作者：Nicola M White美国证券交易委员会（SEC）在2021年一场针对埃克森美孚公司（Exxon Mobil Corp.）董事会气候政策表现的股东运动之后，向资产管理人和激进投资者发出了关于其报告义务的警告。
By Nicola M White The US Securities and Exchange Commission warned asset managers and activist investors about their reporting obligations following a shareholder campaign in 2021 to remove Exxon Mobil Corp. directors over their record on climate.
SEC的这份指导文件源于对当年那场备受争议的激进投资者运动的调查。该运动最终成功改变了这家石油公司的董事会。SEC表示，虽然已对“气候行动100+”（Climate Action 100+）这一组织的成员进行了调查，但最终决定不采取执法行动。同时，SEC称对该组织及其他参与方的行为存在“严重担忧”。
The SEC’s guidance stems from an investigation into the contentious activist investor push that year that successfully changed the oil company’s board of directors. The agency said it probed but chose not to to pursue an enforcement action against members of a group called Climate Action 100+, adding it had “serious concerns” about the conduct of the group and other participants.
监管机构在周三发布的一份报告中指出，加入各类组织的资产管理人和投资者必须确保遵守SEC关于股东互动的规定。SEC表示，股东有权表达自身观点，但任何持有上市公司超过5%股份的投资方，若试图改变或影响公司控制权，都必须披露其计划及其他相关信息。
Asset managers and investors who join groups need to make sure they’re complying with SEC rules on shareholder engagement, the regulator said in a report on Wednesday. The agency said shareholders have the right to express their views but anyone owning more than 5% of a public company must disclose their plans and other information if they seek to change or influence control of the company.
SEC还表示，其调查了该气候组织及其成员是否向埃克森美孚的两家主要投资者——贝莱德公司（BlackRock Inc.）和州街公司（State Street Corp.）施压，要求它们支持该组织推动的、提交给股东投票的议题。调查并未发现贝莱德或州街公司同意以特定方式代理投票，也未发现它们向该组织相关方透露代理投票意向。SEC指出，先锋集团（Vanguard Group Inc.）从未成为该组织的成员。
The SEC also said it probed whether the climate group and its members pressured BlackRock Inc. and State Street Corp. — two major investors in Exxon — to support group-backed matters submitted to a shareholder vote. The investigation didn’t conclude that BlackRock or State Street agreed to vote proxies in certain manners or shared their proxy voting intentions with those associated with the group. Vanguard Group Inc. never became a member of the group, the SEC said.
由总部位于波士顿的非营利组织Ceres支持的“气候行动100+”表示，该组织始终在美国证券法框架内运作，并支持投资者在评估所投资公司的气候风险时做出决策。
Climate Action 100+, which is supported by the Boston-based nonprofit group Ceres, said it has always operated within US securities law and supports investors as they assess the climate risks of companies they choose to invest in.
“与企业合作了解其如何管理这些风险，并评估董事的绩效，是负责任投资中历史悠久且合法的一部分。需要明确的是，美国证券交易委员会（SEC）的报告并未发现‘气候行动100+’（Climate Action 100+）、Ceres或任何投资者违反了法律，”Ceres总法律顾问迈克尔·布代特（Michael Boudett）在一份声明中表示。
“Engaging with companies on how they manage those risks and assessing director performance is a long-standing, lawful part of responsible investing. To be clear, the SEC report did not find that Climate Action 100+, Ceres, or any investor violated the law,” said Michael Boudett, general counsel of Ceres, in a statement.
贝莱德（BlackRock）和州街银行（State Street）拒绝发表评论。先锋集团（Vanguard）和埃克森美孚（Exxon）则未立即回应置评请求。
BlackRock and State Street declined to comment. Vanguard and Exxon didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
2024年12月，由共和党主导的美国众议院司法委员会也发布了一份关于该投资者群体的中期报告，称其为金融公司和气候活动家组成的“卡特尔”。该委员会的报告称，其发现了金融行业“存在大量合谋和反竞争行为的证据”，这些行为旨在“向美国企业强加激进的ESG目标”。
The Republican-led House Judiciary Committee in December 2024 also released an interim report about the group of investors, calling it “a cartel” of financial firms and climate activists. The committee report said it had uncovered “substantial evidence of collusion and anticompetitive behavior” by the financial industry to “impose radical ESG-goals” on US companies.
“气候行动100+”当时的一位发言人表示，该委员会的说法“完全虚假”，并强调该组织“并不控制股东如何投票，也从未这样做过”。SEC此次的报告反映了该机构在对待股东投票和气候政策方面整体态度的转变。SEC主席保罗·阿特金斯（Paul Atkins）长期批评那些他认为利用代理投票机制来推动气候或社会公平议程的股东，而总统唐纳德·特朗普（Donald Trump）去年也签署了一项行政命令，以限制代理投票顾问公司的影响力。
A spokesperson for Climate Action 100+ said at the time that the committee’s claims were “completely false” and that the group “doesn’t control how shareholders vote, nor has it ever done so.”The SEC’s report follows a broader shift in how the agency approaches shareholder votes and climate policy in general. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins has long criticized shareholders who he says weaponize the proxy votes to push agendas on climate or social equity measures and President Donald Trump signed last year an executive order to limit the influence of proxy advisory firms.
SEC通过一种名为“调查报告”的罕见工具，在2027年代理投票季之前发布了这一警告和指导方针。
The SEC issued its warning and guidance ahead of the 2027 proxy season via a seldom used tool known as a “report of investigation.”