As 2025 draws to a close, the team at Just Share extends our deepest gratitude to our supporters, donors, and partners. This year, fuelled by your commitment, we were able to advance our mission of driving corporate accountability in many ways.
In May, we unveiled “The Obstruction Playbook: How corporate lobbying threatens South Africa’s Just Transition”, a landmark report that provides robust evidence of how South Africa’s largest corporate polluters have worked persistently over two decades to derail effective climate policy responses. The report sets out detailed evidence demonstrating how corporate anti-climate lobbying has achieved significant regulatory concessions and extensive delays that have compromised the effectiveness of the Carbon Tax Act and the Climate Change Act.
The publication of the report prompted the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) to seek formal responses on their climate lobbying activities from all companies and industry associations named in the report, amplifying accountability on a global stage. Sasol has been forced to walk back its misleading claim to the BHRRC that its “submissions to the regulatory authorities amid a public participation process related to regulatory developments are regarded as public records”.
Our Asset Manager Responsible Investment Benchmark 2025 exposed how South Africa’s largest asset managers are significantly underperforming on responsible investment practices, providing a robust evidence base for engagement by asset owners who understand the significance of the social and environmental impacts of their investments.
Our research on corporate wage gap disclosures, gender pay gaps, and women in leadership has placed critical social issues, including the impacts and implications of corporate South Africa’s enormous remuneration and gender disparities, onto investor agendas.
We also scrutinised corporate governance through our analysis of the sustainability-related qualifications of directors on JSE Top 40 boards, highlighting the glaring gap between climate and sustainability commitments and boardroom expertise.
We reinforced our strategic AGM activism this year, attending 35 annual general meetings, and posing over 100 questions to listed company boards on climate change, inequality, and corporate governance. In December, we published a report highlighting Just Share’s impact in transforming listed company AGMs in South Africa.
In a briefing analysing legal compliance and the effectiveness of the AGMs we attended in 2025, we provided shareholders and companies with critical insights into corporate accountability in practice.
Our advocacy shaped policy. We engaged robustly with South Africa’s regulatory landscape, submitting detailed comments on various draft regulatory proposals including on: the carbon tax; air pollution; and three pivotal climate policies: the draft second NDC, the draft carbon budget regulations, and the proposed Carbon Tax Act amendments.
In a significant move for corporate accountability and a first for shareholder rights, November saw us launch ground-breaking litigation against Thungela Resources Limited for its refusal to table shareholder-proposed climate resolutions. The outcome of this case promises to have far-reaching implications for shareholder rights and corporate governance in South Africa.
Looking ahead, we are excited to share that we will, in 2026, unveil a new website.
We also invite you to join us in a webinar on 25 February to unpack the findings of our Asset Manager Responsible Investment Benchmark 2025.
Thank you for being part of a year of persistence in working towards driving responsible corporate citizenship in South Africa. This progress would not be possible without your steadfast support. You ensure that Just Share can continue its impactful work of using strategic shareholder activism and responsible investment advocacy to hold power to account.
Here’s to building a more just, sustainable, and accountable corporate South Africa, together.
Warm regards,
The Just Share Team
P.S. Save the date! Join our webinar on 25 February 2026 to dive deep into the latest Asset Manager Benchmark results. Registration details will follow in the new year.
