Divestment is the process of selling an asset for either financial or social goals.i Divestment is a powerful way to take a stand against companies involved in an activity that is morally reprehensible. This strategy has been used to send a strong message and to force change in corporate policies and governance. Through divestment campaigns, shareholders (the people and organizations that own corporate stock) take responsibility for the actions of the companies they own and demand change or sell their shares.
The Reinvestment Handbook is a resource for the next generation of responsible investors. It is designed to help students better understand their university endowment, the key pillars of SRI funds including screening for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals, performance of ESG investments, funds, and portfolios, and basic finance concepts.
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This ninth edition of the Proxy Preview provides an overview of votes on environmental and social shareholder resolutions—including advocacy sections for 2013´s most prominent issues.
Our team of issue experts includes Ken Bertsch, CEO and President of the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals, John Ruggie, Professor of Human Rights and International Affairs, Harvard University, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President, Water Keeper Alliance, along with leading voices from socially responsible investors, religious institutional investors, pension funds and unions, foundations, students, and shareholder advocacy organizations.
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Slipping Through the Cracks is designed to inform companies, investors, and consumers about the emerging use of engineered nanomaterials in food and food related products. It highlights the potential risks of nanotechnology for companies who are knowingly or unknowingly using it in their products and for public health.
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This eighth edition of the Proxy Preview provides an overview of upcoming votes on environmental and social shareholder resolutions—including advocacy sections for 2012´s most prominent issues and case studies of successful dialogues.
Our team of issue experts highlight this year´s key issues, including corporate political spending, lobbying, sexual orientation non-discrimination, board diversity, coal, fracking, supply chain transparency, extended producer responsibility, and animal welfare.
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This report presents, in non-scientific language, the process of manufacturing PV panels, the risks involved, and how companies mitigate those risks. It focuses on practices and policies companies use to mitigate risks from hazardous compounds, reduce environmental impact, and responsibly manage their supply chains.
As You Sow’s Update to the White Paper provides a snapshot of the current trends underlying five financial risks for investments in coal: for mining companies, they are driving shifts in generator demand away from coal; for electric utilities, they are making “cheap coal” costly compared to other generating options or increased efficiency.
In Unfinished Business: The Case for Extended Producer Responsibility for Post-Consumer Packaging, As You Sow describes how extended producer responsibility would boost the U.S. packaging recycling rates and transform how recycling is funded.
The White Paper demonstrates that these risks combine to make current and future investments in coal-dependent utilities and coal mining companies exceedingly precarious.
As You Sow’s first-of-its-kind framework is designed to help food companies make informed decisions regarding sourcing products containing nanomaterials.
Proxy Preview 2011 is the seventh edition of an annual report than in 2008 the Chicago Tribune called the “Bible for socially progressive foundations, religious groups, pension funds, and tax-exempt organizations.”
It is a comprehensive review of the nearly 400 social and environmental resolutions investors filed in 2011.
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Waste & Opportunity 2011 is based primarily on responses to As You Sow’s Beverage Container Recycling Survey. The Survey was sent to 45 companies, double the number of the 2008 report, and includes beverage companies, grocery manufacturers with private label beverage brands, fast food restaurant chains, and packaged food companies.
For the past 15 years, many apparel companies have been actively monitoring their supply chains. Throughout, the majority has looked to factory owners and managers to make changes in factory conditions and operations to comply with local laws and meet brand compliance requirements. To meet requirements, demands were placed on suppliers to increase wages, minimize excessive overtime hours, secure freedom of association, and improve health and safety systems for workers. Simultaneously, brands were dictating lower and lower prices for products. Increasing demand for products at lower prices frequently prevents suppliers from having the resources necessary to abide by the standards laid out in codes of conduct.
“Toward a Safe, Just Workplace: Apparel Supply Chain Compliance Programs” provides a scorecard and report focus on company programs such as: factory auditing, remediation, continuous improvement, collaboration, company management accountability, and transparency. Participating companies include: WalMart Stores, Inc., Target Corp., Nordstrom Inc., The Gap Inc., and Levi Strauss & Co.
Nearly every canned food and beverage product on the market today contains a highly controversial chemical, bisphenol A (BPA), in its lining. BPA has been linked to serious diseases and has been the focus of increasing consumer concern and regulatory restrictions. As investors, As You Sow and Green Century Capital Management (Green Century) believe companies may face financial risks from the presence of BPA in product packaging and should act quickly to eliminate the chemical to help protect shareholder value and preserve company reputations.
This sixth edition of Proxy Preview focused on helping investors align their values with their investments.
It provides an overview of upcoming votes on environmental and social shareholder resolutions—including advocacy sections for the year’s most prominent issues.
Seeking Safer Packaging, published in April 2009, ranks food and beverage companies on their efforts to address BPA in their product packaging. Consumers, the media, and public officials alike are becoming increasingly concerned about bisphenol A (BPA), an endocrine-disrupting chemical used in hard clear plastic and can linings.
This fifth edition of Proxy Preview focused on helping investors align their values with their investments.
It provides an overview of upcoming votes on environmental and social shareholder resolutions—including advocacy sections for the year’s most prominent issues.
This fourth edition of Proxy Preview focused on helping investors align their values with their investments.
It provides an overview of upcoming votes on environmental and social shareholder resolutions—including advocacy sections for the year’s most prominent issues.
The second edition of As You Sow’s beverage container recycling scorecard report evaluates new and ongoing efforts by beverage producers to:
- reduce materials use
- increase recycled content in containers
- raise recovery and recycling rates
- support public policy initiatives to increase container recycling rates
- disclose such activities to stakeholders