Press Hits - posts — As You Sow

Shareholder group is pressing Comcast and Amazon for climate-friendly 401(k) options for employees

Shareholder group is pressing Comcast and Amazon for climate-friendly 401(k) options for employees

A shareholder advocacy group is pushing Comcast and Amazon to examine why they don’t offer more ”sustainable” funds to employees through their 401(k) retirement plans, arguing that the lack of such options is out of sync with the stated climate goals at each company. The proposal would require the board of each company to produce a report on the issue. As You Sow brought the measure and it received a green light from the Securities and Exchange Commission to go up for an investor vote at this year’s annual meetings — Amazon’s on May 25 and Comcast’s on June 1. Read More →

Invest Your ValuesAs You SowMay 2, 2022homepage, 401k, Andrew Behar, comcast, amazon

Apple just launched its first self-repair program. Other tech companies are about to follow.

Apple just launched its first self-repair program. Other tech companies are about to follow.

Based on these findings, Microsoft will be taking actions to enable greater repairability of its devices by the end of the year, as stipulated in an agreement the tech company reached with investor advocacy nonprofit As You Sow last fall. Read More →

Waste, Circular EconomyAs You SowApril 29, 2022waste, right to repair, rights to repair, homepage, Circular Economy

Do You Want To Retire Investing Fossil Fuel Free?

Women are often associated with caring about the environment and fossil fuel free investing. Makes sense, given that we use the term “Mother Nature.” As You Sow’s Fossil Free rating system allows us to incorporate the desire to be fossil fuel free while pursuing your investing goals, such as a carefree retirement. Read More →

Invest Your ValuesAs You SowApril 27, 2022homepage, Fossil Free Funds

Warren Buffett Faces Renewed Climate Change Challenge by Investors

Warren Buffett Faces Renewed Climate Change Challenge by Investors

“Both Duke and Dominion are now leading energy companies on this front,” said Danielle Fugere, president of As You Sow, the shareholder advocacy group that represented investors on recent shareholder proposals on climate change at those companies. The proposals were withdrawn after the companies revamped their climate plans. Read More →

EnergyAs You SowApril 25, 2022homepage, net zero, Danielle Fugere, climate change

Greenwashing 101: How to decipher corporate claims about climate

Greenwashing 101: How to decipher corporate claims about climate

Two shareholder groups, Green Century Capital Management and As You Sow, are pushing Travelers to measure and report emissions generated by its customers and investments. Without understanding this broader carbon footprint, the groups say, Travelers cannot know how it is exposed to the likely financial risks of increasing climate catastrophes. Read More—>

Environmental HealthAs You SowApril 21, 2022net zero, homepage, climate change

Is Investing in Defense Contractors Actually Immoral?

Is Investing in Defense Contractors Actually Immoral?

It’s likewise complicated for E.S.G. funds that screen out defense contractors. I spoke with Andrew Montes, the director of digital strategies for As You Sow, a nonprofit based in Berkeley, Calif., that focuses on corporate accountability. He said: “We unequivocally condemn the invasion, and the Ukrainians have a right to defend themselves. But it’s a separate question if defense stocks belong in the portfolio.” Read More →

Invest Your ValuesAs You SowApril 13, 2022homepage, Weapon Free Funds, ESG, Andrew Montes

Exxon, Chevron paid their CEOs over $22 mln each last year -filings

Exxon, Chevron paid their CEOs over $22 mln each last year -filings

Proxy votes against executive pay at S&P 500 companies became more common last year, according to a report by As You Sow, a shareholder advocacy group focused on environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters. Read More →

EnergyAs You SowApril 7, 2022homepage, Andrew Behar, ESG, proxy votes

Fat CEO Salaries Tick People Off. So Why Isn't Executive Pay a Marketing Liability?

As You Sow used shareholder returns—or the lack thereof—to compile a list of the most overpaid CEOs in corporate America. (The ranking is based on pay packages awarded in the year prior to June 30, 2021.) But the tally is more than just a “who’s who” of corporate moneybags. What sticks out most from an already onerous ranking are those chiefs of brands that suffered severely during the pandemic—some having laid off employees—yet still received their bushel of cash.

CEO PayAs You SowMarch 31, 2022homepage, Rosanna Landis Weaver

Stoking the offset debate

Stoking the offset debate

So are the questions. In December, shareholder activist group As You Sow took issue with a Williams-Sonoma Inc. plan to buy offsets to compensate for its emissions. As You Sow asked the retailer to describe its offsets and how they’re used.

EnergyAs You SowMarch 29, 2022homepage, David Shugar

Investors push for less talk and more action this proxy season

A 2022 proxy preview released by shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, the Sustainable Investments Institute and Proxy Impact counts a record 529 shareholder resolutions on ESG issues such as climate change, human capital and diversity, board quality and more.

Proxy PreviewAs You SowMarch 28, 2022homepage, ESG

What Do the New SEC Rules Mean for Action on Climate Change?

