Inefficient shower heads at hotels are now climate change issue, SEC rules

Shareholders of Choice Hotels, one of the country’s biggest hotel chains, have struck down a resolution that would force the company to consider replacing energy-guzzling shower heads with more efficient ones—yet its backers are claiming victory.

Although only nine percent of Choice’s  shareholders voted in favor of the resolution, the proposal is one of a handful of global warming resolutions that companies tried to dismiss in this year’s proxy season—but that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said must be put to a vote. The trend reflects continued concerns by the SEC about the business risks of climate change.