The Fight for ESG Retirement Options Is Kicking Off in Big Tech
Microsoft shareholders will vote on a resolution calling for an audit of how the company’s 401(k) plans manage the “growing systemic risk” of climate change.
Microsoft is largely considered a corporate leader on climate action but currently has no ready-made sustainable investing retirement option.
Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/BloombergAt Microsoft’s annual meeting on Dec. 13, shareholders will vote for the first time on whether to support an analysis of the climate risk posed by the company’s 401(k) retirement options.
The vote comes less than a month after the US Department of Labor announced a new rule for 2023 that explicitly allows 401(k) plan fiduciaries to consider climate change — along with other Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors — when selecting retirement investments. As Republican political leaders in Florida, Texas and other states restrict or ban ESG-based investment strategies, the Microsoft vote is indicative of a nascent battle over such investments in retirement funds.