As You Sow, Green Century Capital Management and Sierra Club are Moxy Vote advocates that saw their coal ash resolutions gain big attention at CMS Energy’s annual meeting on May 21st. The proposal that requested a report on the company’s efforts to reduce “environmental and health hazards associated with coal combustion waste” garnered 43 percent of the vote. The proposal asking the board to “establish quantitative goals for reducing total greenhouse gas emissions” gained 35 percent. In response to the former resolution Emily Stone, a shareholder advocate for Green Century Capital Management was quoted in the Wall Street Journal story saying “This is an issue many investors view as material.”

A spokesman for CMS Energy said the utility got the message.

“We’ve heard from the shareholders that, in a large sense, ‘We want more information.’ ” spokesman Jeff Holyfield told the Jackson City Patriot. In response, CMS will create a corporate social responsibility page on their website. Its content is still being discussed but should be complete by the end of the year.

Amy Galland, research director of As You Sow summarized the shareholder resolutions by saying “This vote sends a very strong message to CMS that shareholders are concerned about how the company is dealing with coal ash contamination of Saginaw Bay and also how it is managing risks at all its facilities to avoid future contamination and cleanup costs.”