Yearly Archives: 2013
Hydraulic Fracturing
Investors controlling over $100 billion worth of stock in ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Ultra Petroleum cast their votes to urge the companies to come clean on how fracking is impacting their bottom lines. After the SEC … MORE
Beverage Container Recycling
We withdrew our resolution with McDonald’s after they agreed to test a phase-out of Styrofoam cups at 2,000 stores. Nearly a third of investors at Dr Pepper Snapple Group, the third largest soft drink maker, … MORE
Electronic Waste
We continued our efforts to keep toxic electronic waste out of landfills by pressing Target to adopt an in-store e-waste recycling program like the one we successfully encouraged Best Buy to develop. This second year … MORE
Bisphenol A
After we filed a resolution asking Safeway to be transparent with shareholders on its position on the use of the reproductive toxicant BPA in food products, the company agreed to make a public statement on … MORE
Consumer Packaging
This year at Kraft Foods, the largest U.S. food company, we brought the first-ever vote on producer responsibility for post-consumer packaging waste and received strong 25.6% support. We withdrew a resolution at Colgate-Palmolive after the … MORE
Coal
Investors used their votes to urge leading utilities to disclose their plans to reduce the risks from their reliance on coal. At FirstEnergy, 11.4% of shareholders, representing over $1.5 billion, cast votes in support of … MORE
Proxy Season
Coal Investors used their votes to urge leading utilities to disclose their plans to reduce the risks from their reliance on coal. At FirstEnergy, 11.4% of shareholders, representing over $1.5 billion, cast votes in … MORE
Shareholder Advocacy in 2012
As we continue to engage in dialogues started in the 2011 proxy season, As You Sow is gearing up for 2012. Our Energy, Environmental Health, and Waste Programs will be filing shareholder resolutions on a … MORE
Framework for the Use of Nanomaterials in Food
Following McDonald’s commitment to a “No Nano” policy, As You Sow plans to release a framework for companies in the food industry to use when deciding whether or not to source food products or food … MORE
As You Sow Supports Student Shareholder Advocates
University endowments are major investors with over $400 billion in assets. Many schools have signed pledges for carbon neutrality, some have closed coal-fired plants that power their campuses, and others have vowed to end the … MORE
Investor Concern for Fracking Risk Grows
In the past year, The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and the documentary “Gasland” have focused a national spotlight on the human and environmental health dangers of the controversial drilling technique, commonly … MORE
Uzbek Cotton Kicked Out of Fashion Week
This fall, the Responsible Sourcing Network (a project of As You Sow) attended New York Fashion Week to make sure cotton produced with child labor in Uzbekistan stayed off the runways. RSN’s pledge against forced … MORE
“No Fracking Way!”
As You Sow will be hosting a fracking fundraiser in Los Angeles on October 25th and you’re invited! We will focus on the toxic threat that hydraulic fracturing poses to communities across the country—including Los … MORE
Progress on Packaging Waste
As You Sow is pleased to report progress in both beverage container recycling and consumer packaged goods. After two years of engagement with Starbucks, we have decided not to re-file a shareholder resolution in 2012 … MORE
Carl Pope Joins As You Sow Board of Directors
We are pleased to announce the addition of Carl Pope to the As You Sow Board of Directors. Mr. Pope is widely known for his 20-plus year tenure as the Executive Director of the Sierra … MORE
Welcome from our CEO
Welcome to As You Sow’s new and improved newsletter! In this issue, we detail our most recent successes and look ahead to 2012. Read about our newest Board Member, Carl Pope, and our “No Fracking … MORE
Danielle Fugere Joins As You Sow
We are pleased to welcome Danielle Fugere to the As You Sow team! Taking over for Larry Fahn as President, Danielle will be responsible for strategic management of the Energy, Environmental Health, and Waste programs. … MORE
A “Fahn” Farewell
Sometime in the last century-1997 to be exact-I was offered a unique opportunity to take the helm of a small San Francisco-based nonprofit organization. As You Sow, with two part-time staff, had some big ideas … MORE
2011 Annual Report
Thanks to the generous support of our donors and funders, As You Sow moved some of the world’s largest corporations on social and environmental issues in 2011. Here are highlights of our successes! Energy Coal … MORE
Forced Child Labor: From the Fields to Your Closet
How does cotton picked by Uzbek children end up in the products we use and wear every day? From the Field: Travels of Uzbek Cotton Through the Value Chain, a new report from the Responsible … MORE
Proxy Preview 2012 Helps Investors Vote Their Values
Before the November election, millions of votes will be cast at annual shareholder meetings across the country to determine corporate policies on critical issues. In anticipation of these votes, Proxy Preview 2012, our eighth annual … MORE
