the year, it looks like resolutions are failing to take hold. According to these reports, 16 resolutions related to animal welfare, antibiotic use, and alternative proteins were voted on at shareholder annual meetings between January and June 2024. An additional resolution was noted in one company filing as being withdrawn before the vote. All of these resolutions failed, with an average passing rate of 15%.

Most companies (8) out of the 13 targeted with resolutions were restaurant brands, four were retailers and one was a CPG. Two restaurant chains dealt with multiple resolutions. The most frequent topics addressed in resolutions were sow housing (5 resolutions), antibiotic use (4 resolutions) and cage-free eggs (3 resolutions). Other topics covered included poultry/broiler welfare, plant-based milk alternative pricing, general animal welfare, and pain management.

The proposal with the highest passing rate at 36% was requesting additional disclosure regarding poultry welfare from a restaurant chain. Others that were over 25% included two resolutions to different restaurant brands regarding sow housing which had passing rates of 30% and 27%.

While these resolutions as a whole are failing to gain the approval of investors, they are adding another challenge for publicly-traded brands to navigate, and offer activists an additional lever of pressure to push for additional animal welfare and sustainability policies. Anecdotally, the Alliance heard of at least two additional resolutions that were withdrawn after “negotiations” with activist groups. The activist groups pushing for these resolutions likely know they will probably fail, but are hopeful that they will be able to force a response or “negotiate” to withdraw resolutions if companies take certain actions.

We’ll stay tuned through the end of the year as additional shareholder meetings are held and similar measures are likely to appear.

Activist-driven shareholder resolutions on the rise but failing to gain approval

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