Meeting the Evolving Needs of Society
[Image alt text: As You Sow banner with logo, image of mountains and a lake, and text saying: The nation’s leading non-profit shareholder advocate, with a 30-year track record of changing corporations for good]Dear John,
We’re in a major shift that will reshape our economic and social systems – a shift that will affect every company, every supply chain, every customer, and every board and management team. We’re moving away from the old extractive economy and embracing justice and sustainability. Shareholders are filing resolutions that prepare companies to thrive in the new regenerative economy. These shareholder resolutions grow in breadth and depth every year. The impact on the ground continues to expand.
It’s because YOU continue to stand up. It’s because of your participation, your support, and your partnership that As You Sow can grow to meet the evolving needs of our society and our planet. THANK YOU!
[Image alt text: Ketchup bottles]
KraftHeinz and Church & Dwight Announce Goals to Cut Virgin Plastic
KraftHeinz committed to cut virgin plastic use 20% by 2030 and Church & Dwight 30% by 2025. These steps signal a positive trend among major consumer goods companies to cut use of virgin plastic. Five others — Keurig Dr Pepper, Mondelez Int’l, Pepsi, Target,and Walmart — recently agreed to similar reductions after As You Sow engaged these companies and filed shareholder resolutions.
“Setting a virgin plastic use reduction goal has become a common practice among leading companies. We hope to see these companies pair their new goals with commitments to financially invest in the collection and recycling of their packaging to ensure it never becomes waste,” said Kelly McBee, Circular Economy Sr. Coordinator at As You Sow.
As You Sow has plastic packaging resolutions pending at Amazon and Kroger, urging these companies to match the efforts of their peers and cut plastic use dramatically.
[Image alt text: US Capitol Building with money overlaid in the background]
AT&T Commits to Political Spending Transparency
Many companies are facing increased scrutiny from shareholders, the media, and customers about perceived misalignment between corporate values, political spending, and lobbying activities. AT&T has shown leadership by committing to greater transparency of its political activities for the benefit of all stakeholders, as part of a shareholder resolution withdrawal agreement with As You Sow. The company will publicly disclose aggregated metrics on the extent to which its political contributions align with its stated goals and priorities.
“It is important that shareholders see the congruence between corporate goals and how capital is spent. Political spending should be no different than any capital expenditure, an ROI is critical to see if the expenditure resulted in impact aligned with corporate priorities,” said As You Sow’s CEO, Andrew Behar.
Investors have been asking companies to show they are strategically managing the complexity and risks of being involved in the political process.
[Image alt text: Rock Your Prox image] < [link removed] >
If you own stock directly, now you can vote ALL your proxies ESG-aligned, easily, at no cost!
We are thrilled to introduce As You Vote, an ESG-aligned proxy voting tool for individual shareholders. This no-cost, set-and-forget service lets anyone who owns shares in publicly traded companies vote all their proxies aligned with justice and sustainability. Registration takes under two minutes. Make your voice heard and sign up today!
Approximately 25% of all public equities are held by individual investors who typically do not vote. That’s more than the total ownership of BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street combined! If you have proxy statements piling up your inbox, As You Vote is for you. You can influence decisions on board directors, climate policy, racial justice, executive compensation, and more. You can be part of the over $10 billion of assets currently being voted in alignment with the As You Vote guidelines. Your vote can make the difference to bring us all into a world based on justice.
- For more information, visit AsYouVote.org < [link removed] >
- To sign up, visit iconikapp.com/as-you-sow < [link removed] >
Now, anyone who owns stock directly can participate in shareholder democracy and impact corporate policy on critical issues.Awareness and active participation from shareholders are trends that are growing stronger as people see the need to compel corporate change directly. We’re gaining momentum and attention, with our CEO Andrew Behar and As You Sow featured as one of “The Purposeful 50 < [link removed] > ,” a list highlighting true changemakers in the areas that matter most.
Your voice is being heard. Every day, your votes, your donations, your work, and your choices are making a difference for us all. We’re honored to be here with you. Thank you!
Here’s to our future, [Image alt text: Photo of Jenna Belisle] Jenna L. Belisle
Director of Individual Giving
Donate < [link removed] >
P.S. See your impact in action in this short video: [Image alt text: As You Sow Video Screenshot] < [link removed] > As You Sow’s 30+ year track record promoting corporate responsibility spans a broad range of the most important environmental and social issues facing corporations, investors, and citizens today, including climate change, ocean plastics, pesticides, racial justice, workplace diversity, and executive compensation. Click here to donate. < [link removed] > < [link removed] > < [link removed] >
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[Image alt text: Charity Navigator Four Star emblem and Candid Platinum emblem]DISCLAIMER: As You Sow is not an investment advisor, nor do we provide financial planning, legal or tax advice.The content of our programming, publications and presentations is provided for informational and educational purposes only, and should not be considered as information sufficient upon which to base any decisions on investing, purchases, sales, trades, or any other investment transactions. We do not express an opinion on the future or expected value of any security or other interest and do not explicitly or implicitly recommend or suggest an investment strategy of any kind.
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