Blog Archives
Political Spending, Climate Change Dominate Shareholder Proposals
TRIPLE PUNDIT – March 8, 2013 – As proxy season takes shape in this post-election year, investors are urgently seeking transformation of corporate environmental, social, and governance policies.
Investors Asserting Concerns About Climate Change and Energy, Report Says
SUSTAINABLE BRANDS – March 7, 2013 – A record number of investors have filed shareholder resolutions on environmental and social issues as part of the Proxy Preview 2013 report released today.
Shareholders File First-Ever ‘Carbon Bubble’ Resolutions
INSIDECLIMATE NEWS – March 7, 2013 – Two advocacy groups have come up with a new tactic to show how climate change—and laws to deal with it—could make investments in fossil fuel companies riskier and … MORE
Chevron – Hydraulic Fracturing – 2013
Our 2013 resolution requests a report, using qualitative indicators, on the results of company procedures and practices to minimize any adverse environmental and community impacts from the company’s natural gas extraction operations. The requested data … MORE
Coal Ash
EPA Issues First-Ever Rule Regulating Toxic Coal Ash, But Is It Enforceable? After years of delay, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made history today by issuing the first-ever rule designed to regulate the harmful … MORE
Get Real about Climate Change, Shareowners Tell Utilities
SOCIAL FUNDS – February 28, 2013 – With trillions of dollars in infrastructure upgrades looming for electric utilities, investors call on five companies to emphasize a transition to renewables, improve energy efficiency, and manage water … MORE
New York State Pension Fund and Other Investors Urge Utilities to Ramp Up Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency
3BL MEDIA – February 27, 2013 – Major U.S. investors and pension funds have filed resolutions with five electric power utilities – Ameren, Cleco, DTE Energy, FirstEnergy, SCANA – urging them to increase deployment of … MORE
Fracking on Proxy Ballots at Chevron and Exxon
SOCIAL FUNDS – February 25, 2013 – Described as laggards for their failure to address investor concerns, the oil and gas giants face shareowner resolutions addressing environmental and social risks associated with hydraulic fracturing.
The Case for Fossil-Fuel Divestment
ROLLING STONE – February 22, 2013 – It’s obvious how this should end. You’ve got the richest industry on earth, fossil fuel, up against some college kids, some professors, a few environmentalists, a few brave … MORE
Ameren
Ameren Corporation is a holding company for several regional power and energy companies. As You Sow has engaged with Ameren on issues related to coal-fired power generation. Read more about our engagements with Ameren below.
Fracking at Top of Chevron, Exxon Meetings
Press Coverage
New York City Pension Funds Seek Fracking Data From Exxon Mobil
PENSIONS & INVESTMENTS – February 5, 2013 – The five New York City pension funds co-filed a shareholder proposal at Exxon Mobil Corp., calling for the company to disclose quantitative data on how it is … MORE
Getting the Carbon Out
FINANCIAL ADVISOR – January 29, 2013 – Who are the Filthy 15? They are public companies in the coal utility and extraction business that groups criticize for damaging the environment and contributing heavily to climate … MORE
Cleantech
Examines the latest opportunities and trends across clean energy, efficiency, water, transportation, agriculture, energy storage, air & environment, and clean industry. MORE
Energy
Energy produced from fossil fuels—coal, natural gas, and oil—is a leading contributor to climate change. The burning of fossil-fuels also releases toxins that pose serious health and environmental risks to local communities. MORE
Our Work
As You Sow tackles some of the most important environmental and social issues facing the world today. Read about our programs below, then click through to learn more about our efforts to hold corporations accountable. … MORE
As You Sow: Coal Investments, Shale Gas, a Bad Bet
DE SMOG BLOG – October 23, 2012 – In a missive titled “White Paper: Financial Risks of Investments in Coal,” As You Sow concludes that coal is becoming an increasingly risky investment with each passing … MORE
Update: Financial Risks of Investments in Coal
As You Sow’s Update to the White Paper provides a snapshot of the current trends underlying five financial risks for investments in coal: for mining companies, they are driving shifts in generator demand away from coal; for electric utilities, they are making “cheap coal” costly compared to other generating options or increased efficiency. MORE
Clean & Green: Best Practices in Photovoltaics
Clean & Green: Best Practices in Photovoltaics highlights the best practices of photovoltaic (PV) manufacturers to protect workers and the environment during the production of solar panels. This report presents, in non-scientific language, the process of manufacturing PV panels, the risks involved, and how companies mitigate those risks. It focuses on practices and policies companies use to mitigate risks from hazardous compounds, reduce environmental impact, and responsibly manage their supply chains. MORE
Utilities Face Scrutiny for Coal Reliance
Press Coverage
Shareholder Group Targets Ameren, Duke, FirstEnergy on Coal
PLATTS ELECTRIC POWER DAILY – April 19, 2012 – Three large investor-owned utilities are urging shareholders to vote against resolutions that would direct the IOUs to prepare plans to reduce their exposure to “coal‐related costs … MORE
Important Ruling on “Fracking”
HAZMAT MAGAZINE – April 9, 2012 – Just eight weeks before ExxonMobil’s annual shareholder meeting, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sided with the company’s investors in their battle to address concerns about the … MORE
Exxon Mobil Told to Allow Vote on Fracturing Disclosure
CHRON.COM – April 5, 2012 – The Securities and Exchange Commission has turned down a request from Exxon Mobil Corp. to omit a resolution on hydraulic fracturing disclosures from its proxy statement…
Exxon Mobil Must Allow Vote on Fracturing Disclosure
FUEL FIX – April 4, 2012 – The Securities and Exchange Commission has turned down a request from Exxon Mobil Corp. to omit a resolution on hydraulic fracturing disclosures from its proxy statement…
As You Sow: Better Practice = Better Solar
iSTOCKANALYST – March 28, 2012 – Better industry practices during the production of solar panels could make the technology more attractive, advocacy group As You Sow states.
