Proxy Preview 2023, an annual report published today (22 March) by shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, in conjunction with the sustainable non-profit Sustainable Investments Institute (Si2) and ESG shareholder aggregator Proxy Impact, reveals that anti-ESG resolutions are on the rise this year, although they remain dwarfed by the number of shareholder resolutions in support of ESG aims. Read More →
Read MoreThis year, however, there is less to “mark up” because the 2023 letter is much more cautious. “It’s very carefully worded,” Behar said. “Fink has been walking a tightrope. As a universal owner he understands the massive climate risk that a handful of companies pose to the entire portfolio. His fiduciary duty is to take action.” Read More →
Read MoreThe proposal, filed by shareholder advocacy group As You Sow in November, requests that Eli Lilly report to shareholders on the efficacy of its DEI efforts, providing metrics on hiring, retention and promotion of employees, including gender, race and ethnicity data. Read More →
Read MoreThe DEI proposal was from liberal shareholder advocate As You Sow, while the abortion resolution came from the National Center for Public Policy Research, a conservative investor. Both are frequent filers of environmental, social and governance proposals.
Read MoreThis week, Andy Behar, the CEO of As You Sow, joins Kim Griego-Kiel to talk about the nonprofit organization’s role in shaking up the business world with its innovative environmental and social justice approach. Listen in as Andy details the ins and outs of creating a more sustainable and equitable future for this and the years to come. Read More →
Read MoreDanielle Fugere, president and chief counsel of As You Sow, an advocacy group, said that Citi is "a leader among other banks" when it comes to climate commitments. As You Sow has filed climate-related shareholder proposals at Citi and other banks. Read More →
Read More“The spread of the great transition that we're in the middle of is spreading out even further globally — that every country in the world will soon have major companies making major money employing major numbers of people as part of this global transformation,” As You Sow CEO Andrew Behar told Yahoo Finance. Read More →
Read MoreBut in recent years, the company has backslid, according to reports from other environmental nonprofits. In 2020, the advocacy group As You Sow gave the company an ‘F’’ for its plastic packaging policies — ranking it below many companies which boast a far less sustainable public image. Read More →
Read MoreDanielle Fugere, As You Sow’s president, discussed the non-profit’s engagement strategy: “We have been engaging with the banks for some time… asking them to measure their emissions and disclose their target setting. We didn’t file at all last year with banks, but have returned this year to work with them to find agreement on what would be an appropriate transition plan.” Read More →
Read MoreThat’s because Zaslav just scurried to the top of the list of America’s most overpaid chief executives published annually by the consumer advocacy group As You Sow. In 2021, when the total shareholder return of Zaslav’s company (then known as Discovery) declined by 22%, Zaslav’s compensation rocketed up to $246.6 million from $37.7 million the year before, a gain of 554%. Read More →
Read More“The Trump rule, it’s extremely convoluted and just confusing,” said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, a group that seeks to use shareholder power to push action on climate and environmental issues. Democrats on Tuesday blasted the resolution, saying that Republicans were trying to circumvent the free market by putting up barriers to ESG investing. Read More →
Read More“In 2016 we created the Clean200 in response to investors saying, ‘if we divest fossil fuels there is nothing to invest in,’” said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow and report co-author. “The Clean200 has demonstrated consistently that what we called the ‘clean energy’ future seven years ago is now the clean energy present. Read More →
Read More“A bunch of [TIAA’s] funds that are called social choice or low carbon or ESG have actually higher rates of fossil fuel investment than their regular annuities,” Levine, a member of TIAA-Divest!’s coordinating committee, said, citing information from Fossil Free Funds. Read More →
Read MorePoor pay designs "eventually come home to roost," said Rosanna Landis Weaver, a co-author of the annual study of "Overpaid CEOs" widely read by pay experts, especially as some companies award their leaders massive share packages.
Read MoreBut an investor advocacy group says some of the nation’s most well-known companies overpaid their chief executives. A new report from As You Sow listed 100 “overpaid” CEOs who received high compensation in 2022 despite mixed shareholder returns for their companies. Read More →
Read MoreShareholder activist group As You Sow, based in Berkeley, Calif., operates a free online fund-screening tool. For example, says chief executive Andrew Behar, an investor concerned about global rainforests could check whether a fund owns shares of companies that might source materials from rainforests, such as palm oil, rubber or timber. Read More →
Read More“Banks have made significant progress over the last five years, but they need to set policies and be more transparent about how they are reaching their climate goals,” said Danielle Fugere, president of activist shareholder As You Sow, which is part of the group that filed the resolutions. Read More →
Read MoreCompanies must file an annual EEO-1 form with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission but are not required to make this information public. Doing so helps investors and other stakeholders evaluate corporate diversity initiatives. According to an As You Sow report, from August 2020 to October 2022, the number of S&P 100 companies publicly releasing their EEO-1 forms more than quadrupled. Read More →
Read MoreThe study based its analysis on a recent Wharton School of Business paper that found Texas taxpayers could have faced up to $532 million in additional interest payments because of restrictions introduced in that state. "Legislators will face the backlash of their constituents for flushing hundreds of millions of dollars down the toilet for their own political games," said Andrew Behar, CEO at shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, one of the backers of the study. Read More →
Read MoreSo far, there have been about five such proposals filed with banks over their transition plans for achieving their stated goals, said Danielle Fugere, president of As You Sow. And insurance companies are increasingly being asked to set targets – resolutions have been brought at Chubb and Berkshire Hathaway, for example, she noted. Read More →
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