And 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 More
For 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 More
Andrew 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 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 More
In 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 →
Read More
What is shareholder engagement, and how can it actually influence investments? How does shareholder power differ between Europe and America in terms of shareholder proposals? What are the regulatory variations that contribute to this difference? Listen to the conversation between: Andrew Behar, CEO and founder of As You Sow and Hege Marie Norheim, EVP Corporate Public Affairs and Sustainability, FREYR Read More →
Read More
Andrew Behar is CEO of As You Sow, the nation’s leading non-profit practitioner of shareholder advocacy and engagement. With a 30-year track record of success, As You Sow advances values-aligned investing and uses shareholder power to compel companies to reduce material risk on issues including climate change; toxins in the food system; ocean plastics; diversity, equity, and inclusion; racial justice; and wage equity. Read More →
Read More“Climate change, racial justice, diversity, equity and inclusion — these are all financial metrics because your workforce is part of whether your business can succeed or not,” says Andrew Behar, CEO of sustainable investing research firm As You Sow. Read More →
Read More
But some disagree. “We don’t think there needs to be a differentiation, 90% of Exxon’s emissions are scope 3,” says Andrew Behar, CEO of shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, “If scope 3 are the majority, we’re most interested in that.” A few fossil fuel giants, including Exxon Mobil (XOM), will be facing resolutions on scope 3 disclosure this year. Read More →
Read More
“This creates a highly resistant environment to shareholders filing a shareholder proposal – you need to be a major asset owner to have a voice in Europe,” Andrew Behar, CEO of non-profit shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, tells ESG Investor. Unlike in the US, once filed, shareholder proposals in the UK are subject to achieving a majority vote and are binding. “In the US, we got a 96% majority vote last year and the company told us to take a hike,” says Behar. Read More →
Read More
“If you’re a universal owner [of shares in companies across the economy] and you look at your portfolio, there are a small number of bad actors that harm the whole portfolio,” said Andrew Behar, CEO of the shareholder group As You Sow. Read More →
Read More
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 More
This 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 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 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 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 More
An estimated $32.3 trillion was invested in US retirement plans as of September 2022, with nearly $9 trillion in direct contribution plans such as 401(k)s, according to tracking by the Investment Company Institute. While many retirement plans funnel money into companies that fuel the climate crisis, explains Andrew Behar, chief executive officer of the shareholder activist group As You Sow, “people are just completely ignorant when it comes to what’s actually in their plan.” Read More →
Read More