Ingles Markets Inc | Cage free egg progress disclosure at Ingles Markets Inc

Status
5.44% votes in favour
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
3
Resolution details
Company ticker
IMKTA
Lead filer
Individual
Resolution ask
Report on or disclose
ESG theme
  • Environment
  • Social
ESG sub-theme
  • Animal welfare
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
RESOLVED: Shareholders request that within six months, Ingles disclose what percentage of its shell and liquid eggs come from cage-free animals, the specific steps Ingles has taken toward implementing its cage-free egg commitment since first announcing the pledge, and what next steps the company will take to reach its 2025 goal.
Supporting statement
SUPPORTING STATEMENT: In the “Animal Welfare” section of its website, Ingles states that the company is “passionate about Animal Welfare” and “is committed to supporting the humane treatment of animals.”
Toward that end, in 2016, Ingles announced in a press release that its “goal is to have 100% of both the shell and liquid eggs it sells come from cage-free hens by 2025.” (Despite its passion for animal welfare, Ingles had been permitting its egg suppliers to lock hens in cages so small and cramped, the animals could barely move for their entire lives.)
Come 2022, six years had passed since the company made its pledge and only three were left before its deadline. So, a Humane Society of the United States shareholder proposal requested a progress update.
In its statement opposing the proposal, Ingles reiterated the company’s passion for animal welfare and said it “believes that the 2025 goal is attainable.” Yet, oddly, it refused to disclose any measurable progress whatsoever.
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) supported the proposal, concluding, “there is an industry transition taking place towards sale of 100 percent cage-free eggs, and many of the company’s peers have either reached 100 percent cage-free eggs in their supply chains or are disclosing their progress.” It continued: “Lack of disclosure on this front puts the company in a laggard position versus its peers. For these reasons, this proposal warrants shareholder support.”
Since then, Ingles has continued touting its cage-free egg goal–but still without disclosing any measurable progress.
With its 2025 deadline now even closer, we ask the company to reconsider this secrecy and disclose its progress.

DISCLAIMER: By including a shareholder resolution or management proposal in this database, neither the PRI nor the sponsor of the resolution or proposal is seeking authority to act as proxy for any shareholder; shareholders should vote their proxies in accordance with their own policies and requirements.

Any voting recommendations set forth in the descriptions of the resolutions and management proposals included in this database are made by the sponsors of those resolutions and proposals, and do not represent the views of the PRI.

Information on the shareholder resolutions, management proposals and votes in this database have been obtained from sources that are believed to be reliable, but the PRI does not represent that it is accurate, complete, or up-to-date, including information relating to resolutions and management proposals, other signatories’ vote pre-declarations (including voting rationales), or the current status of a resolution or proposal. You should consult companies’ proxy statements for complete information on all matters to be voted on at a meeting.