Blog Archives
Abbott Non-GMO Similac Infant Formula a ‘Clear Win’ for Consumers and Shareholders
DAIRY REPORTER – May 28, 2015 – Abbott Laboratories’ decision to launch two non-GMO infant formula products in the US is a “clear win for consumers and for shareholders,” says environmental health advocacy group As … MORE
Abbott Laboratories Launching Non-GMO Similac Infant Formula in US
DAIRY REPORTER – May 26, 2015 – Abbott Laboratories is launching a non-GMO version of its popular Similac Advance infant formula in the U.S.
RELEASE: In a First, Shareholders Vote on Tobacco Depictions in Movies with As You Sow/Trinity Health Proposal at Time Warner
AS YOU SOW RELEASE – June 19, 2015 – Time Warner, parent company of Warner Bros. movie studio, has become the first company to hold a shareholder vote on smoking in movies. The resolution was … MORE
RELEASE: Calling for Climate Action, $5 Billion in Southern Co. Shares Vote for Proposal Seeking Greenhouse Gas Reductions
AS YOU SOW RELEASE – June 1, 2015 – Citing climate change impacts and financial risks of carbon-intense coal assets, shareholders representing billions of dollars in investments voted for greenhouse gas reduction targets at Southern … MORE
Utility Regulators Say They Can’t Get Texts
THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC – May 29, 2015 – Arizona’s utility regulators say they have done all they can to comply with a public records request but can’t access old text messages between a former chairman, … MORE
RELEASE: Pinnacle West Investors Representing $1.4 Billion Support As You Sow Proposal for Political Spending Disclosure
AS YOU SOW RELEASE – May 29, 2015 – In a strong referendum on corporate political spending, investors representing $1.4 billion in shares voted in support of lobbying transparency at Pinnacle West’s annual shareholder meeting. … MORE
RELEASE: Chevron Shareholders with $7.75 Billion in Stock Vote to Increase Dividends to Protect Investor Capital in the Face of Risky Investments in Costly Carbon Reserves
AS YOU SOW RELEASE – May 27. 2015 – An As You Sow and Arjuna Capital shareholder resolution calling on Chevron to increase dividends to shareholders in light of continued outsized spending on high-cost, high-carbon … MORE
RELEASE: Abbott’s Decision to Offer GMO-Free Baby Formula Applauded by As You Sow
AS YOU SOW RELEASE – May 27, 2015 – Abbott Laboratories, producer of market-leading Similac Advance baby formula, has announced that it will offer a version of its formula made without genetically modified organisms (GMOs) … MORE
Oil Company Bosses’ Bonuses Linked to $1tn Spending on Extracting Fossil Fuels
THE GUARDIAN – May 25, 2015 – Bosses at the world’s big five oil companies have been showered with bonus payouts linked to a $1tn (£650bn) crescendo of spending on fossil fuel exploration and extraction … MORE
Chevron Faces Shareholder Pressure Over Oil Exploration
FINANCIAL TIMES – May 24, 2015 – Asset owners concerned about climate change will have a chance to prove their commitment to the cause at Chevron’s annual general meeting this week. Resolution seven on the … MORE
RELEASE: Shareholders Vote for Greenhouse Gas Reductions at Midwest Utilities
AS YOU SOW RELEASE – May 21, 2015 – Citing climate change impacts and financial risks of carbon-intense coal assets, shareholders representing billions of dollars of assets voted for carbon reduction targets at FirstEnergy and … MORE
RELEASE: In Wake of Major Climate Votes at BP and Shell, How Will Chevron Shareholders Respond Next Week?
AS YOU SOW RELEASE – May 21, 2015 – The 2015 shareholder season has seen record-high votes by shareholders at BP (98 percent) and Shell (99 percent) seeking greater disclosure of climate-related risks. In less … MORE
Divest-Invest Philanthropy Campaign Could Attract $150bn in Assets by Year-End – As You Sow
RESPONSIBLE INVESTOR – May 11, 2015 – A campaign to encourage US investors to exit fossil fuels and invest in the new energy economy, which has won the support of investors holding $50bn (€44.6bn) in … MORE
Southern Shareholders to Consider ‘Green’ Vote
ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLE – May 15, 2015 – Southern Co. shareholders will vote May 27 on a resolution calling for the Atlanta-based utility to set targets for carbon emissions.
Shareholders Revolt Against Dark Money
BLOOMBERG – May 14, 2015 – On May 20, Pinnacle West Capital, the holding company that owns Arizona’s largest utility, will host its annual meeting at the Heard Museum in central Phoenix. Shareholders will elect … MORE
NGOs Launch Pension Fund Member Voting Platform for Supporting Shareholder Resolutions, Starting at Chevron
RESPONSIBLE INVESTOR – May 13, 2015 – A group of NGOs endorsed by the International Trade Union Confederation, which has millions of pension scheme members, has created an on-line pressure campaign that will enable members … MORE
Blackrock, TIAA-CREF are Big Backers of ‘Overpaid’ CEOs
FINANCIAL TIMES – May 10, 2015 – BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, and TIAA-CREF, the leading US retirement provider for teachers and university professors, are among the biggest supporters of high executive pay, according … MORE
RELEASE: Investors Send Message to Kraft Foods on Recyclable Packaging – 29% Support for As You Sow Proposal
OAKLAND, CA – May 8, 2015 – Asserting that non-recyclable packaging is wasting valuable resources, a proposal to Kraft Foods Group from As You Sow received the support of 29.2% of shares voted at the … MORE
Investor Groups Want Southern Co. to Report More GHG Data and Risks
E & E PUBLISHING – May 5, 2015 – Southern Co., the Atlanta-based utility serving 4.4 million customers in the Deep South, produces one of the most attractive annual reports on carbon emissions available within … MORE
80% of Antibiotics Sold in America Aren’t Used to Treat People
MARKETWATCH – April 29, 2015 – You get sick, go to the doctor, take antibiotics and poof, all better. But of all the antibiotics sold in the U.S. each year, 80% are used on food-producing … MORE
Shareholders Seek Disclosure of APS’s Political Spending
THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC – April 23, 2015 – Arizona Public Service’s parent company has funneled campaign contributions to most of the state’s leaders in 2014.
