Realigning the Corporate Building Blocks: Shareholder Proposals as a Vehicle for Achieving Corporate Social and Human Rights Accountability

摘要

At the level of pressure and engagement, there is cause to be optimistic given the increased use of the shareholder proposal mechanism in the post-CBCA amendment period. While the trend is still in its infancy, it appears that the submission process, and the resulting dialogue between proposing shareholders and management, has begun to play a role in the formulation of corporate policy with respect to HRSP issues. This is especially the case where shareholders have withdrawn their proposals after concluding successful negotiations with management. By the same token, eventual conflict between proposing advocates and corporate management, and thus the need for external recourse, is inevitable. In that regard, both procedurally and substantively, the recommendations provided in this article would serve to facilitate considered jurisprudential guidance on HRSP-related issues in the corporate sphere, thereby ensuring that the shareholder proposal mechanism develops into an effective vehicle for achieving corporate social and human rights accountability.