For far too long, the Securities and Exchange Commission—the nation’s top Wall Street watchdog—has responded only tepidly to the global climate crisis. This week, that finally changed. On Monday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted three-to-one to issue draft rules that will require publicly traded corporations to be more transparent with investors about their greenhouse gas emissions and how climate change may pose a risk to their businesses. Read More →

Environmental Health, EnergyAs You SowMarch 24, 2022homepage, Danielle Fugere, climate change, ESG

Exxon Weighs Taking Gas-to-Bitcoin Pilot to Four Countries

Exxon Weighs Taking Gas-to-Bitcoin Pilot to Four Countries

Danielle Fugere, president of As You Sow, an environmental shareholder-activist group, that said it’s a positive step for Exxon to find a use for gas that would otherwise be burned off into the atmosphere. “It is creating use of what would be otherwise wasted,” she said. Read More →

EnergyAs You SowMarch 24, 2022homepage, Danielle Fugere, climate change, ESG

U.S. ESG shareholder resolutions up 22% to record level for 2022, study finds

U.S. ESG shareholder resolutions up 22% to record level for 2022, study finds

"Companies are realizing that their investors want them to have less risk," said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow. He and others said shareholders may benefit from new guidance from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission which makes it harder for companies to skip votes. Read More →

EnergyAs You SowMarch 17, 2022homepage, Andrew Behar, ESG

Russia’s War Prompts a Pitch for ‘Socially Responsible’ Military Stocks

Russia’s War Prompts a Pitch for ‘Socially Responsible’ Military Stocks

It certainly does to Andrew Behar, the chief executive of As You Sow, an advocacy and research group that frequently files shareholder proxy proposals on E.S.G. issues.

“We don’t think that you should have any weapons systems in an E.S.G. fund,” he said. The group provides an online tool on the web site Weapon Free Funds that enables investors to screen mutual funds and exchange-traded funds on this issue. Read More →

Invest Your ValuesAs You SowMarch 4, 2022homepage, Weapon Free Funds, Andrew Behar, ESG

Most Surveyed Companies Receive Bad Grades In New Greenhouse Gas Reduction Report

On Thursday, Shareholder advocacy organization As You Sow released Road to Zero Emissions: 55 Companies Ranked on Net Zero Progress, which ranked companies on their progress in aligning their emissions reductions with the 1.5-degree Paris Agreement goal.

“Approximately 84% of the assessed companies received total scores of ‘D’ or ‘F’’, underscoring that we have a long way to go toward net-zero progress,” said David Shugar, As You Sow’s climate initiative manager and lead report analyst. Read More →

Environmental HealthAs You SowMarch 3, 2022homepage, David Shugar, net zero, emissions reductions

A large number of big corporations just flunked an assessment of their net-zero progress

A large number of big corporations just flunked an assessment of their net-zero progress

Then there’s the issue of carbon offsets. Science Based Targets, as well as Climate Action 100+, an investor-led initiative to make sure the world’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters are taking necessary climate action, both advise that offsets should be avoided or at least limited. “What [they both] say is that carbon offsets should not be used until it’s absolutely necessary and because it’s infeasible to do anything else, so the focus has to be on companies actually reducing their own emissions and their own value chain emissions,” says Danielle Fugere, president and chief counsel at As You Sow. Read More →

Environmental HealthAs You SowMarch 3, 2022homepage, Danielle Fugere, net zero, emissions reductions

Microsoft and Pepsi top list that scores greenhouse gas-emissions progress. Tesla and others are ‘failing’

Too many still rely on buying permission to pollute through carbon offsets rather than changing how they source energy, says sustainable-investing advocate As You Sow. The nonprofit on Thursday issued its periodic report, “Road to Zero Emissions: 55 Companies Ranked on Net Zero Progress“.

“The next few years are critical in achieving emissions reductions and setting a less catastrophic path for the global climate,” said Danielle Fugere, president of As You Sow. “To address the current gap between goals and action, As You Sow’s scorecard weights near-term, year-over-year greenhouse-gas emissions reductions as the largest scorecard component.

Environmental HealthAs You SowMarch 3, 2022homepage, Danielle Fugere, net zero, emissions reductions, David Shugar

The 10 Most Overpaid CEOs Who Underperform

The As You Sow report looks at three factors in determining if CEOs earned their pay. First, HIP calculates how much CEOs should have earned in pay based on total shareholder return over the past five years. Any salary (including benefits, perks, and stock options) over that amount was characterized as excess pay. Second, As You Sow analyzed shareholder votes on pay for each company, looking at the percentage of shares that voted against the pay. Finally, both As You Sow and HIP evaluated the CEO-to-worker pay ratios for each company. Read More →

CEO PayAs You SowMarch 2, 2022homepage, CEO Pay, Rosanna Landis Weaver, R. Paul Herman