“As You Sow Senior Vice President Conrad MacKerron said in a statement that car tires are ‘a growing source of toxic microplastic pollution that harms ecosystems and fish, and may pose danger to human health.’ The group said tire wear particles account for an estimated 78% of microplastic leakage into oceans, and that tire wear emissions become airborne and can pose ‘serious human health risks.’" Read More →

“Shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, which filed the resolution, responded this week by saying shareholders were not demanding disclosures requiring the kind of ‘intricate detail’ outlawed by SEC guidance.” Read More →

“Danielle Fugere, president and chief counsel for the shareholder advocacy nonprofit As You Sow, said disclosure is a prerequisite for holding banks to their climate goals. ‘We want to understand what it is they’re doing,’ she said. Laws like California’s bring to light the financial instability wrought by fossil fuel-driven climate change and — in theory, at least — discourage financing that would exacerbate it.” Read More →

“According to Cole Genge, director of programs of As You Sow, the emerging deep sea mining (DSM) industry embodies one of the most significant new threats to global biodiversity.

‘As the green transition, including electric vehicle deployment, speeds up, companies like The Metals Company plan to strip-mine the seafloor for nodules containing battery-related minerals,’ said Genge. ‘Supporters of DSM argue that mining deep sea nodules poses fewer risks to climate and biodiversity compared to terrestrial mining.’” Read More →

“Another report released last week by the shareholder advocacy group As You Sow and the sustainable economy research organization Corporate Knights identified the world's top 200 Clean Tech companies and measured their economic performance.” Read More →

“In a recent interview with Fortune, Behar explained that his group has spent months meeting with the heads of businesses caught in the crosshairs of DEI critics determined to blame everything from wildfires to plane crashes on diversity efforts. As You Sow has also proposed pro-DEI resolutions at companies like John Deere, Berkshire Hathaway, and Ford.” Read More →

“In 2016, we created the Clean200 in response to investors saying, ‘If we divest fossil fuels, there is nothing to invest in,’” says Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow and co-author of the Carbon Clean 200 report that accompanies the ranking. “The Clean200 has consistently demonstrated that the ‘clean energy’ future of eight years ago is now the clean energy present. This year, the scale and global diversity of leading companies continue to expand and redefine the term ‘cleantech’ to be any company with products and services that will reduce demand for fossil fuels and water.” Read More →

The term "Prison Free" may mean different things to different people. As You Sow’s Prison Free Funds provides a range, with the lowest grades going to private prison operators. They then calculate the percentage of holdings of support companies including suppliers of food, laundry, IT, power, banking, and other services and products needed to run the prison industry and the militarization of borders and immigration policing.  Read More →

“First Solar’s commitment leads the way to ensuring that we don’t unwittingly create yet another globally destructive practice,” said Elizabeth Levy, biodiversity program coordinator at As You Sow. “Companies that promote deep sea mining insist that we need deep seabed minerals now to fuel the energy transition; First Solar’s insistence on a precautionary process challenges this false narrative and shows others in the renewable energy industry that we don’t need to exploit the deep sea, potentially irrevocably, for the energy transition to continue.”  Read More →

The First Solar deal shows many corporate executives at least remain concerned about environmental matters, said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, a prolific filer of shareholder resolutions. "I know everyone is despairing about ESG, but the bottom line to me is that companies want to get better and thrive," Behar said in a telephone interview.  Read More →

The settlement, which does not require that Amazon admit wrongdoing, ends a lawsuit originally brought in California by a group of anonymous plaintiffs and As You Sow, a nonprofit that works with corporations to promote environmental and social responsibility.  Read More →

“These are businesses that have existed longer than four years. We expect them to exist beyond this four-year window in front of us,” said Meredith Benton, principal founder of Whistle Stop Capital, which consults with As You Sow on DEI. “What we want to see is them making decisions that are in their business interests over the long term.”  Read More →

The broad scope of his opinion seems "designed to curb any assessment of climate impact or climate risk," said Danielle Fugere, president and chief counsel of As You Sow. "[The opinion determines] just because American Airlines has adopted climate change principles and BlackRock has too, therefore one can conclude they are colluding in some way or they have conflicts of interest. That's such an enormous leap. It makes no sense in today's market where climate change is a risk, investors and companies have to address those risks, and if they don't, they will be impacted financially and negatively."  Read More →

“The No. 1 thing is to figure out what you own,” said Andrew Behar, the chief executive of As You Sow. “But frankly, Wall Street doesn’t really want you to know. It is very hard to change when you are profiting from the current system.” Read More →

As shareholder advocates, As You Sow has engaged over a dozen companies including recently Google, asking for disclosures on how they’re protecting employee savings from climate risk. Read More →

As You Sow's report on Costco claimed it wasn't being as transparent as it could be and wasn't holding third-party suppliers to task. While that issue is considered "resolved" with a shareholder request for stricter regulations, just what came of that is unclear. Read More →

As You Sow submitted a shareholder proposal on behalf of Amalgamated Bank requesting information about what it described as an “ambiguous and inconsistent shift in policies and practices regarding its workplace diversity strategy.” Read More →

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, As You Sow questioned Microsoft for its self-proclaimed status of a “first mover” on climate change. Read More →

ExxonMobil sued shareholders, and Danielle Fugere from As You Sow will discuss the implications at the RI USA 2024 panel on December 3 in New York City. Read More →

The proposal – led by As You Sow – called on the manufacturing firm to report on the effectiveness of its efforts to create a meritocratic workplace “where no one is excluded from contributing to the company’s success because of an immutable characteristic, such as gender, race or ethnicity”. Read More →

As You Sow writes that in July of this year Deere ‘announced an ambiguous and inconsistent shift in policies and practices regarding its workplace diversity strategy. If the company has dismantled key [DE&I] policies and practices, this exposes it to financial, competitive, legal and reputational risks.’  Read More →

As You Sow has also put forward a resolution requesting Microsoft report on the risks of providing advanced technology, including AI and machine learning tools, “to facilitate new oil and gas development and production”. Read More →

As You Sow, called for greater transparency on regenerative agriculture and pesticide reduction. The proposal garnered 29 percent support, demonstrating investor inuence and growing activism in this area.. Read More →

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission from the non-profit As You Sow, Microsoft is accused of hypocrisy for styling itself as a “first mover” on climate change while targeting fossil fuels as the most significant growth opportunity for artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and cloud computing services. Read More

Shareholder Rights Group — whose members include nonprofits As You Sow, Ceres and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, as well as the nation’s largest federation of unions — sent the letter Thursday, after the IAC explored proxy proposals and the implications of ExxonMobil’s lawsuit against Arjuna Capital at a meeting last month.  Read More

Iconic foods like Georgia peaches, Florida oranges, and Ecuadorian chocolate are threatened by increasing weather extremes and shifting climates. As You Sow has documented the trend in a recent report and an accompanying article, climate change is driving up the cost of food products including olive oil, coffee, rice, and other staples.  Read More

The SEC’s advisers on investor issues has a duty to support shareholders who push companies to disclose risks from climate change, artificial intelligence and other matters, as businesses fight them in court, advocates said. Read More →

Conrad MacKerron, the organization’s senior vice president, noted that there are still plenty of opportunities outside of Amazon’s e-commerce business to cut down on unnecessary plastic packaging.  Read More →