As You Sow

"Policies that muzzle shareholders are replacing the voice of capital with a regime of corporate executives free to satisfy their own myopic interests at their shareholders’ expense, subject only to politicians and judges, who can channel investors’ capital to satisfy whomever the political winds favor. This will not end well – for either financial markets or the global society that relies on those markets."  Thanks to Proxy Impact and As You Sow for including my article in the 2025 Proxy Preview, which is full of important content. https://lnkd.in/eshZyNTT

⌛ This Wednesday: join Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) for the webinar: "Aligning Proxy Voting with Values." The webinar invites panelists from within the ICCR community to share their experiences on how they work to align proxy votes with their investor values. Speakers include Tim Smith of ICCR, Laura Krausa of CommonSpirit Health, Lucas Schoeppner of Wespath Benefits and Investments, and Andrew Behar of As You Sow. Date and time: April 16, from 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM ET Register here for the webinar: https://loom.ly/x20IjQ4

What do Apple, Disney, and Costco have in common? They're all global giants — and when it comes to human capital and leadership, they stand by the business case for creating a workplace that attracts and retains top talent, even amid significant political pressure.   According to Q4 2024 data from #AsYouKnow, a curated dataset of 3,000+ US-listed companies:   The Walt Disney Company stands out as a leader, ranking 5th overall in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) and in the top quartile in racial justice.    Apple shows good performance in both areas, ranking in the top quartile in DEI and RJ.    Costco Wholesale closely matches Apple, with a similar leadership profile.   💼 Why does this matter to investors? Because in today’s climate of tariffs, public scrutiny, and supply chain fragility, companies that align social equity with operational resilience are better positioned to weather storms.   🔍 Our data helps institutional investors:   - Benchmark social risk across sectors - Anticipate reputational headwinds - Identify resilience in a sea of volatility   📥 Want to explore the latest update to the data?   These insights are based on Q4 2024 data across 3,000+ companies. Contact us to see how the landscape is shifting in Q1 2025.   📧 DM or email to data@asyouknow.com to learn more.

The latest book by Helle Bank Jørgensen, GCB.D, NACD.DC, the Founder and CEO of Competent Boards, is already earning praise from global leaders around the world! “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘱𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨-𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘻𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 – 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥!” - Andrew Behar: CEO of As You Sow; Author of Shareholder Action Guide Thank you for your kind words Andrew Behar! 💡 Learn more about the book here: https://lnkd.in/e_8AsaMy #CompetentBoardsMovement #TheFutureBoardroom #Sustainability #CorporateGovernance #BoardGovernance

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has rejected Travelers' attempt to exclude a climate risk shareholder proposal from its AGM on the basis of “micromanagement.” The filer, As You Sow, requests that Travelers discloses the expected impact of its climate-related pricing and coverage decisions making the case that increasing premiums and cancellations could impact the size of the company's customer base. In other words, Travelers’ response to climate-related losses material to the value of the company. 📈 Travelers saw its catastrophe losses jump from $1.85 billion in 2021 to $2.99 billion in 2023. Like other insurers, the company has reacted to the climate-driven insurance crisis by hiking premiums and withdrawing coverage in high-risk areas. In 2023, Travelers had a record-setting average renewal premium increase of 19.8%. The SEC’s decision underscores the significance of addressing climate risk to the long-term business model of insurers. Find out more 👇 https://lnkd.in/e4djQ94X #Insurance #InsuranceNews #InsureOurFuture

🌱 🌁 SF CLIMATE WEEK FOLKS, let the countdown begin! Our event is live. 🎤Panelists include popular keynote speaker Andrew Behar of As You Sow, corporate sustainability innovator and former Head of ESG for Asana Sean McPhillips, Grant Harrison of industry-leading content Trellis Group (formerly GreenBiz), and our own Founder & CEO Scott Ryan for Investature, amongst others. 🌁Don’t miss out on this high-level discussion. *Note the location change to 9Zero Climate Innovation Hub, 350 California St (off Sansome), 4th floor, SF 💚 If you're the head of sustainability or a people leader, you won't want to miss this OR into #FinTech and want to investigate sustainability, please feel free to share this post with those who may benefit from the content, including impact investors, and be sure to register to ensure building entry. 📆Find details here on how to register 👉 https://lnkd.in/gHA7dh_P #SanFrancisco #SFCW25 #CSO #CHRO #Sustainability #Scope3 #FinancedEmissions Evan Hynes Jesse Hynes Morgan Campbell Climatebase SF Climate Week

The SEC's mid-season rule changes are making it harder to hold firms accountable, warns As You Sow president and chief counsel Danielle Fugere.   Speaking with Mona Dohle on the Net Zero Investor podcast, she highlighted several key concerns. https://lnkd.in/dtzKpBW7

SEC's rule changes have made it more difficult to hold firms accountable for their climate resolutions, warns Danielle Fugere of As You Sow. Big oil is doubling down on fossil fuels; do shareholders now need to accelerate their stewardship efforts? Rohan Bowater of Accela Research argues this. China issue's its inaugural sovereign green bond worth over $830m, aiming to increasing energy transition financing (Wenhong Xie, Climate Bonds Initiative) The London Pensions Fund Authority commits £250m to a new climate vehicle managed by Local Pensions Partnership Investments (Joanne Donnelly, Helena Threlfall, CFA) 

𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘅𝘆 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝘂𝗼𝗽𝗼𝗹𝘆 The importance of proxy voting continues to grow, particularly in light of increasing shareholder investment in mutual funds, both actively and passively managed, in the US and the EU. A key issue is the influence of proxy advisory firms, which guide institutional investors’ voting decisions. ⚠️ These firms have a significant impact on corporate governance, with Glass Lewis and ISS dominating the global market and essentially forming a duopoly. In addition, a significant gap has emerged between the pioneers of sustainable investing and the services available to them from proxy service providers, which often have unambitious policies on ESG issues 🌱 . ➡️ To address this, SfC is organising a series of webinars with alternative proxy advisors. In 2024, we held two webinars with tumelo and Ethos Services, the operational arm of Swiss SfC member Ethos Foundation (Switzerland), which also offers proxy voting services. Last week, we hosted a webinar with As You Sow. Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, and Alex Thaler, CEO of iconik, walked us through their proxy voting service As You Vote, an impactful tool for investors with a strong ESG focus. For example, in 2022 they voted 🔸Against 80% of CEO-pay packages and the compensation committee 🔸Against 80% of board directors 🔸For 100% of pro-ESG resolutions 🔸Against 100% of anti-ESG resolutions This is certainly a good starting point for making a difference at the AGMs of investee companies. cric – Corporate Responsibility Interface Center e. V. De Vereniging van Beleggers voor Duurzame Ontwikkeling (VBDO) Giulia Romano Rachael Monteiro Etica Funds Friends Provident Foundation EB – Sustainable Investment Management (EB-SIM) Alternative Bank Schweiz Sanso Longchamp AM Forma Futura Invest AG ÖKOWORLD Aldo Bonati Cristina Colombo Charlie Crossley Matthias Narr Alexander Roost Dennis Roitsch Cornelius Erschens, CESGA Yaël Le Solliec Manuel Wirth

Now more than ever, shareholders can reject false narratives, stand firm in our free-market principles, and make good business decisions based on data – not politics. As Andrew Behar argues in his Publisher’s Letter for the newly released Proxy Preview 2025, our path forward is clear: Innovate, adapt, engage, and remain united. Read the full letter and find a link to the webinar we’ll be hosting today at 1 ET: https://lnkd.in/egxxWcGq