The divergence between Europe and the US on AGM sustainability proposals has become “stark”, according to new research.

While sustainability proposals received 48% shareholder support from European investors, US-based investors supported only 2%.

The figures, from the consultancy SquareWell Partners, also show S&P 500 companies received 29% fewer sustainability-related proposals in the first half of 2025, compared with the same period in the previous year.

However, SquareWell says investors are using other routes to register concerns about climate, human rights and other sustainability topics, such as director elections, executive pay, financial statements and even auditor appointments.

SquareWell’s research also finds that French and UK companies lead the way on issuing say-on-climate proposals, though the total number has plateaued since a spike in 2022.

SquareWell analyst Rosalie Owen says a political shift in the US has seen increased scrutiny of companies that support sustainability related topics.

“Therefore, insofar as these trends are tied to a broader sociopolitical context, we would expect this divergence to continue for the foreseeable future.

“However, at the same time, the interconnected nature of sustainability and politics means that it is also conceivable that the US and Europe may converge more at some point when one shifts its political views.”

Climate changeover

The US has seen a significant push-back on sustainability since the return of Donald Trump to the White House. One immediate result following Trump’s return was the end of efforts to mandate climate-risk reporting in the US.

Meanwhile, Europe and the EU have finalised legislation to mandate companies to issue sustainability reports as well as conduct human rights and environmental due diligence. Though the requirements have been softened over recent months, they remain significant pieces of regulation.

There have been indications that businesses in the US have not entirely discarded sustainability efforts.

A report from Mangrove Consulting, earlier this year, revealed 97% of business leaders in the FTSE 100 and S&P 500 still see sustainability as an important issue, though a significant proportion believe their organisations underinvest in the topic.

Owen suggests that “climate”—rather than sustainability—may be the differentiator. “Sustainability-related shareholder proposals submitted to US companies tend to be more focused on social topics and implementation of say-on-climate votes remains very low.”

Meanwhile, multinationals with operations in the US and Europe may find themselves divided.

“Differing regional expectations,” says Owen, “may also make it difficult for companies with operations in both the US and Europe to adhere to diverging expectations, further exacerbating difficulties navigating the increasingly complex and varied regulatory landscape.”