Costco Wholesale Corporation
COST · Nasdaq · Consumer Staples
Shareholder advocacy aimed at Costco Wholesale Corporation
8 recorded campaigns from 4 organizations.
As You Sow at Costco Wholesale
Establish a due diligence protocol to monitor and address illegal deforestation in its avocado supply chain.
Green Century Capital Management at Costco Wholesale
Create a comprehensive deforestation assessment and action plan for the Kirkland Signature brand covering beef, palm oil, soy and wood products.
Ran a six-year Sustainable Proteins engagement with 23 global food retailers and manufacturers (now closed/succeeded)
Asked 23+ global food retailers/manufacturers to set time-bound targets for growing plant-based/alternative-protein share of portfolio and disclose progress. Now closed and succeeded by the Protein Diversification engagement.
Arjuna Capital at Costco Wholesale
Report to shareholders on the risks that state laws restricting reproductive health care create for the business, and on what the company is doing to limit them.
Filed a resolution at Costco to phase out antibiotics in private-label chicken
Asked Costco specifically to phase out medically important antibiotics in its private-label chicken supply chain. Outcome/vote percentage not confirmed.
Filed a resolution at Costco on antibiotic-use disclosure in meat/poultry supply chain
Follow-up to the 2018 phase-out resolution, asking specifically for disclosure of antibiotic use data across Costco's meat and poultry supply chain. Outcome/vote percentage not confirmed.
Filed a resolution at Costco to adopt an enterprise-wide antibiotic phase-out policy
As You Sow asked Costco to adopt a policy phasing out routine use of medically important antibiotics across its meat and poultry supply chain. Outcome/vote percentage not confirmed in sources reviewed.
Ron Roman (individual shareholder) at Costco Wholesale
Increase supply-chain transparency and address child and adult forced labor in Uzbek cotton used in Kirkland Signature clothing
How organizations asked shareholders to vote
Positions these organizations published themselves, each linked to where they published it. Nothing here is our view of how to vote.
2026
| Organization | Item | Asks shareholders to vote | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sierra Club | Election of director Jeff Raikes (Chair of Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee) | Against | Published position |
| Sierra Club | Election of director Hamilton James (Board Chair) | Against | Published position |
What shareholders voted on
From Costco Wholesale Corporation’s own filings with the SEC. Support is the share of votes cast for and against, so abstentions and broker non-votes are not counted in it.
2026
| Item | Kind | Asked for by | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shareholder Proposal Regarding Greenwashing Risk Audit | Shareholder proposal | 1.4% | Failed | |
| Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation | Say on pay | 88% | Passed | |
| Ratification of the Selection of Auditors | Auditor | 95.3% | Passed | |
| Election of Gina M. Raimondo | Director | 99.6% | Passed | |
| Election of Kenneth D. Denman | Director | 99.5% | Passed | |
| Election of Ron M. Vachris | Director | 99.4% | Passed | |
| Election of Helena B. Foulkes | Director | 98.8% | Passed | |
| Election of Sally Jewell | Director | 98.6% | Passed | |
| Election of John W. Stanton | Director | 96.9% | Passed | |
| Election of Maggie Wilderotter | Director | 96.5% | Passed | |
| Election of Jeffrey S. Raikes | Director | 95.5% | Passed | |
| Election of Hamilton E. James | Director | 94.9% | Passed | |
| Election of Susan L. Decker | Director | 94.7% | Passed |
2025
| Item | Kind | Asked for by | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shareholder proposal requesting report on the risks of maintaining DEI efforts | Shareholder proposal | 1.7% | Failed | |
| Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation | Say on pay | 94.7% | Passed | |
