As You Sow
The nation’s leading non-profit shareholder advocate, with a 30-year track record of changing corporations for good
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Dear John,

We are over the moon to announce that Fast Company has again chosen As You Sow as one of their Most Innovative not-for-profit organizations for 2022. This time it applauds our Racial Justice Initiative for “putting data behind corporate racial justice pledges.” They cite our Racial Justice Scorecard (www.asyousow.org/our-work/social-justice/racial-justice/data-visualization), now expanded to include all S&P500 and Russell 1000 companies. Read on for details on one of the first wins for this new initiative as well as early results from 2022 engagements --

Dominion Follows Duke in Expanding Net Zero Goals
When we shared Duke Energy’s game-changing GHG reduction commitment with you last month, we noted it would enable us to increase pressure on the other utilities we are engaging. We can now share that Dominion Energy has followed Dukes’ lead! Dominion is expanding its net zero GHG reduction targets to include emissions from its gas business sales to customers, methane emissions from the production of natural gas and coal, and emissions from the power it purchases for its customers. Emissions from these three sources account for over 40% of its overall disclosed emissions. This sets a new high bar for climate ambition in the power and gas utility sector.

“This is a huge leadership move from Dominion,” said Daniel Stewart, energy & climate program manager at As You Sow.

Dominion’s and Duke’s commitments came in the wake of our ongoing engagement with the companies, and enabled us to withdraw our resolutions ([link removed]) at both companies ([link removed]) .


Big Progress on Plastics!
Coke pledges refillable bottles, Kraft Heinz promises absolute cuts in virgin plastic use
Coca-Cola is pledging to sell 25% of beverages in refillables by 2030, an industry-leading goal set in response to our shareholder resolution. We are pleased to see the company increase its commitment to reusable bottles as a proven method to reduce single-use plastic waste and promote a circular economy for packaging,” said Conrad MacKerron, senior vice president at As You Sow. Nearly half of Coke’s packaging consists of single-use plastic bottles, generating 3 million tons of plastic packaging annually, the equivalent 200,000 bottles per minute.

Kraft Heinz, the 3rd-largest food and beverage company in North America, agreed to set a reduction goal for its virgin plastic use, continuing a steady stream of major U.S. brands and retailers who made similar agreements following engagement with As You Sow. Its substantial commitment includes potential for packaging redesign and innovative reuse models and follows Keurig Dr Pepper, Mondelez Int’l, Pepsi, Target, and Walmart. Together, those five companies’ commitments are expected to total a permanent reduction in plastic use of more than 700,000 tons.

We will continue to press laggard global brands to implement circular economy measures and slash single-use plastic packaging, and we’ll be following up with brands to make sure they’re following through on their commitments.


First Climate Justice Resolution Filed in Concert with Front Line Community
Kinder Morgan scored in the bottom ten of the S&P500 on As You Sow’s Racial Justice Scorecard. The low score is partially due to a poor track-record on environmental racism and climate justice. Emissions from multiple Kinder Morgan facilities have impacted underrepresented adjacent communities, causing public health concerns. With our scorecard daylighting these toxic outcomes, we’re already beginning to see results.

After filing a shareholder resolution asking Kinder Morgan for a public report quantifying emissions released from its facilities that impact local communities and describing how the company intends to address and reduce such community impacts, the company agreed to create a corporate webpage promoting community engagement and contact in similar situations, and to conduct ongoing meetings with Dutchtown, St. Louis, MO community representatives to address local environmental justice concerns.

As You Sow now is leading the discussion on including environmental justice when addressing racial equity in the corporate world. Together with our DEI scorecard ([link removed]), our Racial Justice scorecard ([link removed]) is fast becoming the standard that companies use to measure their internal and external actions on racial justice, and a reputable and useful resource for corporate stakeholders.

Shareholder participation is growing. We believe the new level of active participation from shareholders and communities is a trend that will continue to grow stronger as people increasingly understand their power to create the future. Our 30-year track record creating shareholder impact travels hand-in-hand with your trust, support, and partnership. Thank you

Yours for a sustainable and just future,

Namita

P.S. With all that’s going on in the world right now, remember you can find out what’s in your mutual funds and 401 (k) investments, and make sure your portfolio is supporting what you believe. Weapon Free Funds ([link removed]) and Fossil Free Funds ([link removed]) might be of particular interest now.

As You Sow’s 30-year track record promoting environmental and social corporate responsibility and facilitating values-aligned investing spans many of the most important environmental and social issues facing us today, including climate change, ocean plastics, pesticides, racial justice, workplace diversity, and executive compensation. To donate to As You Sow, visit our website at www.asyousow.org/donate ​​​​​

DONATE TODAY
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As You Sow

Address:
2020 Milvia St
Suite 500
Berkeley, CA 94704

Mailing address:
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PO Box 751
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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