Agents of Impact: Andrew Behar and Danielle Fugere, As You Sow

Corporations holding annual general meetings this month are well familiar with two particularly attentive shareholders: Andrew Behar and Danielle Fugere of As You Sow. Along with groups like CERES and the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility, the Berkeley, Calif., nonprofit has taken the lead in engaging corporations on issues from carbon footprints to workforce treatment. Read More →

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Realizing the risk of ignoring shareholder climate resolutions

ImpactAlpha, May 21 – Massive flooding in Midland, Michigan on Wednesday threatened to release chemicals from a Dow chemical complex, where products ranging from Saran Wrap to Agent Orange have been produced over years, and an adjacent Superfund site. It’s the kind of nightmare scenario that imperils public health as well as corporate value, and one that investor groups have been sounding the alarm on as global warming increases the frequency of severe weather events… “This should be a warning sign,” says Lila Holzman of As You Sow. Read More →

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This Is Only the Beginning': JPMorgan Chase Faces Investor Revolt Over Financing Climate Destruction

In a clear signal of support for reforming the lending practices of the world's largest private bank to ensure a habitable future planet, 49.6% of shareholders voted in favor of a resolution that asked JPMorgan to craft a plan to better align its operations with the Paris climate agreement's goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C… The development was also celebrated by Danielle Fugere, president of the nonprofit shareholder advocacy group As You Sow. "Shareholders today sent the message that it is past time for Chase to catch up with its peers, implement a strategy to decarbonize and de-risk its lending portfolio, and help build a more secure future for all," she said. Read More →

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Phillips 66 shareholders support studying climate change impact on Gulf Coast petrochemical facilities

A majority of Phillips 66 investors voted for a shareholder proposal that asked the Houston refiner to produce information about the public health risks of expanding petrochemical operations along the U.S. Gulf Coast… The proposal, which was filed by the climate activist shareholder group, As You Sow, argued that building chemical facilities in areas more prone to climate risks such as frequent storms, flooding and sea level rise, could pose financial, health, environmental and reputation risks to the Houston refining and pipeline company. Read More →

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As Rich 2019 Paydays Roll In, Media CEO Salaries Will Be Hard To Justify In A COVID-19 Economy

Compensation linked to stock is meant to align the interests of executives with that of shareholders and companies note that stock and option awards are “at risk.” Some of them may be since the direction of the stock price determines the payout. But they are granted with an estimated value – what shows up in the proxy pay table. For much of the last decade, due to an extended bull market, that estimate has ended up being too low compared with where the stock is trading when the grants are ultimately cashed in, says Rosanna Landis-Weaver, program manager at shareholder advocacy group As You Sow. Read More →

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Concerned Investors Swarm SEC Comment Board Ahead of Proposed Rule Change

Phillip Goldstein, a co-founder of Bulldog Investors LLC, wrote the SEC in March to urge the agency to stop a potential move by companies to opt out of the rule by only allowing votes on shareholder proposals that have been approved by a company board… Other stakeholders such as Andrew Behar, the chief executive officer of the non-profit organization As You Sow, says worries about excessive shareholder proposals are overblown. Read More →

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Chevron Shareholders Want Action on Climate Change

One proposal asks the company to report on how expanding the operations of its chemical division, CPChem, may affect public health in areas prone to climate-change-related natural disasters… The organization that brought the proposal to the board, As You Sow, is a nonprofit group that uses shareholder advocacy to push for socially responsible business practices in several industries. Read More →

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Trump Administration Seeks to Muzzle Activist Shareholders

Corporate boards, on the other hand, don’t tend to share the same appreciation. Companies aren’t as comfortable having explosive concerns aired in “the public eye…where they cannot necessarily control what is said about them,” says Welsh, whose organization produces the Proxy Preview with the nonprofit shareholder activist organization As You Sow and Proxy Impact, a shareholder advocacy and proxy voting service. Read More →

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This online tool helps you make sure your retirement investments reflect your values

But people increasingly want to know that the conglomeration of corporations that they part-own is clean. That’s where As You Sow’s “Invest Your Values” online tool comes into play. The tool, the winner in the impact investing category of Fast Company’s 2020 World Changing Ideas Awards, gives users a chance to view what’s in the funds they’re paying into and—if they don’t like what they find—to pick a mutual fund more aligned with their politics “Its essence is to help everyday investors to align their investing with their values,” says Andrew Behar, As You Sow’s CEO. Read More →

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Report: Natural gas is a loser for long-term utility shareholder value

Investment into new natural gas infrastructures like pipelines and power plants is "incompatible" with long-term shareholder value, and thus it is in the best interest of the investor community to push utilities away from natural gas, according to a new report from corporate social responsibility group As You Sow and environmental consulting firm Energy Innovation. Read More →

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Coal Is Out as APS Sets Carbon-Free Goal

As You Sow, a group that has worked with APS on plans to reduce the company’s reliance on fossil-fuel based energy, in an email to POWER said its supports APS’s action plan. “We commend APS for this important step toward addressing its climate impact and positioning itself to thrive in the coming clean energy economy,” said Lila Holzman, energy program manager of As You Sow. Read More →

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Investor Pressure Forces Barclays To Sign Up To Net Zero Target

The pressure on Barclays is also an indication of what will be coming the way of US banks in years to come, according to US investor As You Sow. “We are pleased to see Barclays show leadership at this particularly critical time of economic uncertainty,” said Danielle Fugere, president of As You Sow. “This announcement from a European bank continues to highlight the gap of inaction by US banks.” Read More →

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Republic Services to look into plastics recovery and recycling

Republic Services Inc., Phoenix, has committed to publishing a report on how the company can improve efforts to increase plastics recovery and recycling to address environmental problems caused by plastic pollution, according to a news release from Berkeley, California-based nonprofit As You Sow. Read More →

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