| Ratification of the Selection of Auditors | Auditor | 95.9% | Passed | |
| Election of Ron M. Vachris | Director | 99.3% | Passed | |
| Election of Sally Jewell | Director | 98.9% | Passed | |
| Election of Kenneth D. Denman | Director | 98.8% | Passed | |
| Election of John W. Stanton | Director | 98.5% | Passed | |
| Election of Helena B. Foulkes | Director | 98.1% | Passed | |
| Election of Hamilton E. James | Director | 95% | Passed | |
| Election of Maggie Wilderotter | Director | 94.7% | Passed | |
| Election of Susan L. Decker | Director | 94.6% | Passed | |
| Election of Jeffrey S. Raikes | Director | 93.2% | Passed |
2024
| Item | Kind | Asked for by | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shareholder proposal concerning fiduciary carbon-emission relevance report | Shareholder proposal | 1.9% | Failed | |
| Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation | Say on pay | 94.6% | Passed | |
| Ratification of the Selection of Auditors | Auditor | 96% | Passed | |
| Election of Helena B. Foulkes | Director | 99.7% | Passed | |
| Election of Sally Jewell | Director | 98.7% | Passed | |
| Election of Ron M. Vachris | Director | 98.4% | Passed | |
| Election of John W. Stanton | Director | 97.9% | Passed | |
| Election of Kenneth D. Denman | Director | 97.1% | Passed | |
| Election of Maggie Wilderotter | Director | 96.7% | Passed | |
| Election of W. Craig Jelinek | Director | 96.4% | Passed | |
| Election of Susan L. Decker | Director | 95.5% | Passed | |
| Election of Hamilton E. James | Director | 93.7% | Passed | |
| Election of Jeffrey S. Raikes | Director | 91.8% | Passed | |
| Election of Richard A. Galanti | Director | 91.6% | Passed |
2023
| Item | Kind | Asked for by | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shareholder proposal regarding a report on the risks of state policies restricting reproductive rights | Shareholder proposal | 13.3% | Failed | |
| Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation | Say on pay | 95.4% | Passed | |
| Ratification of the Selection of Auditors | Auditor | 96.2% | Passed | |
| Election of Sally Jewell | Director | 99.4% | Passed | |
| Election of John W. Stanton | Director | 98.7% | Passed | |
| Election of W. Craig Jelinek | Director | 98.6% | Passed | |
| Election of Ron M. Vachris | Director | 96.6% | Passed | |
| Election of Hamilton E. James | Director | 94.5% | Passed | |
| Election of Kenneth D. Denman | Director | 94.4% | Passed | |
| Election of Maggie Wilderotter | Director | 92.2% | Passed | |
| Election of Richard A. Galanti | Director | 91.8% | Passed | |
| Election of Susan L. Decker | Director | 90.9% | Passed | |
| Election of Charles T. Munger | Director | 86.9% | Passed | |
| Election of Jeffrey S. Raikes | Director | 81.2% | Passed |
2022
| Item | Kind | Asked for by | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shareholder proposal regarding the adoption of GHG emissions reduction targets | Shareholder proposal | 69.9% | Passed | |
| Shareholder proposal regarding report on racial justice and food equity | Shareholder proposal | 17.3% | Failed | |
| Shareholder proposal regarding charitable giving reporting | Shareholder proposal | 3.2% | Failed | |
| Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation | Say on pay | 95.6% | Passed | |
| Ratification of the Selection of Auditors | Auditor | 97.7% | Passed | |
| Election of Sally Jewell | Director | 99.4% | Passed | |
| Election of John W. Stanton | Director | 98.7% | Passed | |
| Election of W. Craig Jelinek | Director | 98.7% | Passed | |
| Election of Kenneth D. Denman | Director | 97.8% | Passed | |
| Election of Hamilton E. James | Director | 94.1% | Passed | |
| Election of Richard A. Galanti | Director | 91.9% | Passed | |
| Election of Susan L. Decker | Director | 90.4% | Passed | |
| Election of Charles T. Munger | Director | 85.3% | Passed | |
| Election of Jeffrey S. Raikes | Director | 81.1% | Passed | |
| Election of Maggie Wilderotter | Director | 78.6% | Passed |
2021
