How institutional investors will soon vote on your AI policy.
ESG investing has transformed the annual general meeting over two decades. What began as a niche strategy for ethically minded investors has become mainstream: the world's largest institutional investors — BlackRock, Vanguard, APG, PGGM — apply ESG criteria as part of their standard voting policy.
AI governance is following the same trajectory — but faster. The leading proxy advisors — ISS and Glass Lewis — are developing AI governance frameworks for their voting advisory services in 2026. Expect these to be operational as explicit voting criteria by 2027.
Social (S) The labour market impact of AI, the fairness of AI decisions affecting customers, and the degree to which the organisation is transparent about its use of AI are direct social dimensions. They touch on human rights, equal treatment and societal responsibility.
Governance (G) The quality of AI governance is a direct indicator of an organisation's overall maturity as a governed entity. Executives who cannot account for AI also signal how they govern other complex risks.
Environmental (E) The energy consumption of large AI systems is an emerging ESG metric. Data centres running AI workloads are significant energy consumers. Organisations without visibility into their AI carbon footprint are falling behind the reporting curve.
AI governance is becoming an ESG voting factor. You are preparing for your 2027 AGM now — with the governance structures, documentation and transparency that institutional investors will then expect to see.
Based on the frameworks ISS and Glass Lewis are developing, and the engagement criteria applied by the major Dutch pension funds, Praesum expects the following elements to be assessed as standard in 2027: the existence of an AI strategy approved by the board, the presence of a designated AI lead at C-level, the compliance position under the EU AI Act, transparency regarding AI employment policy, and the quality of AI risk reporting in the annual report.
Not just insight — but a plan your board can execute.