RELEASE: Abbott Laboratories Shareholders to Vote on GMO Transparency
AS YOU SOW RELEASE – April 20, 2015 – For the third year in a row, shareholders at Abbott Laboratories’ annual meeting on April 24 will vote on a proposal to disclose which nutritional products … MORE
M.I.T. Debates Whether to Drop Fossil-Fuel Investments
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN – Apr. 10, 2015 – Last night, speakers at the nation’s most prestigious engineering school held forth on an array of financial and educational strategies to crack the challenge of man-made climate change.
Unusual Perk: $62,000 Bill for a Curtailed Vacation
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL – Apr. 10, 2015 – Case in point: Discovery Communications Inc.’s $62,000 bill for a scotched vacation. The pay-television programmer’s proxy filing says in a footnote that its general counsel, Bruce … MORE
How to Engage Your Investors on ESG Issues in Proxy Season and Beyond
GREENBIZ – Apr. 08, 2015 – Spring brings a new proxy voting season, as shareholders exercise their right to raise issues of importance to company management, the board of directors and fellow shareholders. In recent … MORE
Climate Campaigners Losing Faith in Value of Engaging With Fossil Fuel Firms
THE GUARDIAN – Apr. 07, 2015 – It’s been 23 years since investor activists first tried to get the oil business to face up to the risks of climate change. Progress has been painfully slow … MORE
Pssst: Socially Responsible Investors Are Racking Up Wins This Year
COMPLIANCE WEEK – Apr. 07, 2015 – Relax and enjoy! You can soon have that morning donut without worrying about the nanotech particles that had been sprinkled atop as a whitening agent for the powdered … MORE
Shareholder Advocacy 101 at As You Sow
CONSCIOUS COMPANY MAGAZINE – Apr. 03, 2015 – Founded in 1992, As You Sow is a nonprofit that promotes environmental and social responsibility through the use of shareholder advocacy. So what actually is shareholder advocacy? … MORE
Executive Pension Gains Expand Proxy Tables
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL – Mar. 25, 2015 – Pension gains are swelling executive pay figures this year. Whether that matters to investors depends on who you ask. Some companies are downplaying the gains in … MORE
The Controversial Rise of the ‘Food Babe’
NEW YORK POST – Mar. 29, 2015 – The person most identified with the movement is not a politician, policymaker, or even a trained scientist. She’s a 34-year-old who left a career as a managerial … MORE
Starbucks Is Trashing Its Green Image
DAILY FINANCE – Apr. 22, 2010 – A shareholder resolution at Starbucks’ (SBUX) annual meeting was defeated so soundly, its backer shuddered a bit when the vote was announced. No, the company wouldn’t be adopting … MORE
Climate Change, Political Lobbying High On Shareholders’ Agenda
TRIPLE PUNDIT – Mar. 24, 2015 – Historic droughts, record snowfalls, and the incidence of “superstorms” and other highly anomalous weather seem to be making a stronger impression, and having a greater impact, on those … MORE
Storming the Corporate Castle: Does Shareholder Activism Work?
IN THESE TIMES – Mar. 23, 2015 – These are strange days indeed for shareholder activism. By some measures it’s experiencing a surge. Progressive groups have used the strategy since the early 1970s, but the … MORE
Record Breaking Number of Shareowner Resolutions in 2015
SOCIAL FUNDS – Mar. 21, 2015 – The eleventh edition of As You Sow’s Proxy Preview identifies 433 shareowner resolutions filed this year, with corporate political activity and the environment accounting for slightly more than … MORE
RELEASE: Despite Chevron’s Legal Challenge, Shareholder Resolution on Economic Risks of Climate Change Going to Vote
AS YOU SOW RELEASE – March 18, 2015 – Just weeks before Chevron’s annual meeting, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ruled in favor of nonprofit As You Sow and wealth manager Arjuna Capital/Baldwin Brothers … MORE
Climate, Politics Key Shareholder Concerns, Report Says
FINANCIAL ADVISOR – Mar. 18, 2015 – Investors have filled 433 social and environmental resolutions so far this year, with climate change and political spending driving the most activity, according to a new report.
SEC Splits Decision on Carbon Risk Proposals From Investors at Chevron, ExxonMobil
BLOOMBERG BNA – Mar. 18, 2015 – The Securities and Exchange Commission has responded to two similar climate change-related proposals from investors at Chevron Corp. and ExxonMobil Corp. in two different ways.
Is Exorbitant CEO Pay a Form of Tyranny? Thomas Aquinas Thinks So
NATIONAL CATHOLIC REPORTER – Mar. 16, 2015 – A combination of shareholder activism, academic rigor and religious support may be chipping away at exorbitant CEO pay, finding it bad for business and contrary to the … MORE
Levi’s Wants to Convert Social Ambition to Cash
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE – Mar. 13, 2015 – One year ago, Levi Strauss & Co. CEO Charles “Chip” Bergh said the iconic San Francisco apparel maker would launch a major “productivity initiative” to wring profit … MORE
Shareholders Flood Fossil Fuel Companies With Climate Resolutions Again
INSIDE CLIMATE NEWS – Mar. 13, 2015 – U.S. oil and energy companies are facing a barrage of climate-related shareholder proposals this year, many of them demanding action or disclosures on low-carbon strategies, political spending … MORE
