Press Hits - posts — As You Sow

How your retirement investments can help protect the environment

Andrew Behar, CEO of the nonprofit watchdog and shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, says his organization's mission is to help people "invest with intention." It's actually in your benefit to use such a strategy, he explains. The energy sector continues to be one of the worst performing sectors over the last decade. Meanwhile, the new presidential administration, with its robust climate change commitments, is expected to positively impact the returns on these kind of investments even further. Read More →

Invest Your ValuesAs You SowFebruary 13, 2021Chase Dibenedetto, Fossil Free Funds, homepage

Blackrock moves to block corporate purpose proposal days after Fink letter pushes investee firms to ‘show purpose’

The resolution, filed by US non-profit As You Sow, asks BlackRock for “the board’s perspective” on how its “governance and management systems should be altered, if at all, to fully implement the New Statement of Purpose”. Read More →

Power of the ProxyAs You SowFebruary 3, 2021business roundtable, stakeholder capitalism, capitalism, blackrock, BlackRock, New Statement of Purpose, Paul Verney, home

Behind the coming ESG disclosure explosion

Behind the coming ESG disclosure explosion

Every company needs a climate transition plan based on Climate Action 100+ benchmarks, added Andrew Behar, CEO of the shareholder advocacy nonprofit As You Sow. Read More →

EnergyAs You SowJanuary 28, 2021Jean Haggerty, energy, climate, climate change, esg, shareholder advocacy, homepage, ESG

British Hedge Fund Billionaire Takes Climate Fight to S&P 500

British Hedge Fund Billionaire Takes Climate Fight to S&P 500

The Aena vote, which passed, caught the attention of Andrew Behar, chief executive officer of As You Sow, a leading U.S. nonprofit that represents shareholders to engage public companies on ESG policy implementation. A few weeks later, the foundation Mr. Hohn founded reached out and arranged a grant for the nonproft to start rolling out the campaign in the U.S., Mr. Behar said. Read More →

EnergyAs You SowJanuary 28, 2021homepage, Matt Wirz, energy, climate, climate change, say on climate, ESG

Overuse of antibiotics for meat production drives resistance in humans

“Awareness of antibiotic risk has increased among both shareholders and consumers,” says Christy Spees, environmental health programme manager at As You Sow, a campaign group focused on shareholder advocacy. Read More →

Environmental HealthAs You SowJanuary 25, 2021Judith Evans, environmental impact, environmental health, homepage

Trump's environmental swan song sheds light on climate future

Trump's environmental swan song sheds light on climate future

The "almost non-existent bidding for oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge were not surprising. It confirms what we already know to be true: the era of drilling for oil at any cost is over," says Danielle Fugere, president of As You Sow, an environmental non-profit. Read More →

Energy, Environmental HealthAs You SowJanuary 14, 2021homepage, arctic drilling, climate, climate change

Exxon, under investor pressure, discloses emissions from burning its fuels

Exxon, under investor pressure, discloses emissions from burning its fuels

Exxon said it made the disclosure due to investor interest. “They’re seeking dollars against companies that are disclosing Scope 3,” said Danielle Fugere, president of As You Sow, a non-profit shareholder activist group. “I don’t think they have any choice.” Read More →

Energy, Environmental HealthAs You SowJanuary 6, 2021homepage, Jennifer Hiller, scope 3 emissions, energy, climate, climate change

US companies face shareholder push for 'say-on-climate' votes

US companies face shareholder push for 'say-on-climate' votes

As You Sow, which focuses on corporate environmental and social responsibility, told CQ Roll Call that a shareholder proposal submitted to railroad company Union Pacific Corp. seeking the “say-on-climate” vote is the first of many the group plans to put forward for consideration in 2021. The group says it’s also working on a petition to regulators to mandate these votes. Read More →

Environmental HealthAsYouSowDecember 15, 2020Laura Weiss, climate, say-on-climate, say-on-climate vote

