Work for Sustainable Energy Practices

Climate and energy

 

Our Work for Sustainable Energy Practices

The energy produced from fossil fuels – coal, oil, and natural gas – is a leading contributor to climate change. Furthermore, throughout the fossil fuel supply chain, hazardous materials are released that pose serious health and environmental risks to local communities.

As public harms continue to mount from the extraction and burning of fossil fuels, the economic viability of such fuels, which were once a cornerstone of our 20th-century economy, begins to erode and the reality of destructive climate change becomes inescapable. Now is a key moment for energy investors and the public at large to press companies to move proactively toward a clean, sustainable, and equitable energy future. By pushing for increased transparency, and responsible long-term planning, As You Sow fights to ensure investors can adequately assess climate-related risks in their portfolio companies. Our sustainable energy sources work covers influential players across the energy arena and address the significant, complex issues challenging those companies.

 

RECENT POSTS

Featured
‘As You Talk’: How Asset Managers Are Moving Portfolios Toward Net Zero Emissions
‘As You Talk’: How Asset Managers Are Moving Portfolios Toward Net Zero Emissions

Danielle Fugere, president of As You Sow, Billy Gridley, director of the Investor Network at Ceres, and Tim Dunn, investment professional and founder of Terra Alpha Investments, discuss the actions investors and companies are taking to meet net-zero targets.

Booking Holdings Annual Meeting - Climate Transition Report
Booking Holdings Annual Meeting - Climate Transition Report

This resolution, requesting an annually updated climate transition report, provides the opportunity for Booking Holdings to establish a comprehensive plan to respond to climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The U.S. is ramping up on climate action – Do plastics fit into a Paris-Aligned future?
The U.S. is ramping up on climate action – Do plastics fit into a Paris-Aligned future?

To make up for lost demand, Big Oil is allocating significant resources to boost production of petrochemicals – especially plastics. This Hail Mary movement to increase plastics production faces a significant and growing landscape of risks.

Utilities’ Role in Climate Policy: The Good, the Bad, and the Illegal
Utilities’ Role in Climate Policy: The Good, the Bad, and the Illegal

Power utilities are at a juncture where they can continue to slow climate action with regressive lobbying or instead support Paris aligned policy and take advantage of opportunities inherent in the clean energy transition.

Investors Call on General Electric to Address Climate Change, Join the Net-Zero Movement
Investors Call on General Electric to Address Climate Change, Join the Net-Zero Movement

Proposal #3 requests disclosure on whether General Electric will rise to the occasion and meet the criteria of the Net Zero Indicator as laid out in the Climate Action 100+ Net Zero Company Benchmark or, if not, why not. 

Aligning Your Investing With Your Values
Aligning Your Investing With Your Values

Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, teamed up with Illinois Environmental Council and its affiliates, elected leaders, and other experts to offer educational sessions about the issues facing our environment, food systems, infrastructure, and good governance.

Energy Thinks Podcast (Adamantine Energy)
Energy Thinks Podcast (Adamantine Energy)

Tisha Schuller sits down with Danielle Fugere, President of As You Sow to learn about shareholder activism from the activist perspective. Shareholder resolutions are increasingly successful in pushing oil and gas companies to address climate concerns on activist terms.

‘Net Zero’ Oil and Gas Club Is Not All It’s Cracked Up to Be
‘Net Zero’ Oil and Gas Club Is Not All It’s Cracked Up to Be

In early May, French company Total, became the latest investor-owned oil and gas company to come out with an ambitious-sounding climate announcement. Total stated its support for the “goals of the Paris Agreement” and an intent “to be consistent with these goals . . . with a view for Total to get to net zero by 2050.”

Bracing for Disruption — Gas Distribution Utilities Must Prepare for Clean Energy Transition
Bracing for Disruption — Gas Distribution Utilities Must Prepare for Clean Energy Transition

Without a doubt, electric utilities have made significant progress in recent years in taking actions to reduce the sector’s impact on the climate crisis. Power sector companies are moving away from coal, setting net-zero or other substantial greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.

Natural Gas: Bridge or Anchor?
Natural Gas: Bridge or Anchor?

The window of opportunity to prevent catastrophic climate change is narrowing. The world is already experiencing harmful impacts surpassing earlier projections, and such harms will only increase as “business as usual” emissions continue.