“If you are worried that your company is lobbying to weaken environmental rules, for example, then it’s really a fabulous opportunity for you to join in with the institutions
and other economic forces making it clear to companies that they can’t get away with it.”
As was the case last year, the topic of climate change will again appear on shareholder proxies this year.
This year, the retirees’ organization wants the company to expand its clawback policy; Verizon’s current policy limits pay recoveries to executives who engaged in “willful misconduct”
that causes significant financial or reputational harm to the company.
“If something goes wrong,” she said, “you want executives to be held accountable and know what the company is doing about it.”
A Caterpillar spokeswoman confirmed that the proposal would be on the proxy this year.
“The whole concept of executive compensation is pay for performance,” said Cornish F. Hitchcock, a lawyer in
Washington who is advising the group of Verizon shareholders proposing the policy change at the company.
Tejal Patel, corporate governance director at Change to Win Investment Group, said her
group put forward a shareholder proposal on clawbacks for this year’s annual meeting.