The pressure on Barclays is also an indication of what will be coming the way of US banks in years to come, according to US investor As You Sow. “We are pleased to see Barclays show leadership at this particularly critical time of economic uncertainty,” said Danielle Fugere, president of As You Sow. “This announcement from a European bank continues to highlight the gap of inaction by US banks.” Read More →
Read MoreDanielle Fugere, president and chief counsel of coalition member group As You Sow, said in a separate statement about the decision that Barclays' decision "is critically important to helping ensure the world meets its climate goal," and that it also "highlights the gap of inaction by U.S. banks, who will continue to see pressure from shareholder resolutions, including an upcoming one with J.P. Morgan Chase." Read More →
Read More“If companies do not intend to align with the global Paris goal, they should be clear with shareholders,” As You Sow President Danielle Fugere said in a statement. “Only through clear and comparable reporting can shareholders benchmark company actions and make sound investment decisions.” Read More →
Read MoreNew York State and the UK’s Church Commissioners will vote against the entire board of ExxonMobil again this year in response to the US oil giant’s continued “recalcitrant” approach to climate change. Read More →
Read MoreA document on the agency website noted briefly that SEC staff agreed March 20 with requests by company officials to exclude proposals from a group of shareholders, including the Church of England and As You Sow, asking if the companies will join other oil and gas companies in taking steps to align with the Paris Agreement goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, and calling for reduction targets, long-term business plans and other details. Read More →
Read MoreLila Holzman, energy program manager at As You Sow, a shareholder activist group that filed the Dominion and Sempra resolutions, says the companies have not "gone far enough." Read More →
Read MoreShareholder advocacy group As You Sow partnered with Energy Innovation to release a study titled “Natural Gas: A Bridge to Climate Breakdown” to look at the potential climate impacts of natural gas as many states enacted legislation in recent years to transition away from carbon-based energy. Read More →
Read More“As states clamp down on greenhouse gas emissions, long-lived natural gas infrastructure is increasingly likely to be stranded,” said Lila Holzman of shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, which filed the resolutions. By excluding the resolutions, “These companies are seeking to avoid responsibility for a risk that will only grow.” Read More →
Read More“Utilities clinging to business models that rely on fossil fuels are jeopardizing their ability to meet critical climate goals (including their own) and will miss out on opportunities to benefit from new technology advances,” Lila Holzman, As You Sow’s energy program manager, said in a statement. Read More →
Read MoreMost U.S. power utilities are still investing in gas-fired power plants and pipelines that will be operating “far beyond what is permitted in climate stabilization model,” the As You Sow group said in a report written in collaboration with the policy firm Energy Innovation. Read More →
Read MoreInstitutional investors and asset owners have a fiduciary duty toward their beneficiaries and no longer wish to subject their investments to climate change risks, according to Danielle Fugere, president of nonprofit organization As You Sow, one of the shareholders behind the resolution. Read More →
Read MoreActivists, including the As You Sow Foundation, Trillium Asset Management and Boston Trust Walden, said they had received notices that the bank has asked for regulatory permission to skip votes at its spring annual meeting on proposals such as reporting on greenhouse gas emissions tied to its lending. Read More →
Read MoreAndrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing environmental and social corporate responsibility, said in a statement, “It is positive to hear BlackRock make a clear statement on divestment of coal; however we do not see the same rhetoric about oil and gas or the banks that fund continued extraction of fossil fuels. Let’s see if their ESG funds are actually fossil free, including no coal-fired utilities, and if BlackRock votes their shares in support of Paris [climate accord] compliance and net-zero shareholder resolutions.” Read More →
Read MoreNEW YORK — A changing climate means dramatic risks for the world — and for investments too, the chief of the world’s largest investment manager said Tuesday. Read More →
Read More“Larry Fink has always had a large megaphone and his pronouncements on climate have been important, [but] we need to see action from BlackRock — from supporting climate-related shareholder proposals, to offering fossil-free options in 401(k) funds, to ensuring wide access to, and promotion of, passive funds that tilt away from fossil fuel-based energy,” said Danielle Fugere, president and chief counsel of As You Sow, a nonprofit shareholder advocacy firm focused on environmental issues and social corporate responsibility. Read More →
Read More“Reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the margins, while continuing business as usual as Exxon and Chevron are doing, is not a successful long-term business plan, especially when competitor companies are implementing new paths to thrive in a low-carbon economy,” said Danielle Fugere, president of As You Sow, sponsor of resolutions demanding Chevron and Exxon align their business models with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Read More →
Read More“Investors are quite concerned that companies like Chevron that are producing fossil fuels will continually be caught with assets that they can't sell. If utilities can buy solar at a cheaper rate than natural gas, that will impact Chevron,” said Danielle Fugere, president and chief counsel of shareholder advocacy group As You Sow. Read More →
Read MoreFor the global economy to decarbonize quickly, there is no substitute for political leadership from the top.
Read MoreBlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is being called upon in a shareholder proposal to report on how it plans to “fully implement” the recent ‘Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation’ put out by US trade group the Business Roundtable, which was signed by Blackrock’s Chairman and CEO Larry Fink.
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