“The Trump rule, it’s extremely convoluted and just confusing,” said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, a group that seeks to use shareholder power to push action on climate and environmental issues. Democrats on Tuesday blasted the resolution, saying that Republicans were trying to circumvent the free market by putting up barriers to ESG investing. Read More →
Read More“In 2016 we created the Clean200 in response to investors saying, ‘if we divest fossil fuels there is nothing to invest in,’” said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow and report co-author. “The Clean200 has demonstrated consistently that what we called the ‘clean energy’ future seven years ago is now the clean energy present. Read More →
Read MoreThe study based its analysis on a recent Wharton School of Business paper that found Texas taxpayers could have faced up to $532 million in additional interest payments because of restrictions introduced in that state. "Legislators will face the backlash of their constituents for flushing hundreds of millions of dollars down the toilet for their own political games," said Andrew Behar, CEO at shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, one of the backers of the study. Read More →
Read MoreAn estimated $32.3 trillion was invested in US retirement plans as of September 2022, with nearly $9 trillion in direct contribution plans such as 401(k)s, according to tracking by the Investment Company Institute. While many retirement plans funnel money into companies that fuel the climate crisis, explains Andrew Behar, chief executive officer of the shareholder activist group As You Sow, “people are just completely ignorant when it comes to what’s actually in their plan.” Read More →
Read More“Things have to be verified in a standardized format. Right now, it’s creating distrust between companies and owners,” says Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, the shareholder advocacy nonprofit.
Meanwhile, fund names should accurately reflect their ESG practices. “There is no connection between a prospectus and its holdings,” Behar says. In January, As You Sow published a study of 94 mutual funds and ETFs with the word ESG in their name. Based on the firm’s criteria of what makes a good ESG fund, 60 received a D or an F grade. Read More →
Read MoreESG disclosure is maturing and starting to get the support it needs from the SEC, said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, a shareholder advocacy group that pushes companies to be more socially responsible.
“It’s all moving us into a place where we can actually judge which companies are part of an economy based on justice and sustainability,” Behar said. Read More →
Read MoreAndrew Behar, CEO of US-based shareholder advocacy NGO As You Sow, says platforms like Meta are operating under “an authoritarian regime”.
“We’ve been filing social-focused resolutions at Meta for six years, but change doesn’t happen if [Zuckerberg] and his board don’t agree,” he says. “Although it’s technically a public company, it operates like a private one, with one man at the helm.” Read More →
Read More“There’s 100 million people in the United States with $10 trillion in assets that have no idea that they’re investing in their own destruction,” estimates Andrew Behar, chief executive officer of the shareholder advocacy group As You Sow “It’s been completely hidden.” Read More →
Read More“Disclosure resolutions are getting the same level of support,” says Andrew Behar, CEO of environmental and social advocacy non-profit As You Sow. “But it’s the newer resolutions that are a little more granular which are challenging the status quo.” Read More →
Read More“No one is looking at the actual holdings. They’re not looking at the flow of capital. They’re looking at the label,” said Andy Behar, CEO of As You Sow. “If they renamed all their ESG funds … that would probably make the people in Texas and the red states happy.” Read More →
Read More"We are concerned that the Proposal's division of funds into three separate categories does not reflect the reality of how fund managers incorporate ESG factors in investment and stewardship decision-making, which could increase compliance costs," As You Sow CEO Andrew Behar said in a letter to the SEC. Read More →
Read MoreE.S.G. supporters say critics may have a point. Andrew Behar, C.E.O. of the shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, agrees that many supposed E.S.G. investments don’t reflect true sustainability — with ever more capital directed toward the idea and many funds failing to live up to their promises. Read More →
Read MoreBy constraining the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants, the court put responsibility on investors looking to slow climate change, said Andrew Behar, chief executive of the nonprofit group As You Sow, a which often files shareholder resolutions. Read More →
Read MoreAndrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, joins the podcast to discuss the power of using shareholder advocacy to drive change at large corporations. Andrew walks us through “a day in the life,” specifically May 25, 2022, when his team presented resolutions at five corporate annual meetings on issues ranging from climate change to racial justice; Andrew talks about the SEC’s new draft rule that addresses the ESG naming problem within mutual funds; and the paradox of employees unknowingly investing in companies that are destroying the Amazon through company retirement plans. Read More →
Read MoreThe bill doesn’t yet have any Democratic co-sponsors so its future is uncertain. Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, a shareholder advocacy organization, says it is unlikely the bill will pass. Instead, he thinks it’s a “warning shot” to BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard to start to vote differently. Read More →
Read MoreSustainability advocates say they aren’t concerned about the spike in conservative shareholder resolutions. “If they’re bona fide shareholders, they have a right to file a resolution and all shareholders will vote on it,” said Andrew Behar, the CEO of As You Sow. “That’s part of capitalism.” Read More →
Read MoreAndrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, says companies that adopt a stakeholder capitalism framework to benefit more than just shareholders will create lasting value for all stakeholders and strengthen the bottom line. “If it’s good for the employees; good for the customers; good for the community; and good for the supply chain; it’s generally good for the business, which means it’s good for shareholders,” he told me during a recent conversation as part of my research on purpose-driven business. Read More →
Read MoreIn this podcast we speak with Andrew Behar, CEO of the non-profit As You Sow, a shareholder advocacy non-profit that focuses on corporate social responsibility. We discuss the current proxy season and how accounting, auditing and financial disclosure practices fit into their approach to engaging with public companies. Read More →
Read MoreTools like Gun Free Funds or Weapons Free Funds are also simple ways of identifying funds that have exposure to guns or other types of weapons, and finding alternative ESG options. Both tools are managed by As You Sow, a 30-year-old nonprofit that encourages shareholder activism. “There’s 100 million people with 401k plans that are profiting from these gun manufacturers, and no one’s even aware of it,” said Andrew Behar CEO of As You Sow. Read More →
Read MoreAndrew Behar runs As You Sow, a nonprofit that promotes corporate responsibility. “They’re included in mutual funds, and in people’s 401(k) plans, and most people are not even aware of that,” he said. Behar’s company runs a website called Weapon Free Funds that helps people look up whether they’re invested in the gun industry. “Which looks at both military weapons, but also civilian weapons. Including assault weapons and ammunition,” he said. Read More →
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