Investors Press Duke Energy for Environmental Info
CHARLOTTE BUSINESS JOURNAL – February 13, 2012 – As annual meetings approach, investors affiliated with a national nonprofit promoting control of greenhouse gases and other sustainability issues have filed shareholder resolutions with Duke Energy…
OG Joins As You Sow for an Event Offering a Look Into the Shocking Future of Fracking in LA and Other Cities
OPPORTUNITY GREEN – October 30, 2011 – On Tuesday, October 25, As You Sow held their “No Fracking Way!” fundraiser at Space 150 offices in Venice, CA.
Fracking Pushback Opens Up Energy Firms
REUTERS – September 26, 2011 – John Pinkerton, who runs shale gas producer Range Resources Corp., has no time for fracking secrecy, and his notoriously tight-lipped industry is opening up a bit for fear of … MORE
Californians: There is Secret Fracking in Your Backyard
FAST COMPANY – September 3, 2011 – If you thought that only people in rural Pennsylvania were blessed with water that they can light on fire, think again. Fracking happens everywhere. You just don’t know … MORE
The Changing Climate of Environmental Risk
BUSINESS INSIDER – July 11, 2011 – With tsunami-induced nuclear reactor meltdowns in Japan, tornadoes obliterating towns in the American Midwest and the aftermath of BP’s calamitous oil spill still playing itself out, there was … MORE
White Paper: Financial Risks of Investments in Coal
In June 2011, As You Sow released White Paper: Financial Risks of Investments in Coal that lays out the financial risks of continued reliance on coal for electricity generation. MORE
PacifiCorp’s Reliance on Coal Plants Brings Utility to Expensive Juncture
THE OREGONIAN – June 25, 2011 – When it comes to power plant pollution, the spotlight in Oregon has been fixed on Portland General Electric and its plan to shut the Boardman coal plant by … MORE
RELEASE: Coal Investors Face Increasing Financial Risks, New Report Says
AS YOU SOW PRESS RELEASE – June 15, 2011 – According to a new report released today by As You Sow, a shareholder advocacy organization, the financial risks faced by the coal-fired utility industry have … MORE
Oil Company Shareholders Vote Against Fracking in Record Numbers
TRIPLE PUNDIT – June 6, 2011 – The discoveries of massive deposits of natural gas may be America’s ticket to energy independence. These reserves are tucked far beneath the earth’s surface and requires extraction by … MORE
Advocacy Group Says Coal Is Risky
UPI – June 6, 2011 – Regulatory uncertainty, market volatility and construction costs make coal a risky financial investment, said U.S. advocacy group As You Sow.
Shareholder Flack Flies Over Fracking
SMART PLANET – June 3, 2011 – This morning, I read where a British energy company has halted its hydraulic fracturing (aka fracking) operations in northwest England because of seismic activity reported near the area.
Resolutions Addressing Hydraulic Fracturing Continue to Attract Shareowner Support
SOCIAL FUNDS – June 3, 2011 – At the annual meeting of Ultra Petroleum, the company refuses to permit shareowners to present their proposal, but votes in favor double that of 2010.
Fracking Should Benefit from Shareholders’ Attention
THE MOTLEY FOOL – June 3, 2011 – It doesn’t require a triple-digit IQ to identify the April 2010 tragedy aboard Transocean’s Deepwater Horizon rig as easily the most horrendous oil and gas environmental disaster … MORE
Shareowner Pressure on Hydraulic Fracturing Intensifies
SRI Advisor – May 31, 2011 – Resolutions addressing the issue at Chevron and ExxonMobil, co-filed by As You Sow and other sustainable investors, win substantial shareowner support, and Ultra Petroleum declines to release results … MORE
Exxon, Chevron Under Pressure from Shareholders Over Natural Gas Fracking
REUTERS – May 27, 2011 – Big oil companies active in natural gas drilling are under increasing pressure to disclose the environmental and financial risks associated with hydraulic fracturing.
