Dear John,
We thought you might enjoy some real-life stories about the corporate engagements that are delivering real change – because make no mistake, together we can move mountains. Together, we are creating real change at the corporations that dominate the world’s top economic entities.
If these stories whet your appetite, we invite you to check out the full Shareholder Impact Review on our website. Enjoy these mission moments as your successes. It’s your support that makes it possible. | | | | |
CITI
REPORT ON CLIMATE TRANSITION PLANNING
Many banks have established Net Zero by 2050 greenhouse gas emission reduction goals and midterm targets for financing activities in their highest emitting sectors. |
| | | Yet, despite investor demand for clear disclosure of transition plans, banks have not provided shareholders with sufficient information to determine whether they are on track to meet their midterm goals or making adequate progress toward their 2050 goals. As a result of our engagement, Citi has taken a significant step to increase transparency by disclosing to investors the percentage of its clients in the energy sector that are not aligned with the company’s 2030 targets. | |
| | | | | HORMEL FOODS
PRODUCER RESPONSIBILITY FOR PLASTIC PACKAGING | | | | Corporations could face an annual financial risk of approximately $100 billion should governments require them to cover the waste management costs of the packaging they produce. We withdrew our 2024 resolution with Hormel in exchange for several new commitments that will promote a
circular economy for packaging. Hormel set new goals to reduce packaging use and will publish a report exploring opportunities to increase its actions toward ensuring sustainable collection of packaging at end of life. | | | | | | |
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J.M. SMUCKER
REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE AND CLIMATE GOALS
| | | | Industrial agriculture’s reliance on conventional farming practices – including monocropping, tillage, and substantial synthetic pesticide and
fertilizer use – demonstrably contributes to harming human health, the environment, the climate, soil fertility, and resilience of the nation’s food supply. Our shareholder resolution with J.M. Smucker requested an assessment and report on the benefits of adopting regenerative agriculture practices across its supply chain. After years of engaging the company on pesticide use, we reached a withdrawal agreement focusing on increased disclosure. This is the first resolution of its kind, marking an important step toward broader shareholder support of regenerative agriculture programs that reduce pesticide use. | | | | |
| | LULULEMON
APPAREL CIRCULARITY AND MICROPLASTICS
Synthetic plastic fibers comprise 63% of global fiber production, equal to 80 million tons. | | | | During production and wear, small synthetic fibers called plastic microfibers shed from garments. As a result, an estimated 200,000 to 500,000 total tons of plastic
microfibers from textiles enter the world’s oceans annually. In our first year of engagement on plastic microfibers, we filed with Lululemon to further explore the implications of plastic microfiber shedding into waterways. After dialogue with the company, we withdrew the resolution in exchange for actions to prevent microfiber shedding, including pre-competitive industry collaboration on the problem, reporting on product shedding and solutions, and research into setting a new microfiber shedding reduction goal. | | | | | | | PEPSI
IMPACT OF REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH POLICIES
In states with restrictive abortion laws, there has been a steady reduction in obstetrics and gynecology providers, women’s health services, and medical residents, regardless of specialization. | | | | We asked that Pepsi respond to this broad public health crisis and develop strategies that create health benefit equity for employees, to help ensure that all company employees, regardless of their geographic location, can access similar quality healthcare
benefits. Pepsi agreed to publish explanatory information on its website regarding the healthcare benefits it offers employees under its U.S. national, self-funded medical plans. | | | | | | |
| | SPROUTS FARMERS MARKET
DISCLOSURE OF KEY DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION METRICS | | | In November 2023, we released a groundbreaking report, Capturing the Diversity Benefit: Workforce Diversity Linked to Financial Performance, finding a statistically significant correlation linking workplace diversity and higher levels of BIPOC management to increased performance across eight financial measures. With this finding in mind, we ask companies to release hiring, promotion, and retention rates for diverse employees (gender globally, race and ethnicity within the U.S.). Sprouts committed to begin to release this content, providing key information for investor decision making.
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| | | | | YUM! BRANDS (Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut, Habit Burger & Grill)
TRANSITION TO REUSABLE PACKAGING | | | | Improved recycling alone is insufficient to address plastic pollution. Without immediate and sustained new commitments
throughout the plastics value chain, annual flows of plastics into oceans could nearly triple by 2040. Recycling must be coupled with reductions in use, materials redesign, and substitution. The most viable solution from the environmental, economic, and social perspectives is plastic use reduction; fortunately, at least one-third of plastic use can be reduced. We withdrew our shareholder resolution with YUM! in exchange for its commitment to produce a report by next year analyzing opportunities for the company to reduce single-use plastics by introducing permanent, reusable packaging operations. This is the same agreement we reached with YUM! competitor McDonald’s last year. | | |
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BECAUSE OF YOU
These stories demonstrate just how much impact you’re having, and how critical it is to keep the pressure on corporations. Shareholder advocacy has been a valuable tool for decades, but today its importance is being catapulted into the mainstream.
The incredible
might that shareholder advocacy showed in 2024 was all made possible by people like you. Your support today is your voice, calling for corporate responsibility to create a livable future. Only you can ensure that this work continues full force into the new year. It’s time to meet the moment.
Please stand with us today for a safe, just, and sustainable world for all. |
| | | | THANK YOU!
For the future, | | | | | | | | As You Sow is the nation’s leading shareholder representative, with a 30+ year track record promoting environmental and social corporate responsibility and advancing values-aligned investing. Its issue areas include climate change, ocean plastics, toxins in the food system, biodiversity loss, racial injustice, lack of workplace diversity, and excessive executive compensation. See As You Sow’s shareholder resolution tracker. | | | As You Sow
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Berkeley, CA 94701 | | | | 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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