BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, appears to be backing further away from the environmental, social and governance (ESG) moment.
The investment giant said in a report Wednesday it supported a mere 4% of the nearly 500 ESG-related proposals put forth by shareholders during the 2023-24 proxy season, a fresh record low.
In 2023, BlackRock supported 6.7% of the ESG measures put forth, which was a record low at the time.
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“In our assessment, the majority of these (proposals) were over-reaching, lacked economic merit, or sought outcomes that were unlikely to promote long-term shareholder value,” it said in the report on Wednesday.
“A significant percentage were focused on business risks that companies already had processes in place to address, making them redundant.”
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BlackRock largely spearheaded the ESG movement but has walked back its support of environmental and climate-related proposals in recent years following a nationwide push against the movement, which broadly seeks to promote a green energy transition and left-wing social priorities through the financial sector and major corporations.
Across the market, overall support for ESG proposals was flat at 23% last year, industry tracker Morningstar said, while support for environmental and social resolutions fell to 16% from 19%.
FOX Business’ Thomas Catenacci and Reuters contributed to this report.