Nike investors won’t force company to show results of diversity efforts

Meredith Benton, a consultant with Berkeley, Calif.-based As You Sow and a principal at Whistle Stop Capital, said “Nike is notably lagging” when it comes to releasing data on who it recruits, retains and promotes. Read More →

Social JusticeAs You SowOctober 6, 2021Levi Sumagaysay, social justice, workplace equity, homepage

A new scorecard ranked companies on environmental racism. Guess who came in last?

Beyond its habit of putting polluting infrastructure in predominantly nonwhite neighborhoods, another reason the energy sector underperformed on the scorecard was what As You Sow called a “serious lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion disclosure.” Read More →

Shareholder advocacy group goes after 'environmental racism'

The nonprofit, As You Sow, collected and analyzed data from S&P 500 companies showing what it says is the environmental impact of operations on communities of color. It said it scrutinized their products, environmental violations and fines and corporate actions. Read More →

Social JusticeAs You SowAugust 11, 2021racial justice scorecard, social justice, Jessica DiNapoli, homepage

Analysis: Buffett’s ESG snub risks alienating Wall Street

Whistle Stop Capital CEO Meredith Benton, a consultant to shareholder group As You Sow, which filed the Berkshire Hathaway diversity proposal, said Berkshire Hathaway stood out in demonstrating little initiative on the ESG front and Buffett showed a "lack of leadership." Read More →

From Berkshire Hathaway to Silicon Valley, little to show for diversity pledges, critics say

The conglomerate run by famed investor Warren Buffett is opposing a shareholder proposal calling on its board to publish an annual report detailing its diversity and inclusion efforts. Proposed by the shareholder advocacy group As You Sow on behalf of Handlery Hotels, it contends that more diverse workplaces are more profitable, more likely to outperform against competitors and have higher stock returns. Read More →

Social JusticeAs You SowApril 30, 2021homepage, social justice, workplace equity, Berkshire

Analysis: Millennials and global consumers push U.S. companies to get political

Some companies that are reluctant to criticize specific laws or policies are still willing to come out with more general statements. For example, roughly 330 of the 500 companies in the S&P 500 Index issued comments last year in support of social justice in the wake of the death of George Floyd, a Black man, in the custody of Minneapolis police, according to shareholder advocacy group As You Sow. Read More →

Racial justice scorecard says waste companies fall short on providing detailed workplace equity metrics

Following the police killing of George Floyd in May 2020, many companies released statements supporting the Black community or calling for action to fight systemic racism. The As You Sow scorecard aims to measure whether these companies are actively working to “ensure that the statements of support for racial justice are translated into concrete actions that truly promote equity,” As You Sow stated in its announcement of the scorecard. Read More →

Companies declared ‘Black lives matter’ last year, and now they’re being asked to prove it

“I think we’re going to see much broader investor support [for these resolutions]” said Meredith Benton, a consultant with As You Sow and a principal at Whistle Stop Capital. “Two years ago, there was confusion about whether all this was a material issue, and that confusion is gone.” Read More →

Scorecards help investors track S&P 500 efforts on racial justice, workplace equity

"It's wonderful to see corporate commitments to racial justice and fair workplaces," said As You Sow's workplace equity initiative manager Meredith Benton, a principal with Whistle Stop Capital, who consults with asset owners and advisers to increase ESG investments. "Companies have done a lot of telling and very little showing of how they treat their employees," Ms. Benton said in the release. Read More →

Nonprofit tracks corporate commitments to social justice

NBC News investigative and consumer correspondent Vicky Nguyen talks to Olivia Knight, racial justice initiative coordinator at As You Sow, to learn how the small nonprofit is helping large corporations track their commitments to social and racial justice. Read More →

Social JusticeAs You SowFebruary 10, 2021social justice, racial justice, homepage

What new Amazon CEO Andy Jassy needs to do to become a leader in sustainability like Apple

Outgoing CEO Jeff Bezos, the founder of the e-commerce giant, has “actually done the hard stuff, the hardest stuff being operations,” says Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, a nonprofit shareholder advocacy group. “On other issues, though, he’s completely not even thinking about them.” Read More →

Social JusticeAs You SowFebruary 4, 2021Debbie Carlson, social justice, capital management, amazon

We are learning more about diversity at tech companies, but it isn’t good news

Facing pressure for the past decade, tech companies have exhibited more willingness than other corporate sectors to reveal diversity statistics. As You Sow, a Berkeley, Calif.-based shareholder advocacy group, recently ranked companies based on the amount of diversity, pay and other information they release, the effectiveness of their recruitment and retention efforts and the goals they have set. Read More →

Does The Data Back Up S&P Cos.' Diversity Pledges?

Believing it is vital to translate vocal support for racial justice into actions, the non-profit shareholder advocacy group As You Sow released corporate scorecards using data across two categories of inclusion: racial justice and workplace equity. Read More ->

Social JusticeAsYouSowNovember 18, 2020Sue Reisinger, social justice, scorecards, homepage