As You Sow Reports on Best Practices in Solar
In March of 2012 As You Sow released Clean & Green: Best Practices in Photovoltaics, a new report that presents the processes of manufacturing photovoltaic panels in non-scientific language and highlights practices and policies companies … MORE
McDonald’s to Pilot Elimination of Styrofoam Cups
Although fast-food giant McDonald’s stopped using the controversial foam for its food packaging decades ago, it took a shareholder resolution filed by As You Sow to spur them to pilot a phase-out of polystyrene coffee … MORE
Coal and Fracking Regulations Will Have Limited Impact
After years of delays, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed limits on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from new power plants, formally called the New Source Performance Standard (NSPS). The rule caps carbon dioxide emissions … MORE
ExxonMobil Challenge to Fracking Vote Defeated
Just eight weeks before ExxonMobil’s annual shareholder meeting, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sided with As You Sow in their battle to address concerns about the energy giant’s hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations. The shareholder … MORE
As You Sow’s 2012 Proxy Season
Shareholders at Fortune 500 companies will vote on 10 As You Sow resolutions in 2012, which address issues ranging from the financial impacts of coal, to community impacts of fracking, to the environmental impact of … MORE
Welcome from our CEO
Welcome to As You Sow’s spring newsletter! In this issue, hear how we fought ExxonMobil at the SEC and persuaded McDonald’s to be more environmentally friendly. Join us in looking at the resolutions on the … MORE
As You Bowl
On September 21st, 2012, thought leaders, environmental advocates, and socially responsible investors joined As You Sow for a night of bowling and celebration in honor of founder Tom Van Dyck and our 20th anniversary. Held … MORE
Shareholders and Scientists: Get Smoking Out of G, PG, and PG-13 Movies
After years of a declining number of on-screen tobacco depictions in youth rated films, smoking on the big screen is on the rise, climbing the most sharply in G, PG, and PG-13 rated movies. According … MORE
As You Sow Welcomes New Director of Toxic Chemical Research
As You Sow is proud to welcome Eleanne van Vliet, MPH, as the newest member of our team. Eleanne is an environmental health scientist who directs toxic chemical research for our Toxic Enforcement initiative. In … MORE
Student Shareholder Advocacy Movement Gains Momentum
A fuse has been lit and the shareholder advocacy movement among students has started to spread. Students across the country are demanding that their university’s endowment align its investments in energy with its commitments to … MORE
Human Rights Update
100+ Companies Pledge Against Child Labor, S.E.C. Releases Mineral Rule Great strides have been made towards improving the plight of child laborers in Uzbekistan and the people of the Congo, who suffer at the hands … MORE
Get GMOs Out of Baby Food
When you go food shopping in the U.S. it is nearly impossible to know if you are buying food made from genetically modified (GMO) crops, like corn and soy. Even though the entire European Union, … MORE
Why Producers Need To Take Action On Recycling
More than 40 billion aluminum cans are dumped annually into landfills – enough material to make 25,000 jetliners. Letting these valuable resources go to waste has created serious problems for companies, taxpayers, and the environment. … MORE
As You Sow 2013 Issues
As You Sow is preparing for the 2013 proxy season by filing shareholder resolutions on issues ranging from producer responsibility to coal, fracking, and GMOs. To kick off the season, we plan to release our … MORE
Welcome from our CEO
This edition previews the issues and companies we plan to engage in 2013 and shares our recent successes with student shareholder advocates and slavery-free supply chains. It also profiles our ongoing work with major consumer … MORE
2012 Annual Report
In 2012, As You Sow engaged 25 companies including filing 17 shareholder resolutions asking for increased responsibility on environmental and social issues by corporate boards and management. Some highlights of our program accomplishments are listed … MORE
Are Untested Nanoparticles Slipping into Our Foods?
This spring, As You Sow released Slipping Through the Cracks: An Issue Brief on Nanomaterials in Food. It raised the question of whether potentially harmful nanomaterials (extremely small particles that can move easily through cell walls … MORE
Proxy Preview Focuses on Political Spending and Climate Risks in 2013
2013 Summer Newsletter – Extreme storms and the most expensive election in history have made their way from the public debate onto shareholder ballots, according to Proxy Preview 2013. MORE
As You Sow Welcomes New Board Member JJ Healy
As You Sow is proud to welcome JJ Healy to the Board of Directors. JJ is founder of Healy Capital, a technology investment and asset management firm. He is a technology industry veteran with more … MORE
