Ocean Plastic Is Getting Worse and Efforts to Stem the Tide Fall Short, Study Finds

The amount of plastic flowing into the world’s oceans is set to surge and businesses’ efforts to reduce plastic waste will do little to stop it, according to a new study in the journal Science. Read More →

Morgan Stanley will be first U.S. bank to disclose how much its loans and investments contribute to greenhouse-gas emissions

“We are pleased that U.S. banks are finally stepping up to the challenge of measuring and reducing climate impacts as European peers already have. Morgan Stanley’s commitment shows that digging in and taking responsibility for its climate contribution is good business. We expect other U.S. banks to take note,” said Lila Holzman, energy program manager at As You Sow, a sustainable-investing advocate. Read More →

Plastic-Free July: How Apparel Brands Are Leveraging Recycled Plastics

The need for awareness around this issue is heightened this year with new data from the nonprofit As You Sow, which focuses on corporate social responsibility. Read More →

Top consumer brands seen falling behind on recycling goals, failing to avert plastic pollution

Many major consumer product companies are failing to address widespread plastic pollution despite their recycling goals, according to nonprofit corporate responsibility and shareholder advocacy group As You Sow. Read More →

Waste, Circular EconomyAsYouSowJuly 2, 2020E.A. Crunden, waste report, report, plastics report, plastics

The fight over corporate ‘stakeholderism’

What kind of debate finds Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, the US shareholder advocate, and Marty Lipton, founding partner of Wachtell Lipton, the corporate law firm, on the same side? Read More →

A banner year for investor advocacy

Andrew 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 →

Major companies get failing grades on plastic waste reduction

Walmart Inc., PepsiCo Inc., Domino's Pizza Inc. and the Hershey Co. received low marks for their efforts to address the global plastic waste crisis in a new report. Read More →

Waste, Circular EconomyAsYouSowJune 22, 2020Tamara Ward, waste report, plastics report, plastic waste, plastics, report

Reports Examine Corporate Progress on Tackling Plastic Pollution

On Wednesday, advocacy group As You Sow released a report — which analyzes the actions, or inactions, of 50 of the largest US consumer-facing companies to reduce plastic pollution. Read More →

NGO: Consumer product industry falling short on circular plastics

The largest consumer product makers and retailers in the U.S. are doing a poor job of making their plastic packaging more responsible and financially supporting efforts to boost recycling, according to a new report from socially responsible investment advisory group As You Sow. Read More →

Investors watch for double standards on Black Lives Matter

If you spend enough time around the environmental, social and governance (ESG) world, it is easy to be cynical when corporations make a big show of speaking out on social issues. Read More →

Human RightsAs You SowJune 22, 2020Patrick Temple West, diversity

Companies talk a lot about ending plastic pollution—but they’re not doing much to back it up

Unilever scored highest out of the 50 large companies in a new report from the nonprofit As You Sow, but still only earned a grade of B–. PepsiCo, despite some experiments with packaging-free refill stations, earned a D+. Fifteen companies got failing grades, including Whole Foods, Tyson Foods, and Hershey’s. Read More →

Waste, Circular EconomyAsYouSowJune 18, 2020Adele Peters, report, waste report, plastics report, plastics, plastic waste

Plastics report card

MAKING THE GRADE — Corporate America has a long way to go to clean up its plastic problem, but there are some signs of progress in a new report out today from As You Sow, a shareholder advocacy group. Read More →

Waste, Circular EconomyAsYouSowJune 18, 2020Nick Juliano, waste report, report, plastics report, plastic waste, plastics

A Successful Season for SASB-Based Shareholder Resolutions

Timed to the 2020 Annual General Meeting (AGM) season, shareholder advocacy non-profit As You Sow filed seven shareholder resolutions, on behalf of individual proponents, that specifically requested material disclosure compliant with environmental and social corporate reporting standards published by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). Read More →

The Votes Are in at Tim Hortons

Earlier this week, shareholders of Restaurant Brands International (QSR), the parent company of Tim Horton’s, Popeye’s Louisiana Chicken and Burger King, cast their ballots on two shareholder proposals – one on worker rights, and the other on pollution. Read More →

Waste, Circular EconomyAsYouSowJune 15, 2020Ruth Saldanha, plastics, plastic waste, rbi resolution, rbi, tim hortons

Companies are making bold promises about greater diversity, but there’s a long way to go

Andrew Behar, CEO of the shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, said we could be at a watershed moment that will ultimately force companies to begin disclosing more information. His group is among those pressuring companies to provide more transparency around issues including workforce composition, recruitment, retention, pay and promotion practices. He said that regulation could be next, including around CEO compensation, pointing to successful past campaigns by investors. Read More →

Human RightsAsYouSowJune 15, 2020Pippa Stevens, diversity

Investor groups ponder further action on racial inequality

Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, says the group is maintaining a database of companies that have published public statements on Black Lives Matter and racial equality. Behar is interested in which companies follow through on their statements. Read More →

Human RightsAsYouSowJune 15, 2020Ben Ashwell, racial inequality

How much video game CEOs make — and why they may be overpaid

For two straight years, shareholder advocacy organization As You Sow has listed Kotick has one of the top 100 “most overpaid” CEOs in the world, and in 2019, slapped him with the 45th spot. Read More →

CEO PayAs You SowJune 15, 2020Activision, Blizzard, Don Reisinger

Investment group says Activision CEO Bobby Kotick gets paid too much

Last year, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick ranked among the "most overpaid" chief executives in the US, according to shareholder advocacy website As You Sow, which said that he earned more than $28.5 million in 2019. Read More →

CEO PayAs You SowJune 15, 2020Andy Chalk, Activision, Blizzard

Aftermath of coronavirus seen to radically change ESG focus

"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 →

Fossil Free Funds From As You Sow Helps Investors Divest From Fossil Fuel Companies with High Carbon Footprints

In a Nutshell: Fossil Free Funds is one of six mutual fund search tools offered by 501(c)3 nonprofit As You Sow. Investors can research thousands of mutual funds, fund managers, fund families, and other options to see where the companies embedded in their mutual funds stand on social, environmental, and governance issues. Read More →

Invest Your ValuesAsYouSowJune 1, 2020IYV, Adam West, Fossil Free Funds