A $7 trillion climate change warning to the stock market from its biggest shareholder

A $7 trillion climate change warning to the stock market from its biggest shareholder

As You Sow has targeted BlackRock at its own annual meeting in the past for its failure to support more resolutions. Andrew Behar delivered a speech from the floor of the BlackRock meeting last year pointing to what he sees as a disconnect between BlackRock’s words and actions, for “using its big stick like a wet noodle” Behar says, and that means he remains skeptical until he sees the results from the upcoming annual meeting season. Read More →

Environmental HealthAsYouSowDecember 13, 2020climate, climate change, Eric Rosenbaum, blackrock, BlackRock, homepage

Federal Reserve steps up climate-change response and gets immediate backlash from some House Republicans

Shareholder advocate As You Sow and a group of asset managers recently filed climate-focused resolutions with a large segment of the U.S. banking industry, including JPMorgan ChaseJPM, Wells FargoWFC, Bank of AmericaBAC, Goldman SachsGS and CitigroupC. Read More →

EnergyAsYouSowDecember 11, 2020Rachel Koning Beals, energy, climate

Republic Services highlights plastic market limitations, clarifies EPR stances, in report

As pressure builds to find a solution to the current status quo around plastics management, the recycling industry is increasingly being asked how it will play a part. This report, and another previously released by Waste Management, were the result of shareholder resolutions led by As You Sow. Read More →

Waste, Circular EconomyAsYouSowDecember 11, 2020Cole Rosengren, waste management report, waste report, report, Republic Services

The ESG Investor’s Challenges

The ESG Investor’s Challenges

A lot of retail investors who want to divest from fossil fuels don’t know what’s in their 401(k) plans. Many of them are unaware they have big oil companies, coal-fired utilities or oil-field services in their portfolios,” says Andrew Behar, chief executive of As You Sow, a nonprofit that works to promote corporate social responsibility. Read More →

Invest Your ValuesAs You SowOctober 19, 2020Maitane Sardon, homepage, ESG

Investor-owned utilities lack executive compensation incentives aimed at emissions reductions, report says

An effective incentive needs to be something measurable, and it needs to be tied to something the recipient of the incentive can actually control, according to Rosanna Landis Weaver, executive compensation program manager for As You Sow. With respect to utility decarbonization, she said she also looks for incentives that reward actions beyond business as usual. Otherwise, Weaver said, the incentive only serves to inflate CEO compensation without producing meaningful change. Read More →

EnergyAs You SowOctober 19, 2020Emma Penrod, energy, climate, CEO Pay, ceo pay, emissions reductions, homepage

Citing slow, overcrowded market, GE exits coal industry, raising questions about next steps

Indeed, while organizations such as shareholder advocacy group As You Sow heralded GE's announcement as one that "signaled meaningful change to its business by moving away from high-carbon technologies like coal," GE framed the decision as one of market necessity. Read More →

EnergyAs You SowSeptember 28, 2020Emma Penrod, energy, climate, GE coal

Corporations roll out climate goals amid growing pressure to deliver

Corporations roll out climate goals amid growing pressure to deliver

Lila Holzman, energy program manager with As You Sow, which works with shareholders and businesses on corporate responsibility plans, said her group encourages companies to set big goals that align with the targets scientists have determined are necessary to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of global warming while also charting out more feasible shorter-term steps that get them started on the right path. Read More →

EnergyAsYouSowSeptember 28, 2020shareholder advocacy, Rebecca Beitsch, energy, climate

SEC Votes to Restrict Shareholder Proposals

SEC Votes to Restrict Shareholder Proposals

Danielle Fugere, president of As You Sow, noted that the SEC vote “comes at a time when shareholders are appropriately acknowledging — and asking their companies to address — a wide range of social and environmental issues that have the potential to harm our environment, economy, and companies’ value. Read More →

Shareholder AdvocacyAsYouSowSeptember 28, 2020Bernice Napach, sec rule, shareholder advocacy