| Item | Kind | Asked for by | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation | Say on pay | 95.6% | Passed | |
| Ratification of the Selection of Auditors | Auditor | 98.4% | Passed | |
| Election of Kenneth D. Denman | Director | 99.2% | Passed | |
| Election of Sally Jewell | Director | 98.8% | Passed | |
| Election of W. Craig Jelinek | Director | 98.5% | Passed | |
| Election of Jeffrey S. Raikes | Director | 96.6% | Passed | |
| Election of Susan L. Decker | Director | 95.6% | Passed | |
| Election of Richard A. Galanti | Director | 92.5% | Passed | |
| Election of Charles T. Munger | Director | 89.5% | Passed |
2020
| Item | Kind | Asked for by | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shareholder Proposal regarding a director skills matrix and disclosure of board ideology | Shareholder proposal | 1.4% | Failed | |
| Approval to amend the Articles of Incorporation to permit removal of directors without cause | Company proposal | 99.4% | Passed | |
| Ratification of the Selection of Auditors | Auditor | 98.5% | Passed | |
| Ratification of the Selection of Auditors Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation | Auditor | 96.8% | Passed | |
| Election of Sally Jewell | Director | 99.7% | Passed | |
| Election of Susan L. Decker | Director | 96.5% | Passed | |
| Election of Charles T. Munger | Director | 95.3% | Passed | |
| Election of Richard A. Galanti | Director | 94.3% | Passed |
2019
| Item | Kind | Asked for by | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shareholder Proposal Regarding Prison Labor | Shareholder proposal | 28.7% | Failed | |
| Approval to amend Articles of Incorporation to eliminate the supermajority vote requirement | Company proposal | 99.7% | Passed | |
| Approval of adoption of 2019 Incentive Plan | Company proposal | 71.8% | Passed | |
| Ratification of the Selection of Auditors | Auditor | 98.4% | Passed | |
| Ratification of the Selection of Auditors Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation | Auditor | 96.7% | Passed | |
| Approval to amend Articles of Incorporation to declassify the Board, and provide for annual election of directors | Director | 99.8% | Passed | |
| Election of John W. Stanton | Director | 99.4% | Passed | |
| Election of Hamilton E. James | Director | 96.7% | Passed | |
| Mary A. (Maggie) Wilderotter | Director | 94.7% | Passed |
2018
| Item | Kind | Asked for by | Support | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shareholder Proposal Regarding Simple Majority Vote | Shareholder proposal | 86.8% | Passed | |
| Shareholder Proposal Regarding Prison Labor | Shareholder proposal | 4.8% | Failed | |
| Ratification of the Selection of Auditors | Auditor | 98.8% | Passed | |
| Ratification of the Selection of Auditors Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation | Auditor | 96.4% | Passed | |
| Election of Kenneth D. Denman | Director | 99.3% | Passed | |
| Election of W. Craig Jelinek | Director | 98.9% | Passed | |
| Election of Jeffrey S. Raikes | Director | 97% | Passed |
Proxy statements and vote results
Straight from Costco Wholesale Corporation’s own SEC filings. The proxy statement lists what shareholders were asked to vote on; the 8-K certifies how the vote went.
| Year | Filing | Filed |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Vote results | 2026-01-21 |
| 2025 | Proxy statement | 2025-12-04 |
| 2025 | Vote results | 2025-01-27 |
| 2024 | Proxy statement | 2024-12-11 |
| 2024 | Vote results | 2024-01-22 |
| 2023 | Proxy statement | 2023-12-07 |
| 2023 | Vote results | 2023-01-25 |
| 2022 | Proxy statement | 2022-12-06 |
| 2022 | Vote results | 2022-01-25 |
| 2021 | Proxy statement | 2021-12-10 |
| 2021 | Vote results | 2021-01-26 |
| 2020 | Proxy statement | 2020-12-10 |
| 2020 | Vote results | 2020-01-28 |
| 2019 | Proxy statement | 2019-12-10 |
| 2019 | Vote results | 2019-01-30 |
| 2018 | Proxy statement | 2018-12-17 |
| 2018 | Vote results | 2018-02-05 |
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