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E-Waste: Apple, Dell and HP Commit to Computer Recycling
Computers are loaded with toxics and contain heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury and well over
150,000 become obsolete every day impacting human health through air and water pollution.
We have concurrent dialogues with Apple, Dell, and Hewlett-Packard.
Most recently in 2006, at our request Apple Computer implemented a computer recycling program.
In 2005, Dell delivered on a commitment made to us to set the first take back and recycling goal of any manufacturer, and beat its stated goal of taking back 50% more obsolete equipment in 2005 than 2004. We also secured an initial recycling goal from HP.
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Genetically Engineered Foods: Alternatives and Testing Implemented
Despite widespread use, Genetically Engineered (GE) foods have had little testing on health and environmental impacts. They receive almost no federal oversight even though transgenic plants and animals are being created through laboratory combinations of genes that are impossible through conventional hybridization. Since 1999 we have led investor coalitions approaching nearly 40 companies on this issue. Our broad effort pushing for alternatives, increased transparency, and increased testing of genetically modified foods has led to numerous advances including removal or reduction of GE ingredients from selected product lines (Heinz, Hershey, Kraft, Kroger, McDonalds, Starbucks, and Whole Foods), establishment of company task forces to review policies and explore alternatives (Starbucks and Sysco) and meetings with scientific experts and/or NGO leaders concerned of GE food (Dow, DuPont, Kellogg, Kraft, Kroger, Sysco).
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Labor Standards: Improvements for Apparel Factory Workers
We are helping to slow the race to the bottom on labor standards. Our work on labor practices includes encouraging Gap Inc. to push for real improvements in its 300 factories and documenting progress in unique vendor standards reports in 2004 and 2005. We are seeing progress on worker health and safety, reduction of abuses such as lockouts and forced overtime. An essential part of this work has been Gap’s reports providing concrete data on compliance, supplementing data with extended analysis of problems found and actions taken to improve conditions at factories. A front page Wall Street Journal story in 2004 cited the report as “a dramatic change in strategy for a retailer that has long been on the defensive about working conditions at the factories that make its clothing.”
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Public Access: Regional Water Boards Required to Allow Reasonable Public Access
Our 2006 settlement of As You Sow etal. v. California State Water Board,
compelled all of the Regional Water Quality Control Boards to change the highly restrictive way
copies of Board documents were provided to members of the public, including setting more expansive and
uniform hours of service, reducing copying costs to the public, and ending other burdensome public restrictions.
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Plastic Recycling: Coke and Pepsi Add Recycled Plastic Content
Americans will use more than 50 billion single-serving PET plastic bottles in 2005. Recycling though is declining resulting in plastic debris into oceans where it is the principal cause of death of more than a million seabirds and 100,000 mammals and turtles per year. We engaged Coca-Cola and PepsiCo to increase levels of recycled content in plastic bottles and container recovery rates. As a result in 2001, Coca-Cola pledged to increase recycled content in plastic containers from zero to 10% by 2005. In 2002, Pepsi announced it would match Coke’s recycled content commitment. This is helping strengthen the market in recycled plastic to reduce their ecological impacts. We are continuing our efforts to get the companies to increase container recovery levels to help reverse the nationwide decline in recycling rates.
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Transparency in Politics: Home Depot, Monsanto, Exxon Mobil Publish Political Contributions
Corporate executives have little oversight of the political contributions they make with corporate funds making greater transparency an urgent need. In response to resolutions in 2007 by As You Sow and its partners Home Depot and Monsanto committed to disclosure of their policies and contributions and we withdrew our resolutions.
This builds on the progress in 2006 where ExxonMobil offered partial disclosures.
As You Sow continues to push ExxonMobil for more transparency on contributions to trade associations. Learn more.
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Forest Protection: Only Certified Lumber at Home Depot
One of our biggest successes was at Home Depot, the world's largest retailer of lumber derived from ancient old growth forests. We developed a shareholder strategy and coalition to complement a separate campaign by grassroots activists, seeking to end sales of timber from old growth forests. A combination of pressure from shareholders on the inside and activists on the outside led the company to agree in August 1999 to phase out sales of wood products from endangered forest areas by 2002.
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Paper Products: Staples Adds Recycled Paper Lines
In November 2002, Staples Inc. announced adoption of a strong new paper purchasing policy in response to an activist campaign by the environmental group Forest Ethics, and a shareholder initiative by As You Sow. Staples agreed to set a goal of 30% average post consumer waste (PCW) content for paper available for sale in its stores, and phase out paper products sourced from endangered forests.
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Human Rights: Indigenous Tribe Receives Justice on Hydro Project
From 2000 through 2002 As You Sow supported the Pimicikamak Cree Nation (PCN) in dialogue with Xcel Energy, the fourth largest U.S. public utility. Xcel gets 4% of its energy from the Canadian utility Manitoba Hydro, which has caused devastating ecological social impacts on Cree land from its hydropower projects. Although Manitoba Hydro agreed in 1977 to address the adverse impacts of its dams it never followed through. Shareholder pressure led Xcel’s CEO and senior management to visit the PCN on their native lands. Finally, after two years of shareholder dialogue and resolutions, grassroots pressure, and litigation, the Manitoba government agreed in 2002 to implement the 1977 agreement. Learn more.
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Toxics in Herbal Remedies: Heavy Metals Removed
As You Sow’s Environmental Enforcement program in 2005 identified hundreds of herbal supplement products laden with high levels of heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and arsenic. Many manufacturers have pulled offending products from store shelves, and have reduced exposure levels in dozens of others. As You Sow’s children’s health campaign against manufacturers and distributors of portable classrooms resulted in many changes throughout the industry. Under the agreement reached with As You Sow, national manufacturers of portable classrooms removed toxic formaldehyde, improved ventilation, increased airing-out periods, and improved construction materials in their products.
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Toxics in Cosmetics: Carcinogens Eliminated in Revlon and Others
In the early and mid-1990s As You Sow’s Environmental Enforcement program pushed cosmetics companies to eliminate known carcinogens Toulene and Formaldehyde from their nail care products. This led to worldwide reformulation commitments by numerous companies including Revlon, L'Oreal, Maybelline, Orly, Sally Hansen, Lancome, Elizabeth Arden, and some 40 others. That's why in the late 90's you started seeing full-page Revlon ads in Madamoiselle and Redbook Magazines saying "Revlon is proud to announce that our nail care products are totally toluene and formaldehyde-free!”
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The photo of the girl in the shoe factory is used with permission from David Boje . The photo of the Pimicikamak Cree girl is used with permission from the JustEnergy Campaign.
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