“No one is looking at the actual holdings. They’re not looking at the flow of capital. They’re looking at the label,” said Andy Behar, CEO of As You Sow. “If they renamed all their ESG funds … that would probably make the people in Texas and the red states happy.” Read More →
Read More“This is a positive trend,” said Andrew Behar, CEO of shareholder advocacy group As You Sow. “This year was probably the most extraordinary in terms of shareholder empowerment and shareholders actually showing up and using the power of their vote to express discontent with companies.“ Read More →
Read MoreThe resolution, filed by US non-profit As You Sow, asks BlackRock for “the board’s perspective” on how its “governance and management systems should be altered, if at all, to fully implement the New Statement of Purpose”. Read More →
Read MoreAs You Sow has targeted BlackRock at its own annual meeting in the past for its failure to support more resolutions. Andrew Behar delivered a speech from the floor of the BlackRock meeting last year pointing to what he sees as a disconnect between BlackRock’s words and actions, for “using its big stick like a wet noodle” Behar says, and that means he remains skeptical until he sees the results from the upcoming annual meeting season. Read More →
Read MoreAndrew Behar, CEO of shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, isn’t worried… “Milton Friedman has been thrown under the bus and a 50-year battle for the hearts and minds of business globally has been won,” Behar said. “We’re literally six months into the biggest transition in business history. Things are changing at rapid speed.” Read More →
Read More"We are learning things from COVID that are going to be applied to all of business," said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, a non-profit organization promoting environmental and social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy and coalitions. He predicts a shift toward more fact-based business decisions, whether they're addressing greenhouse gas emissions or income inequality. Read More →
Read MoreBlackRock Inc. shocked Wall Street in January when CEO Larry Fink announced that the wealth mammoth was overhauling its investment strategy and putting sustainability at its core. Read More →
Read MoreCorporations holding annual general meetings this month are well familiar with two particularly attentive shareholders: Andrew Behar and Danielle Fugere of As You Sow. Along with groups like CERES and the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility, the Berkeley, Calif., nonprofit has taken the lead in engaging corporations on issues from carbon footprints to workforce treatment. Read More →
Read MoreImpactAlpha, May 21 – Massive flooding in Midland, Michigan on Wednesday threatened to release chemicals from a Dow chemical complex, where products ranging from Saran Wrap to Agent Orange have been produced over years, and an adjacent Superfund site. It’s the kind of nightmare scenario that imperils public health as well as corporate value, and one that investor groups have been sounding the alarm on as global warming increases the frequency of severe weather events… “This should be a warning sign,” says Lila Holzman of As You Sow. Read More →
Read MoreCompanies including Goldman Sachs and BlackRock will be forced to confront accusations of hypocrisy at their upcoming shareholder meetings from investors challenging commitments made by corporate America to consider the environment and their workers alongside profitability. Read More →
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