Traditional corporate governance issues — including executive compensation and the adoption of poison pills to defend against takeovers — were among the top issues in the latest global policy survey by ISS Governance.
The proxy advisory firm reported that results of its latest annual survey — based on responses from 199 institutional investors and investor organizations, and 126 from issuers and affiliated organizations — flagged poison pills and executive compensation as the top issues in the U.S.
Other governance issues included the use of virtual annual meetings and auditor rotation in Europe.
The report noted that 29% of investor respondents said their experience with virtual meetings was “mixed,” and 25% said virtual meetings are “somewhat negative” and should be allowed only in extraordinary circumstances, while 47% of non-investors said virtual-only meetings have been “positive” and “should always be allowed.”
On environmental issues, 47% of investor respondents said companies should be setting and disclosing Scope 3 emissions reduction targets, while another 22% said companies with significant Scope 3 emissions should be reporting on their targets.
Conversely, 61% of non-investors said companies should not be required to set Scope 3 emission reduction targets, the report said.
ISS will be publishing its draft proxy voting policies for public comment in the coming weeks. Those policies are expected to be finalized by early December for annual meetings starting in February 2025.