AGMs present a unique opportunity to speak directly with company decision-makers in a face-to-face setting – a rare feature often missing from other campaigning strategies. We use this opportunity to shed light on environmental, health, and social issues that warrant urgent action, and demand that companies step up to meet their responsibilities to people and planet.
Introduction
It’s been another mammoth AGM season for ShareAction - since the start of 2025, we’ve delivered 77 questions at AGMs in 11 countries around the globe. We’ve brought compelling, evidence-based questions to some of the biggest players in the corporate world including Nestlé, Shell, Barclays and Rio Tinto.
But, often, it’s not just members of the ShareAction team at the forefront of this engagement tactic. Dedicated individuals from our supporter network contribute their valuable time and energy to delivering AGM questions on our behalf – bringing their unique perspectives and expertise to the AGM floor.
We also joined forces with a range of individuals and organisations to support the delivery of 45 AGM questions which brought important asks independent from ShareAction’s campaigns. You can read more about this work here.
This blog seeks to showcase the motivations, experiences, and insights of the brilliant supporters driving forwards our campaign asks at AGMs, and without whom our impact wouldn’t be possible.
What inspires our supporters to engage with company leaders directly at AGMs?
Standing up and speaking in front of a room of investors to deliver convincing - and often technical - interventions to some of the most powerful players in the corporate world is no small feat. But, whilst this campaign tactic might seem daunting, it’s also one that feels empowering and meaningful to those experiencing it first-hand. We asked our supporter about their drivers for volunteering to be the faces of our campaigns in the Boardroom.
Motivated by their “experience with a London-based vegetable box scheme and her advocacy for peasants' rights and food sovereignty”, Sanna shared that they felt particularly inspired to:
Not only did Sanna expertly deliver the AGM question to the Board, but they also demonstrated deep subject knowledge in initiating one-to-one conversations with senior Tesco representatives outside the formal part of the meeting, helping to ensure the issue was firmly placed on the company’s agenda. Whilst Tesco did not disclose any information beyond what was already publicly available, we remain hopeful that the intervention sparked internal dialogue which will lead to meaningful action down the line.
To support ShareAction’s community-health campaign on clean air, Jennifer attended the AGM of construction giant Balfour Beatty in May, taking to the AGM floor to urge the company to become a leader on tackling air pollution. Jennifer succeeded in securing a direct company engagement meeting between Balfour Beatty and ShareAction, creating another invaluable opportunity to encourage positive action by the company. Speaking to her motivation for attending the AGM, Jennifer shared that it represented an:
Although some of our supporters are inspired to attend AGMs because of their own technical knowledge, there is absolutely no expectation that AGM activists are subject-matter experts. Many of the topics on which we campaign resonate deeply with our supporters on a personal level, and they do a brilliant job of spotlighting the widespread, human consequences of corporate decision-making.
The Living Wage was high on the agenda this AGM season; ShareAction saw significant success when filing three disclosure-based shareholder resolutions to UK retailers Next, M&S and JD Sports this year. However, we didn’t stop there – members of our supporter network also attended the AGMs of many other retail companies this year.
Dedicated AGM activist, John, told us about his motivation for speaking on the topic of the Living Wage at the Currys AGM in September, emphasising his belief of:
What value do supporters see in using AGMs as a lever for driving change?
It can sometimes feel like global companies operate in impenetrable spaces that are simply out of reach for ordinary people, and understandably so. However, AGMs open a door to the corporate world, providing a rare opportunity to look company directors in the eye and deliver powerful testimonies that are impossible to ignore.
Our supporters shared how they felt about using this unique engagement opportunity to inspire positive change.
Alun shared that his AGM question on food system supply chain risk resonated with him deeply due to his “position as a long-standing shareholder in Unilever and someone with a strong interest in both food and the effects of climate change”. Alun provided thoughtful insight in emphasising the significance of meaningful shareholder participation at AGMs, reflecting that:
Alun’s involvement at Unilever’s AGM led to a direct follow up meeting with the company - enabling ShareAction to discuss the critical issue of supply chain disruption to food systems in more depth.
After supporting a climate-focussed shareholder resolution led by our friends at the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR), Rosemary attended Shell’s AGM in May to question how the board’s plans to expand its liquified natural gas (LNG) business aligned with its climate commitments. In reflecting on the value of using AGMs as a vehicle to drive change, Rosemary shared that:
You can read more about Rosemary’s involvement in this campaign here.
Whilst some companies sought to avoid scrutiny at their AGMs, our determination to drive change through meaningful and constructive engagement remained stronger than ever
Company efforts to minimise the public exposure of issues which could paint them in an unfavourable light took a variety of forms this AGM season. We’ve observed some companies attempt to silence the voices of affected community and global south activists, we’ve noticed heightened – and sometimes intimidating - security measures implemented at more AGMs than in previous years, and we’re concerned that virtual AGMs are becoming increasingly stage-managed - with six target companies failing to acknowledge our questions at virtual meetings in 2025, an obstacle we’ve not faced to this extent before.
Protecting shareholder rights is of vital importance to us at ShareAction; to find out more about what we’re up to in this space, listen to the invaluable insights of Lorna and Jennifer in this campaign video and read about Annabel’s experience attending the virtual Santander AGM here.
Why do our supporters believe that companies should enable meaningful shareholder participation at their AGMs?
Drawing on his many years of AGM activism experience, Alun shared that AGMs are particularly valuable for both companies themselves and to wider society due to the “opportunity that they create for ordinary shareholders to ask questions about how companies are run, particularly as we live in a world of increasing polarisation, increasing information overload, and declining opportunities for meaningful human contact.
Expanding on this, Alun reflected that “the more company directors and senior executives are insulated from the kind of unscripted conversations that AGM questions can give rise to, and from meeting people they would not otherwise have the opportunity to meet, the greater the danger will be that they will lose contact with what really matters to their customers and shareholders as they see the world through the lens of company groupthink.”
Sanna thoughtfully pointed to the problematic consequences which could arise should shareholder participation at AGMs become restricted further, commenting that “changing the structure of AGMs, the main forum for shareholders’ influence, will be yet another step in undermining the justification for the corporate governance framework – of shareholders’ interests and their meaningful engagement – and further detaching shareholders from both the operational and decision-making spheres of the company.
