Apple CEO Tim Cook’s new cash bonus sweetener not tied to bigger sales or profits

Apple CEO Tim Cook’s new cash bonus sweetener not tied to bigger sales or profits

Apple chief executive Tim Cook interacts with Year 2 pupils in a classroom, during a visit to Woodberry Down Community Primary School in Harringay, north London, to view how the school, which is part of the New Wave Federation group of schools, had incorporated Apple's iPad and related software into lesson plans.Yui Mok | PA Images | Getty ImagesApple ranks highly among corporate peers on environmental, social and governance screens, but now, for the first time, its top executives are going to have a portion of their millions in cash pay linked directly to ESG.In 2021, Apple is adding an ESG "bonus modifier" to its cash incentive program which can swing the total bonus payout by 10% — executing on ESG goals can increase the bonus by 10%, while failing to hit ESG targets could cost Apple's top brass a bonus reduction of the same amount.The new executive compensation measure revealed in Apple's recent 2021 proxy — shareholders have to approve executive compensation plans each year — comes after years of pressure from activist shareholders. In fact, just last year Apple opposed a proxy measure filed by shareholder Zevin Asset Management — which received 12% support from the company's stockholders