The GE result is the latest ESG-related success for As You Sow,. Shareholders in DuPont de Nemours recently voted for a shareholder proposal brought by the group asking DuPont to disclose its role in plastic pollution. Read More →
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Whistle Stop Capital CEO Meredith Benton, a consultant to shareholder group As You Sow, which filed the Berkshire Hathaway diversity proposal, said Berkshire Hathaway stood out in demonstrating little initiative on the ESG front and Buffett showed a "lack of leadership." Read More →
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As You Sow, an advocacy group that filed the resolution, said the vote won the backing of stockholders representing some 81% of the company's shares. That is a record amount of support for an environmental shareholder proposal opposed by the top brass at a publicly traded corporation, according to the Sustainable Investments Institute. Read More →
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“This vote confirms a tidal wave of support by investors to confront a deadly contributor to the global plastic pollution crisis,” said Conrad MacKerron, senior vice president at nonprofit shareholder advocate As You Sow, which filed the proposal. Read More →
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The conglomerate run by famed investor Warren Buffett is opposing a shareholder proposal calling on its board to publish an annual report detailing its diversity and inclusion efforts. Proposed by the shareholder advocacy group As You Sow on behalf of Handlery Hotels, it contends that more diverse workplaces are more profitable, more likely to outperform against competitors and have higher stock returns. Read More →
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It may not be readily apparent how a fund incorporates ESG factors into its strategy. Take the BlackRock U.S. Carbon Transition Readiness ETF, which attracted $1.25 billion of investor dollars when it launched in mid April. “The people who invested in that fund thought they were addressing climate risk,” says Andrew Behar, CEO of shareholder advocacy nonprofit As You Sow. “Instead they got business as usual,” he says, including energy and fossil fuel giants. Read More →
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“It was largely cosmetic,” says Rosanna Landis Weaver, program manager of the CEO pay program at shareholder advocacy group As You Sow. “Most of these companies issued huge press releases announcing they were doing something good by getting rid of their CEO salaries. They didn’t make big announcements when those salaries returned.” Read More →
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As You Sow, a nonprofit that promotes corporate social responsibility, also created the Invest Your Values search tools, which investors can use to learn more about their investments. Investors can search the name or symbol of mutual funds or ETFs in one of six search tools, including Deforestation Free Funds and Fossil Free Funds, and will be provided with a "report card" on the fund related to the issue. Read More →
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"We believe that compensation drives outcomes," says Danielle Fugere, president of As You Sow, a nonprofit that works in shareholder activism. "So when an executive team is incentivized to actually accomplish a goal, then they're more likely to do so." Read More →
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Keurig Dr Pepper has agreed to cut its use of virgin plastic packaging by 25% by 2025, according to a press release from nonprofit As You Sow. The company will reach this goal by "increasing use of recycled content, elimination of unnecessary material, redesign of packaging, and exploration of reuse models," the group said. Read More →
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"I think [Gorsky's] pay was excessive," said Rosanna Landis Weaver, who analyzes executive compensation at As You Sow, a nonprofit that promotes shareholder advocacy on inequality, the environment and other issues. Read More →
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Andrew Behar is the CEO of the nonprofit As You Sow, a watchdog and investor advocacy group that provides resources for those interested in more socially responsible investing. As You Sow's Invest Your Values tool helps investors rate and reference where their money is going, and covers a wide range of topics: environmentally-friendly investing, gender equality funds, prison-free funds, and gun and other weapon-free funds. Read More →
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The April 8 report from As You Sow argues that addressing climate change and moving to a net-zero carbon economy will lead to significant reduction in demand for fossil fuel-based products, creating the risk of stranded assets over the long term for plastics and petrochemicals. Read More →
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Some companies that are reluctant to criticize specific laws or policies are still willing to come out with more general statements. For example, roughly 330 of the 500 companies in the S&P 500 Index issued comments last year in support of social justice in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a Black man, in the custody of Minneapolis police, according to shareholder advocacy group As You Sow. Read More →
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Roughly 20 companies face such proposals this year, including eight banks, Johnson & Johnson, Foot Locker and Monster Beverage, according to the 2021 Proxy Preview produced by Si2, As You Sow and Proxy Impact. In short, the resolutions ask these companies to report on how their business practices harm people of color and what they plan to do about it. Read More →
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“2020 showed us that ‘business as usual’ no longer exists. Shareholder proponents expect escalated action and not just words,” Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow and publisher of the report, said in a statement. “The 2021 proposals offer ideas for transforming the deep-rooted challenges that threaten businesses and the entire global economy, including climate change and systemic racism.” Read More →
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“As You Sow, has been offering proxy voting guidelines for many years,” Andrew Behar, As You Sow's CEO, said in a statement. “The guidelines have always been suggestions on how a progressive foundation or impact investor might want to vote…” Read More →
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The joint effort from As You Sow, Sustainable Investments Institute and Proxy Impact found that of 435 shareholder resolutions already filed, about 300 are headed for votes at spring corporate annual meetings. Read More →
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Lila Holzman, senior energy program manager with As You Sow, tells Corporate Secretary: ‘We will continue to engage with Sempra on the concerns raised in our shareholder proposal, which we anticipate will be included in Sempra’s proxy statement and be voted on at its [AGM]. Read More →
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Following the police killing of George Floyd in May 2020, many companies released statements supporting the Black community or calling for action to fight systemic racism. The As You Sow scorecard aims to measure whether these companies are actively working to “ensure that the statements of support for racial justice are translated into concrete actions that truly promote equity,” As You Sow stated in its announcement of the scorecard. Read More →
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