“We are pleased to see the company increase its commitment to reusable bottles as a proven method to reduce single-use plastic waste and promote a circular economy for packaging,” said Conrad MacKerron, senior vice president at As You Sow, which declared the move “industry-leading” among consumer conglomerates.
“We agree with the company that reusable packaging is among the most effective ways to reduce waste, use fewer resources and lower carbon emissions,” he said.
Read MoreGreen Century and activist investor As You Sow filed a shareholder proposal urging Coca-Cola to reduce single-use plastic. They are now considering whether to withdraw their proposal. Read More →
Read MoreThe largest U.S. companies are beginning to pay heed to the demands of investors focused on environmental and social issues, a shift for shareholders long relegated to the sidelines.
Increasingly, it seems like it’s supporting expanding bottle deposit programs. But big beverage companies want any solution but that.
Read MoreIn a Fortune op-ed touting her company's use of recycled content and $55 million investment in recycling over the past 10 years, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi also recognized "that these efforts are simply not enough." Groups such as Greenpeace and As You Sow, were quick to release statements about why they don't believe this latest investment is enough either.
Read MoreA proposal by advocacy group As You Sow (Oakland, CA) was presented and voted on by shareholders in March asking Starbucks to phase out plastic straws. It received less than 30% support, but As You Sow considered it a victory.
Read MoreIt’s estimated that more than 500 million plastic straws are used per day in the U.S. But that number could be about to plunge as big corporations like Starbucks (SBUX) start to eliminate them.
Read More“Starbucks taught the world how to drink coffee, and I believe that this commitment will help teach the world how to embrace sustainable business practices, starting with the plastic straw,” actor Adrian Grenier, Lonely Whale co-founder, said Monday.
Read MoreA group of 25 investors managing more than $1 trillion in assets are demanding that Nestle SA, PepsiCo Inc., Procter & Gamble Co. and Unilever NV reduce their use of plastic packaging, calling it environmentally damaging.
The initiative was organized by As You Sow, a nonprofit shareholder advocacy group that pushes companies to act responsibly.
Read MoreAs 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 declarationciting 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.
Read More"This is a big victory, and it's taken a long time. Dunkin agreed way back in 2010, in theory, to phase out [foam cups], but it took until today for them to actually give a date and to say that they are going to switch to paper... We're talking about some very positive impacts on world oceans in terms of reducing plastic pollution," said Conrad MacKerron, Senior Vice President of As You Sow.
Read MoreAs You Sow, a shareholder advocacy group that promotes social and corporate environmental responsibility headquartered in Oakland, California, has refiled a resolution with McDonald’s Corp., Oak Brook, Illinois, for 2018 urging the company to assess the environmental impact of its polystyrene use in beverage cups and food trays. The same proposal was voted on by shareholders earlier this year and received the support of nearly one-third of shares voted.
Read MoreIn response to John Tierney’s rallying cry to bury and burn waste instead of recycling it, Conrad MacKerron, founder of the EPR advocacy group As You Sow, says, "If recycling doesn’t make economic sense, then Tierney needs to ponder why the CEOs of Walmart, Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, and even Goldman Sachs last year established a $100 million loan program, the Closed Loop Fund, to boost the effectiveness of recycling by improving curbside infrastructure and recovery markets."
Read More"It seems strange to bring something like this back," said Conrad MacKerron, senior vice president of As You Sow, a corporate responsibility group that has pushed for a phaseout of polystyrene at McDonald's and other restaurant chains and retailers. "It's kind of curious that they're doing this now."
Read MorePolystyrene foam used for direct-to-consumer packing materials is rarely recycled, As You Sow says. “More than 100 U.S. cities or counties and nine countries have banned or restricted foam packaging in various forms,” states the group.
“We are pleased that Target has committed to work with corporate partners and peers to press for alternatives to environmentally harmful foam,” says Conrad MacKerron, As You Sow senior vice president.
Read MorePhasing out the use of polystyrene has been a priority of As You Sow's for years. Based on a 2011 shareholder resolution they encouraged McDonald's to try a pilot program that eventually resulted in the company making a full switch to paper in 2013. Though the company has yet to do this outside of the U.S. and Dunkin' Donuts hasn't followed up on a similar promise. Resolutions have also been filed with Amazon and Target, which mainly use the material for shipping.
Read MoreAs You Sow’s release noted: “The shareholder advocacy organization As You Sow has been engaging the company for more than a year to make its packaging recyclable, focusing especially on multi-laminate plastic sachets and pouches used for shampoos in small packages marketed in Asia that cannot currently be recycled,” said As You Sow’s release. “Much of this packaging is discarded and ends up polluting waterways in developing Asian countries due to the lack of solid waste management systems.”
Read More"They're being reactive," said Conrad MacKerron, senior vice president of As You Sow. They have been trying for years to get Dunkin' Donuts to get rid of their foam cups. "They're in a comfortable spot because they've made the commitment, and now they say they're just trying the get the logistics right."
Read MoreCome May 18, at the company's annual meeting in suburban Lincolnshire, Mondelez shareholders will vote on a proposal introduced by As You Sow, a California-based nonprofit that challenges corporations on social and environmental issues. The group has brought similar proposals to Mondelez investors for the last three years, receiving about 28 percent support last year.
"We are sending a message here that's slowly catching on," said Conrad MacKerron, senior vice president of As You Sow. "We'll see what happens."
Oreo and Chips Ahoy cookies are "increasingly packaged in flexible film or other plastic packaging, such as pouches, that are not recyclable," according to As You Sow's proposal.
As You Sow is requesting a report that would assess the environmental impact and financial risks of using nonrecyclable packaging and set a timeline for phasing out such materials.
As You Sow doesn't typically buy shares of a given company directly, instead partnering with like-minded shareholders who sign off on the group representing their interests, MacKerron said.
"Over the years, McDonald's has engaged in constructive dialogue with As You Sow on a variety of topics, such as a multistakeholder project to address supply chain working conditions in Chinese toy factories and general conversations with updates on McDonald's packaging," McDonald's spokeswoman Lisa McComb said in an email.
The proposals are intended to "forestall harm, create value for the company or hopefully both," said Danielle Fugere, president and chief counsel of As You Sow. And even shareholder proposals that receive very little support can start a conversation within a company.
"It's an important process no matter what the outcome is in a given year," Fugere said.
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