This headline is misleading. The vast majority of shareholder resolutions fail to achieve a majority (>50%) support. In fact, most shareholder resolutions are

This headline is misleading. The vast majority of shareholder resolutions fail to achieve a majority (>50%) support. In fact, most shareholder resolutions are considered a 'success' anytime they garner any substantial amount of vote (>10%), and the company will usually take preemptive actions to address the issue when resolutions reach that level[0]. One thing most people don't realize is these votes are all non-binding. Companies have no legal obligation to do anything based on shareholder resolutions. Essentially they're a big survey. Companies want to serve their shareholders -- that's the whole point. If the past is any indication, this effort will drive Amazon to substantially improve its sustainability practices. _____ [0] From one of my working papers: Proposals that do not achieve majority vote can still have impact by opening up a dialogue. Glac (2010) presents an example of a proposal asking Amoco to adopt the Valdez environmental principles which only got 8.6% approval, but Amoco began to shift environmental policies. A similar proposal the next year was withdrawn because of Amoco’s policy shift. Sometimes, the media impact of a failed vote can lead to future progress. For example, Guay et al. (2004) argue that the media impact of a resolution filed with Talisman on operations in Sudan led the company to withdraw a year later.