Companies heavily ramped up disclosures on political spending policies and oversight in 2021 as investors received massive support on shareholder proposals on the subject, according to an analysis of proxy voting trends.

This year, boards should expect that pressure to rise even higher. With the midterm elections looming, boards need to ensure that directors have assigned oversight responsibility for political lobbying and expenditures and disclosed this, sources say. Based on rumblings from high-profile investors like BlackRock, as well as the proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis, boards also need to consider whether policies on political spending align with stated views on certain environmental and social issues.

Agenda – Investors Turning Up Heat on Political Spending