Sparking Good Governance: Responding to Rising AI and Cyber Risks

August 14, 2025

By Jack Grogan-Fenn

With 60% of S&P 500 companies identifying material artificial intelligence-related (AI) risks to their business, cyber-security risk management is once again rising to the top of investors’ stewardship agendas.

This is hardly surprising given McKinsey’s recent survey which found that 78% of organisations now use AI in at least one area.

Asset owners and service providers are therefore stepping up with new research and monitoring frameworks designed to help investors and companies navigate this evolving landscape.

At the start of peak season 2025, Minerva rolled out additional research and voting guidelines to evaluate corporate disclosures against globally recognised cyber governance standards such as the OECD AI Principles and the G7 Hiroshima AI Process. These new guidelines supplemented Minerva’s existing cyber-governance questions first adopted in 2016 offering investors a robust lens through which to assess board readiness with a clear focus on governance and disclosure quality, particularly in key regulatory disclosures such as annual reports, CSR disclosures, as well as corporate websites.

Building on its earlier report with Royal London Asset Management, UK pension giant Railpen is now bringing its stewardship leadership to bear with its own AI Governance Framework (AIGF). Co-created with sustainability consultancy specialist Chronos Sustainability, the AIGF translates responsible AI principles into actionable practices across four pillars: Governance, Strategy, Risk Management, and Performance Reporting.

The release of Railpen’s report, Achieving Effective AI Governance, containing the framework underscores the urgency of the issue. It warns of a growing gap between corporate recognition of AI risks and their preparedness to manage them. Railpen’s framework therefore calls on investors to:

• Conduct high-level assessments of portfolio AI risks.
• Engage with priority companies using the AIGF.
• Advocate for responsible AI policy to bridge the regulatory gap.

Caroline Escott, Co-Head of Sustainable Ownership and Head of Investment Stewardship at Railpen, noted that AI adoption is becoming increasingly mainstream, with AI-related incidents and controversies steadily rising. She stressed that despite the "significant long-term opportunities" presented by the technology it is "critical" for investors to proactively engage with investee companies on risks arising from the use of AI.

Railpen’s broader stewardship efforts — including its leadership of the Governance for Growth Investor Campaign (GGIC), the launch of which was covered by Minerva Analytics, and co-founding of the Investor Coalition for Equal Votes (ICEV) — further highlight its commitment to investor rights and governance reform.

Underpinning the focus new and emerging risks, Minerva’s research has identified a surge in AI-related shareholder proposals in 2025, with 12 resolutions filed between January and May alone, up from just five in the same period last year. Coming from both pro- and anti-ESG proponents, resolutions were filed at major technology companies including Amazon, Alphabet and Meta, as reported by Minerva Analytics.

To find out how Minerva can support your stewardship programme with timely, relevant and objective data and insights from climate change to cyber risk, email hello@minerva.info.

Minerva’s blog focuses on the latest developments in ESG investing and stewardship. Minerva is a global provider of sustainable stewardship solutions with over 25 years of expertise. Minerva empowers investors by providing essential tools, including ESG research and data, enabling them to navigate the intricate landscape of stewardship and proxy voting, whilst ensuring their decisions are well-informed and aligned with sustainable principles.

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