Amazon investor proposal to review plastic use narrowly fails to clear

Amazon investor proposes a review of the use of plastic winning 49% support but all resolutions were voted down

Amazon.com Inc's investor-led proposal to review its use of plastic won 49% support even as shareholders voted down all the 15 resolutions at the e-commerce giant's annual general meeting, a regulatory filing showed on Friday.

It was the only proposal that came close to reaching the 51% mark for approval. Investors opposed resolutions that challenged the company's policies on various issues, including the treatment of workers and use of non-disclosure agreements. 

To be sure, about 13% of the company's voting stock is controlled by Founder and Executive Chairman Jeff Bezos, raising the bar for any effort to win a majority of investor support.

The proposal for a report on whether Amazon cloud, surveillance and other capabilities contribute to human rights violation won 40% support. But an overwhelming 87% voted down a proposal calling Amazon to review worker safety.

Only 39% of votes were in favor of a resolution related to unionization of workers, but 47% backed a report on whether Amazon's lobbying activities were consistent with the best interest of the shareholders.

A move to review Amazon's facial recognition technology got 41% votes in favor, while a report for more details on gender and racial pay managed to get support from just 29% of the shareholders.

The resolutions are non-binding, but companies often take some form of action if they receive backing of 30% to 40% of votes cast.

Separately, investors backed the company's proposal to approve executive compensation, elect director nominees and consider a stock split by a big margin.