The pharmaceutical giant Schering-Plough announced a survey of all its shareholders on the remuneration of its executives and board members. The survey will be sent with other material for the 2009 meeting; and the results will be disclosed and discussed in the compensation, discussion and analysis (CD&A) section of the 2010 proxy statement.

“The survey is a commitment to the shareholder’s point of view”, said Patricia Russo, president of the board’s corporative governance committee Based on the opinions and suggestions received, the company expects to enable an alignment of interests on this very controversial subject. On its official website, Schering-Plough emphasizes that the decision came from the CEO and the board in an attempt to stimulate debate on remuneration and to extend the initiative to the entire market.

Paul Hodgson, senior researcher at Corporate Library, sees the initiative in a positive light. “It is an important measure because it stimulates the interests of the shareholders on the issue and offers the opportunity of including the shareholder’s opinion in the CD&A”, he told IR Magazine.

In 2006, the company developed a similar study when it consulted shareholders regarding various governance issues. At the time, an independent consultant conducted the survey, which also resulted in proposals for the following year’s meeting.