Stakeholders push for more info on lobbying at US companies

NEW YORK: Dozens of major United States firms are facing shareholder votes this spring that seek to require more disclosure about political lobbying, as activists demand greater corporate transparency.

Votes are set to take place at more than 40 annual meetings, including those for Boeing, Wells Fargo, Ford, General Electric (GE) and Facebook.

The proposals have in many cases been offered before and predate the searing national political debates that have dominated America with the rise and election of President Donald Trump.

But whether or not they have anything to do with broader political dynamics, early tallies this year show more investors want to know about corporate spending on lobbying.

About 37 per cent of Disney’s shareholders voted in favour of a measure on this issue, up five percent from last year’s outcome, while Monsanto’s vote came in at about 28 per cent, up 7.5 per cent from a year ago.

There were also modest increases at Emerson Electric and Tyson Foods.

While still a minority of shareholders, these counts are high enough to force management to take notice, say corporate governance experts.

Companies are already required to account for annual lobbying expenditures in reports to Congress that detail the targeted issues and the amounts spent.

However, proponents of the stepped-up measures say there are no requirements for reporting other aspects of lobbying, such as activities at the grassroots level or donations to trade organisations that lobby.

Activists point to companies like GE and Disney that favour climate change policies and their links to groups like the Chamber of Commerce which have opposed key climate policies.

They argue the companies should disclose their trade group memberships and the amount of money given to those groups that is then used for lobbying.

In response, companies argue that the additional sunshining misstates the nature of a firm’s relationship with a trade group.

The Business Roundtable argues the current US$2,000 (RM8,802) minimum requirement is “no longer a reasonable standard” to get on the ballot and should be raised to at least 0.15 per cent at large firms.

But corporate governance expert Elson rejected that argument. “Sometimes terrific ideas come from small investors. It’s become an important signalling mechanism that boards need to be aware of.” AFP