This is the weekly Reuters Sustainable Finance Newsletter.

By Ross Kerber

July 30 (Reuters) - It was a tough year for many shareholder activists pressing companies for votes on things like climate accounting or boardroom diversity issues. But shareholder proposals asking companies for changes such as electing all directors annually or disclosing their political contributions did better, a sign of continued investor interest.

You can read more about this in my column this week, linked below. I've also included links to our coverage of the impact of an immigration raid, Boeing's recovering output, and one technology company's use of drones to clean up Mount Everest.

Please follow me on LinkedIn and/or Bluesky. Or get me via ross.kerber@thomsonreuters.com.

Despite headwinds, governance reforms keep traction

Despite a tough year for shareholder resolutions, many corporate governance reforms continued to get traction.

At annual meetings for U.S. public corporations, reform proposals targeting governance issues like voting rights or political contributions - the "G" part of the ESG acronym - won 33.9% support on average for the 12 months ended June 30. That was close to their support rate from a year earlier and higher than in 2023, according to Morningstar.

In contrast, average support for resolutions on environmental and social themes fell to 15.7%, about half the rate of three years ago. Out of 231 governance resolutions voted on at U.S. companies this year, 46 won the support of a majority of voted shares.

Proponents and analysts say the figures indicate many investors agree on principles like equal shareholder voting rights or annual director elections, concepts that are more studied and developed than matters like how companies should account for their carbon emissions.

You can read the rest of my column this week by clicking here.

Company News

A framework deal between the European Union and the U.S. that will lead to 15% import tariffs on most EU goods was denounced by France as a "submission." But the deal did avert a damaging trade war.

After years of quality issues and production delays on its flagship 737 MAX jet, Boeing BA.N has cautiously ramped up monthly output this year. It reported a smaller second-quarter loss and cited "more stability in our operations."

In an $85 billion deal poised to reshape the movement of goods across the U.S., Union Pacific UNP.N said it plans to buy rival Norfolk Southern NSC.N in what would be the largest-ever buyout in the sector.

On my radar

Britain said it was prepared to recognize a Palestinian state in September unless the Israeli government takes steps to end the "appalling situation" in Gaza and meets other conditions.

A $20 million recreation center project in Mobile, Alabama, was on track until workers quit showing up, spooked by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on a job site in Florida 230 miles (370 kilometers) away.

An estimated 50 metric tons of waste have made Mount Everest "the world's highest garbage dump." Now a Nepalese drone technology company is using unmanned aerial vehicles to transport gear up the mountain and trash back down.

(Reporting by Ross Kerber in Boston; Editing by David Gregorio)

((ross.kerber@thomsonreuters.com; (617) 412 0093;))