“Biodiversity proposals and commitments have become an overarching trend in 2024,” Elizabeth Levy, biodiversity programme coordinator at California-based non-profit As You Sow, told Carbon Pulse. “Investors are continuing to look at the biggest drivers of biodiversity loss – including certain land use practices in the agricultural industry – and engaging with companies on those topics.” Read More →
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 →
Read MoreAs 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 →
Read MoreSome 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 →
Read MoreLast 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 →
Read MoreRepublicans are on a “crusade” against responsible investing, says Andrew Behar, CEO of the nonprofit group As You Sow that promotes corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy. His group was subpoenaed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee this week as Republicans probe whether investments that take into account environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns violate antitrust laws. Read More →
Read MoreCurrently, many of these bonuses are shrouded in vague language, according to US-based nonprofit As You Sow, which focuses on investor issues ranging from climate change to gender inequalities. “We want to know that executives aren’t simply being rewarded, for instance, for climate metrics they’ve already met,” said Danielle Fugere, As You Sow’s president and chief counsel. Read More →
Read MoreKelly McBee, As You Sow’s circular economy manager, said she had “productive conversations” with Hormel, but she still wanted to see more support for laws that make companies financially responsible for the trash they produce (known as “extended producer responsibility,” or EPR, laws), as well as more investment in plastic collection and recycling infrastructure. Read More →
Read MorePoliticians in Republican-controlled U.S. states have already launched 150 anti-ESG bills in 2024, which has had a chilling effect, according to Andrew Behar, chief executive of activist group As You Sow, which pressures companies, including the big U.S. banks, over ESG issues. Read More →
Read MoreAnd 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 MoreWade into ESG by first collecting the stock or fund symbols for the holdings in your retirement accounts and investment portfolios. Then, recommended Young, run those symbols through the Invest Your Values assessment tool at As You Sow, a nonprofit that provides consumer-friendly snapshots of ESG rankings and data. Read More →
Read More‘Mining the deep sea for battery-related minerals will create irreversible habitat and ecosystem loss, with the risk of permanently destroying invaluable carbon storage,’ As You Sow states. ‘A commitment or clarification on deep-sea mining from Tesla and [GM] would signal to shareholders and the auto industry that they acknowledge the importance of careful action as vehicle electrification accelerates in the US and abroad.’ Read More →
Read More“We’re putting that much money into a dirty carbon climate-harming type of energy…why?” said Danielle Fugere, President and Chief Counsel of As You Sow, which works with companies to advance clean energy and sustainability goals. Transitioning fossil fuel subsidies to the clean energy sector can be as easy as setting the national intention, she said. Read More →
Read MoreNonprofit As You Sow runs several databases geared toward helping everyday investors with an interest in ESG analyze mutual funds and ETFs using Morningstar data. One is Weapon Free Funds, which flags shares of arms makers in funds. Read More →
Read MoreEnergy, materials and real estate firms are not reaping the “diversity dividend” which links multiracial management to better profitability, a new study of companies across eight industry sectors from shareholder activist group As You Sow shows. Read More →
Read MoreDanielle Fugere is president and chief counsel of As You Sow, one of America’s most prominent nonprofit shareholder advocacy groups. As You Sow nudges the largest U.S. public companies toward adopting the green practices their investors want to see. Read More →
Read MoreAlways spoiling for new ways to kneecap their formidable foe, ESG investing, a group of congressional Republicans this week widened their attack. The GOP-controlled House Judiciary Committee has subpoenaed documents from a prolific pro-climate investor advocacy group, As You Sow. The advocacy group posted a long, threatening letter it received on Wednesday from committee chair Jim Jordan. Read More →
Read More"If a fund says it will avoid fossil fuel producers, many investors may not be pleased if those stocks show up in the portfolio," says Andrew Montes, director of digital strategies at As You Sow, a nonprofit shareholder advocacy group that grades ESG funds on their sustainable practices. Read More →
Read MoreDanielle Fugere, president and chief counsel of the environmental advocacy group As You Sow, argued that California's enactment of Senate Bill 253 will "shore up" the SEC's draft proposal. "There's been a lot of discussion around whether Scope 3 requirements will be removed from the SEC's proposal," Fugere said, adding that she is hopeful that the California measure "will help the SEC stand firm." Read More →
Read MoreOlivia Knight, As You Sow’s racial-justice initiative manager, says the next year will be pivotal in seeing whether companies continue to shrink away from their DEI pledges—what some have dubbed “diversity ditching”—or whether the trend has peaked. “We’ll know more about who is staying true to their promises and who is throwing them out the window,” she says. Read More →
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