As we move into the New Year, we are taking a moment to reflect on the progress and challenges of 2018 in our corporate engagements to end the overuse of antibiotics in animal farming.
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My home in Hyattsville, Maryland — where I have my office — is occasionally referred to as As You Sow’s DC office. My proximity to the city affords easy ability to attend Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) meetings in person, such as the staff roundtable on the proxy process on Nov. 15.
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As You Sow is pleased to be a signatory to a Global Commitment to eradicate plastic waste and pollution signed by 250 organizations including many of the world’s largest packaging producers, brands, and retailers. However, it wasn’t an easy decision, with strong commitments offset by key unanswered questions.
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Americans throw away an estimated 100 billion plastic bags a year, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which says the average bag takes up to 1,000 years to break down. Even then, the plastic remains in the environment and food chain. Plastic litter entering the marine environment has swelled to an estimated 8 million tons per year and as the world’s largest generator of waste, the U.S. contributes to that long-lasting pollution.
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As You Sow is lucky enough to be based in Oakland, California. When Gov. Jerry Brown announced that our neighbor San Francisco would host a Global Climate Action Summit, our ears perked up. The fact that the summit coincided with the UN PRI-In Person meeting further called our attention.
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When a company has too much cash its executives and directors puzzle the question: What should we do with the money? Should we update our facilities? Should we invest in new research? Should we build a new plant? Should we increase benefits or wages?
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Rapid cost declines have made clean renewable energy the United States’ cheapest available source of new electricity. And that’s reason to be skeptical of putting your savings in coal-related stocks. Coal-fired power companies could be at risk of “stranded assets”.
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Methane, which has approximately 86 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, is the main component of natural gas. Emissions of this potent climate forcer occur throughout the oil and gas supply chain. A recent EDF study demonstrated this problem could be 60% worse than previously thought, chipping away at gas’ climate benefit over coal.
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As You Sow is pleased to announce the launch of the Plastic Solutions Investor Alliance, an international coalition of investors that will engage publicly traded consumer goods companies on the threat posed by plastic waste and pollution. Twenty-five institutional investors from four countries with a combined $1 trillion of assets under management have signed a declaration citing plastic pollution as a clear corporate brand risk and pledging to interact with leading companies to find solutions through new corporate commitments, programs, and policies.
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At the beginning of the modern, health-conscious age, cereal giant General Mills faced a big problem. Traditional snacks and cereals were still profitable but were no longer growing in sales, as consumers of all kinds began to prefer healthier, more authentic food.
So, General Mills did two things. First they bought lots of organic and “natural” food brands that were already known by consumers, like Annie’s, and second, they made old brands more appealing by eliminating artificial ingredients and committing to sustainable agriculture.
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These strong standards are imperative for U.S. automakers to stay competitive in a global market. Companies rarely achieve greater pollution reductions than required by law. So a weak standard in the U.S. can easily put U.S. automakers behind the curve. The European Union plans to meet a fuel standard of 56.8 gallons by 2021. China set their standard at 47.7 gallons by 2020. India, South Korea, and Japan all have comparable fuel-efficiency goals as well.
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Mark 2018 as the year that irresponsible methane emissions became nearly universally unacceptable. Methane mitigation is now serious business – as demonstrated by some astounding shareholder vote percentages supporting methane-related resolutions this year.
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Walmart's CEO earns 1,188 times as much as the company's median worker.
In other words, it would take 11 such employees a century to earn what the CEO made in 2017.
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Divestment isn’t the end - there’s a way to double your impact. You can make sure the money you’ve taken out of fossil fuels is working towards a clean energy future. See how much of your savings are helping build wind turbines, solar panels, and other clean technologies.
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The plastic pollution crisis has finally resulted in a wakeup call, albeit weak and tentative, by U.S. plastic resin producers.
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Healthy, environmentally-friendly food is taking off in every corner of society and the restaurant chains we grew up with are struggling to adapt. They are slow and tentative to move, and often need a push from their own shareholders.
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Monster Beverage has an obligation to its consumers, its shareholders, and the employees of its supply chain to be transparent. Transparency is the first step in making progress toward ending modern slavery.
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Plastic isn’t just in the obvious places like cheap toys and disposable cups. We’ve even discovered recent research findings that salt and honey contain microplastics. Our plastic addiction has come full circle and has begun to affect even our own bodies alongside the multitudes of marine animals that are also affected.
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Alarm bells have long been ringing about the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”. Opposition has focused on community health impacts from air and water emissions as well as climate change impacts from leaking methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Read More -->
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The SEC is not meant to protect ExxonMobil from important shareholder questions. Rather, the proposal process is intended to allow an open discussion between shareholders and their company.
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