Politicians in Republican-controlled U.S. states have already launched 150 anti-ESG bills in 2024, which has had a chilling effect, according to Andrew Behar, chief executive of activist group As You Sow, which pressures companies, including the big U.S. banks, over ESG issues. Read More →
Read MoreAnd that’s the big deal, says As You Sow CEO Andrew Behar, who co-authored the 2024 study. “In 2016, we created the Clean200 in response to investors saying, ‘If we divest fossil fuels, there is nothing to invest in.’” Eight years later, the message is clear: “Investors who are not tilting their portfolios toward a clean future do so at their own peril.” Read More →
Read MoreWade into ESG by first collecting the stock or fund symbols for the holdings in your retirement accounts and investment portfolios. Then, recommended Young, run those symbols through the Invest Your Values assessment tool at As You Sow, a nonprofit that provides consumer-friendly snapshots of ESG rankings and data. Read More →
Read More‘Mining the deep sea for battery-related minerals will create irreversible habitat and ecosystem loss, with the risk of permanently destroying invaluable carbon storage,’ As You Sow states. ‘A commitment or clarification on deep-sea mining from Tesla and [GM] would signal to shareholders and the auto industry that they acknowledge the importance of careful action as vehicle electrification accelerates in the US and abroad.’ Read More →
Read More“We’re putting that much money into a dirty carbon climate-harming type of energy…why?” said Danielle Fugere, President and Chief Counsel of As You Sow, which works with companies to advance clean energy and sustainability goals. Transitioning fossil fuel subsidies to the clean energy sector can be as easy as setting the national intention, she said. Read More →
Read MoreNonprofit As You Sow runs several databases geared toward helping everyday investors with an interest in ESG analyze mutual funds and ETFs using Morningstar data. One is Weapon Free Funds, which flags shares of arms makers in funds. Read More →
Read MoreEnergy, materials and real estate firms are not reaping the “diversity dividend” which links multiracial management to better profitability, a new study of companies across eight industry sectors from shareholder activist group As You Sow shows. Read More →
Read MoreDanielle Fugere is president and chief counsel of As You Sow, one of America’s most prominent nonprofit shareholder advocacy groups. As You Sow nudges the largest U.S. public companies toward adopting the green practices their investors want to see. Read More →
Read MoreAlways spoiling for new ways to kneecap their formidable foe, ESG investing, a group of congressional Republicans this week widened their attack. The GOP-controlled House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed documents from a prolific pro-climate investor advocacy group, As You Sow. The advocacy group posted a long, threatening letter it received on Wednesday from committee chair Jim Jordan. Read More →
Read More"If a fund says it will avoid fossil fuel producers, many investors may not be pleased if those stocks show up in the portfolio," says Andrew Montes, director of digital strategies at As You Sow, a nonprofit shareholder advocacy group that grades ESG funds on their sustainable practices. Read More →
Read MoreDanielle Fugere, president and chief counsel of the environmental advocacy group As You Sow, argued that California's enactment of Senate Bill 253 will "shore up" the SEC's draft proposal. "There's been a lot of discussion around whether Scope 3 requirements will be removed from the SEC's proposal," Fugere said, adding that she is hopeful that the California measure "will help the SEC stand firm." Read More →
Read MoreOlivia Knight, As You Sow’s racial-justice initiative manager, says the next year will be pivotal in seeing whether companies continue to shrink away from their DEI pledges—what some have dubbed “diversity ditching”—or whether the trend has peaked. “We’ll know more about who is staying true to their promises and who is throwing them out the window,” she says. Read More →
Read More“You get the feeling when you read the proxy statements that these executives are trying to squeeze as much personal wealth from the company as they can,” says Rosanna Landis Weaver of shareholder advocacy group As You Sow. Read More →
Read MoreFor example, proposals that focused on cutting emissions across a company’s supply chain found a warmer reception than those that set specific deadlines for companies to phase out of fossil fuel projects, the report states. (Andrew Behar, CEO of leading shareholder activist group As You Sow, has also acknowledged that “tougher” proposals were a hard sell this year.) Read More →
Read MoreAndrew Behar, chief executive of As You Sow, agrees. Writing in a blog post, he said: “While political efforts to roll back the clock are under way, they will crumble against the wall of economic reality (that) investors and companies deal with every day.” He added that there were already signs that this is happening. Read More →
Read More"In terms of accelerating climate change, a key impact of continuing to invest in high-carbon industries [or] greenhouse gas emissions is signaling to markets and governments that it's okay to continue with business as usual," said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow. Read More →
Read MoreBarron’s cited Rosanna Landis Weaver, a program manager at shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, who claims that companies will sometimes set ESG bonus targets for "dealing with low-hanging fruit." "Everybody should be having these town halls, this isn’t what we should be paying extra for," she told the Barron’s. Read More →
Read MoreDavid Shugar, manager of the Say on Climate initiative, on the crucial role shareholders can play. Shareholder engagement tools include active dialogue, filing of shareholder resolutions where necessary, voting on resolutions and even escalation to the board level where companies remain non-responsive. Read More →
Read MoreFor instance, companies including Ford (F.N) and eBay (EBAY.O) agreed to report more workforce details such as recruiting and retention rates in deals that led shareholder activist group As You Sow to withdraw resolutions before they were voted, said its CEO Andrew Behar. Read More →
Read MoreIn this episode we speak with Andrew Behar, the CEO of As You Sow, the United States’ leading non-profit practitioner of shareholder advocacy and engagement. We talk about how As You Sow engages with boards and management teams on issues like climate change; toxins in the food system; ocean plastics; diversity, equity, and inclusion; racial justice; and wage equity. Read More →
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