THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY | Reporting on political contributions misalignment at THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY

Status
25.47% votes in favour
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Resolution details
Company ticker
DIS
Lead filer
The Educational Foundation of America
Resolution ask
Report on or disclose
ESG theme
  • Governance
ESG sub-theme
  • Anti-corruption
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Consumer Discretionary
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
RESOLVED: Shareholders request the Board annually publish a report, at reasonable expense, analyzing the congruence of Disney’s political and electioneering expenditures during the preceding year against Disney’s publicly stated company values and policies. The report should state whether Disney has made, or plans to make, changes in contributions or communications as a result of identified incongruencies.
Whereas clause
WHEREAS: Public data collected by OpenSecrets.org show that The Walt Disney Company (“Disney”) and its employee PAC rank in the top 1% of political donors.[1]
As long term shareholders of Disney, we support transparency and accountability in corporate electoral spending. Informed disclosure is in the best interest of the company and its shareholders. As the Supreme Court recognized in its 2010 Citizens United decision, such transparency “permits citizens and shareholders to react to the speech of corporate entities in a proper way” and “enables the electorate to make informed decisions and give proper weight to different speakers and messages.”
Greater political spending transparency is associated with increased investment levels, both domestic and foreign, and decreased investment volatility.[2] Increased institutional investment, increased analyst following, and decreased analyst forecast error and forecast dispersion are all positively correlated with greater transparency.[3]
Disney publicly discloses a policy on corporate political spending and its direct contributions to candidates, parties, and committees. However, greater transparency is warranted because Disney does not disclose information regarding misalignment between its political spending and the company’s publicly stated values and vision as articulated in its CSR Report and related ESG disclosures. Investors are unable to determine if Disney is directing its political expenditures in a way that is consistent with company values and interests and mitigates reputation risk.
To minimize values misalignment and reputation and brand risk, Disney should establish clear policies and reporting on such misalignment.
Supporting statement
SUPPORTING STATEMENT: Proponents recommend, at management discretion, that Disney include in its analysis metrics that illuminate the degree to which political contributions align with stated values and policy priorities year over year, and present such metrics in the aggregate. Proponents further recommend that the report also contain management’s analysis of risks to our company’s brand, reputation, or shareholder value of political spending, including expenditures for electioneering communications, that conflict with publicly stated company values. “Expenditures for electioneering communications” means spending, from the corporate treasury and from its PACs, during the year, directly or through third parties, in printed, internet, or broadcast communications, which are reasonably susceptible to interpretation as being in support of or in opposition to a specific candidate.
[1] https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/walt-disney-co/summary?id=d000000128
[2] https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcorpfin.2018.08.014
[3] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0929119918301135

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VidaCaixa For
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Wesleyan Assurance Society For

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