CityEconomist

Socially responsible investors include mutual funds operated by financial intermediaries such as
Calvert
Domini
Dreyfus
and municipal employee pension funds, of which the largest are those of 
California
New York State
New York City
They collectively own a large portion of the shares of American corporations and seek to influence corporate executives through proxy resolutions.

A question is the extent to which proxies with a majority of shareholder votes are binding on Boards of Directors. Some Boards have ignored resolutions that have been supported by a majority of votes.

A response of institutional investors has been to pass resolutions requiring changes in by-laws that would mandate greater responsiveness to shareholder majorities. Another response has been to seek changes in corporate charters.