“‘While the AI boom provides exciting opportunities, there are many risks to not approaching energy needs with a deliberate and informed response that takes long term impacts into account,’ Kelly Poole, lead author of the report published this month by shareholder advocacy group As You Sow and environmental organization Sierra Club, said in a briefing with reporters.” Read More →

“Danielle Fugere, president of the shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, said investors may also see U.S. assets as less relevant and more volatile if U.S. systems fail to adhere to climate regulatory frameworks.” Read More →

“Danielle Fugere, president of As You Sow, says: 'We thought it was fair to ask the company what we should expect as investors. Tell us what you know so we have more information on which to base our investment decisions.’" Read More →

“Danielle Fugere, president of the shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, said the rollback strikes at the heart of global risk transparency." Read More →

“Danielle Fugere, president and chief counsel of As You Sow, an institutional shareholder representative and advocacy group, said she is ‘extremely skeptical’ that the Trump administration would be able to defend in court an executive order that arbitrarily excludes environmental groups from 501(c)(3) status due to the administration’s policy preference at the time." Read More →

“According to the shareholder advocate group As You Sow, Travelers has continued to stay profitable even with disasters like wildfires and hurricanes sharply increasing rates or pulling out of high-risk markets altogether.” Read More →

“Shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, which filed the resolution, responded this week by saying shareholders were not demanding disclosures requiring the kind of ‘intricate detail’ outlawed by SEC guidance.” Read More →

“Danielle Fugere, president and chief counsel for the shareholder advocacy nonprofit As You Sow, said disclosure is a prerequisite for holding banks to their climate goals. ‘We want to understand what it is they’re doing,’ she said. Laws like California’s bring to light the financial instability wrought by fossil fuel-driven climate change and — in theory, at least — discourage financing that would exacerbate it.” Read More →

“Another report released last week by the shareholder advocacy group As You Sow and the sustainable economy research organization Corporate Knights identified the world's top 200 Clean Tech companies and measured their economic performance.” Read More →

“In 2016, we created the Clean200 in response to investors saying, ‘If we divest fossil fuels, there is nothing to invest in,’” says Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow and co-author of the Carbon Clean 200 report that accompanies the ranking. “The Clean200 has consistently demonstrated that the ‘clean energy’ future of eight years ago is now the clean energy present. This year, the scale and global diversity of leading companies continue to expand and redefine the term ‘cleantech’ to be any company with products and services that will reduce demand for fossil fuels and water.” Read More →

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, As You Sow questioned Microsoft for its self-proclaimed status of a “first mover” on climate change. Read More →

ExxonMobil sued shareholders, and Danielle Fugere from As You Sow will discuss the implications at the RI USA 2024 panel on December 3 in New York City. Read More →

As You Sow has also put forward a resolution requesting Microsoft report on the risks of providing advanced technology, including AI and machine learning tools, “to facilitate new oil and gas development and production”. Read More →

Iconic foods like Georgia peaches, Florida oranges, and Ecuadorian chocolate are threatened by increasing weather extremes and shifting climates. As You Sow has documented the trend in a recent report and an accompanying article, climate change is driving up the cost of food products including olive oil, coffee, rice, and other staples.  Read More

Helene dropped an “astronomical” 40 trillion gallons of water over 500 miles, walloping whole towns in Florida, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, and North Carolina.  Read More →

“We’re pleased to see 3M setting these targets,” said Danielle Fugere, president of shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, which endorses SBTi validation. “They appear to be doing this in a way that’s transparent, not confusing or misleading.”  Read More →

While that may be an underlying factor, investors are actually serious about climate action, says Danielle Fugere, president and chief counsel at As You Sow, a California-based organization that represents shareholders on social and climate issues.  Read More →

“There has been a change over time,” says Danielle Fugere, As You Sow’s president and chief counsel. Investors have long lined up at the microphone to ask questions. But with the rise of virtual-only settings, Fugere says, “you’re seeing companies obviously picking questions that are friendly to them, and not necessarily responding—or giving the opportunity to shareholders to ask the more difficult questions. We’re seeing even more pushback.”    Read More →

A follow-up paper by a consulting group even used the Wharton study to estimate costs for other states considering or enacting legislation. The follow-up paper was conducted on behalf of ESG activist groups known as As You Sow and Ceres.  Read More →

To inform the public and financial professionals, we published, “Climate Inflation: How Extreme Weather is Driving Up the Price of Food.” As our paper shows, chocolate isn’t the only family favorite that’s more expensive than ever due to climate change. Read More →

As You Sow, a nonprofit that promotes corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy, has drafted a shareholder proposal about John Deere’s “ambiguous and inconsistent shift in policies and practices” regarding DEI, writing that dismantling key policies exposes the company to “financial, competitive, legal, and reputational risks.”. Read More →

Dozens of tidal gauges from the coast of North Carolina to the tip of Texas show sea levels are six inches higher today than in 2010 – an accelerated change that previously took 50 years. Most remarkable is that this coastal area along the Gulf of Mexico is rising at nearly twice the global average, according to this map recently published by the Washington Post. Read More →

The House Judiciary Committee has delivered a clear message to the free market: shut up about climate change or pay the price. The Committee’s Chairman sent threatening letters and filed subpoenas to intimidate 14 mainstream investor organizations with a combined $105 trillion in assets under management, including As You Sow, the nonprofit that I lead.  Read More →

“This is a new chapter in a broader deregulatory story that’s a century old,” said Luke Morgan, an attorney with As You Sow, a shareholder advocacy nonprofit. “The reason that this has moved to focus on litigation is because the political movement failed. There was no popular support for this whatsoever.” Read More →

“Shareholders need to have a voice because management doesn’t always get it,” said Danielle Fugere, president of As You Sow, a left-leaning nonprofit foundation that is behind many proposals. “Boards are not always focused.” As You Sow put forward more than 80 shareholder proposals this year, including one on alleged employee harassment at carmaker Tesla and another on competitor General Motors’ policies on deep-sea mineral mining. Read More →

“Americans are behind. We think it puts companies at a competitive disadvantage globally, said Danielle Fugere, As You Sow’s president and chief counsel. “What we do is bring these issues to the board’s attention and let shareholders weigh in.” Read More →

“We know fossil fuels have underperformed over the last decade, so the results shouldn’t be surprising,” said As You Sow CEO Andrew Behar. “What’s surprising is that nearly every retirement plan is invested in the extractive economy, which runs counter to the values of the people who earn the money while reducing their retirement savings.”   Read More →

As You Sow recommends that companies aim to make at least 5% of the total “performance shares” in their CEO’s long-term incentive plan relate to climate goals. Performance shares are an incentive-based form of stock compensation paid to executives for meeting certain benchmarks. “It can’t be so small in comparison to other payouts that it would not incentivize action,” says Danielle Fugere, president and chief counsel of As You Sow. Read More →

Some 22% of DTE’s carbon footprint comes from its gas segment, notes Kelly Poole, climate and energy coordinator of As You Sow. Already, parts of Michigan are looking to diminish reliance on fossil fuels, which poses competitive risk and potential regulatory risk for DTE. For example, Ann Arbor plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. As You Sow also notes that more than 100 municipalities in 12 states have policies promoting building electrification. Read More →

Last week, Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, appeared in front of the House Judiciary Committee, where he defended responsible investing after the House Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the pro-corporate responsibility group. After the hearing, Behar appeared on Democracy Now where he made the case for responsible investing and why the committee members were wrong. Read More →