Abbott Laboratories | Lobbying Expenditures Disclosure at Abbott Laboratories

Status
34.52% votes in favour
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
7
Resolution details
Company ticker
ABT
Lead filer
Unitarian Universalist Common Endowment Fund, LLC
Resolution ask
Report on or disclose
ESG theme
  • Governance
ESG sub-theme
  • Lobbying / political engagement
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Health Care
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
Shareholders request the preparation of a report, updated annually, disclosing: 1. Company policy and procedures governing lobbying, both direct and indirect, and grassroots lobbying communications.; 2. Payments by Abbott used for (a) direct or indirect lobbying or (b) grassroots lobbying communications, in each case including the amount of the payment and the recipient.; 3. Abbott's membership in and payments to any tax-exempt organization that writes and endorses model legislation.; 4. Description of management's decision-making process and the Board's oversight for making payments described in section 2 above.
ich Abbott is a member.

The report shall be presented to the Public Policy Committee and posted on Abbott's website.
Whereas clause
Investors believe in full disclosure of Abbott Laboratories' direct and indirect lobbying activities and expenditures to assess whether Abbott's lobbying is consistent with its expressed goals and in the best interests of stockholders.
Supporting statement
Investors are concerned that Abbott's lack of lobbying disclosure presents significant reputational risk when its lobbying contradicts company public positions. For example, Abbott publicly supported COVID-19 relief efforts, but the Chamber directly lobbied against using the Defense Production Act for production of personal protective equipment for workers. Abbott supports the World Health Organization's goal of increasing breast-feeding rates, its lobbying on attracted scrutiny after the Trump administration blocked a World Health Organization resolution encouraging breastfeeding. And Abbott drew attention and ultimately cut ties with one of its lobbyists over his controversial statements about Black Lives Matter. Investors believe that the reputational damage stemming from these misalignments harms long-term value creation by Abbott.

How other organisations have declared their voting intentions

Organisation name Declared voting intentions Rationale
Dana Investment Advisors (Delisted) For

DISCLAIMER: By including a shareholder resolution or management proposal in this database, neither the PRI nor the sponsor of the resolution or proposal is seeking authority to act as proxy for any shareholder; shareholders should vote their proxies in accordance with their own policies and requirements.

Any voting recommendations set forth in the descriptions of the resolutions and management proposals included in this database are made by the sponsors of those resolutions and proposals, and do not represent the views of the PRI.

Information on the shareholder resolutions, management proposals and votes in this database have been obtained from sources that are believed to be reliable, but the PRI does not represent that it is accurate, complete, or up-to-date, including information relating to resolutions and management proposals, other signatories’ vote pre-declarations (including voting rationales), or the current status of a resolution or proposal. You should consult companies’ proxy statements for complete information on all matters to be voted on at a meeting.