When foundations and wealthy individuals launched their Rapid Response-Able Fund (RRAF) in spring 2020, commentators sneered at the “save the world” motivation while others said it would distract attention from the political changes that were needed. But at $10bn (€9bn), with plans to scale quickly to $100bn, interest in corporate boardrooms snowballed. RRAF would target…
Tag: esg
P&G Urged to Do More for the Environment
David Taylor, CEO of Procter & Gamble (P&G) was told the company profited from a “wasteful, globally-harmful” practice — turning trees from the world’s largest, most carbon-rich intact forest into throwaway tissue products — in a letter signed by leaders of more than 115 environmental, conservation, consumer and student groups in the U.S. and Canada….
Private Prisons Now Face 87.4% Financing Gap as Banks Continue to Flee Industry – Eyes on the Ties
As of August 2019, eight banks – JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, SunTrust, BNP Paribas, Fifth Third Bancorp, Barclays, and PNC – have publicly committed to ending their future financing relationships with the private prison industry, including CoreCivic and GEO Group. Together these eight banks represent an estimated $2.35 billion – or 87.4%…
Toward Fair and Sustainable Capitalism: A Comprehensive Proposal to Help American Workers, Restore Fair Gainsharing Between Employees and Shareholders, and Increase American Competitiveness by Reorienting Our Corporate Governance System Toward Sustainable Long-Term Growth and Encouraging Investments in America’s Future by Leo E. Strine Jr.
One of the most thoughtful and knowledgable observers of American corporate governance, Delaware Chief Justice Leo Strine, Jr., believes that companies and our economy will only be robust and vibrant if investors and boards make sure to align the incentives of top executives with ESG goals. He proposes better disclosure and giving employees more power…
UC to dump fossil fuels holdings in pension and endowment funds worth $83 billion – The San Diego Union-Tribune
Generally, we support engagement over divestment. But we believe that the trustees can justify this decision in terms of financial risk and return. Top financial officials with the University of California announced Tuesday morning in an opinion article in the Los Angeles Times that the school system plans to undertake a major divestment from fossil…
Investment Giants BlackRock and Vanguard Fail to Live Up to Climate Commitments by Voting Against Shareholder Resolutions — As You Sow
Corporate governance nonprofit Majority Action released today its report analyzing asset managers’ 2019 voting records on climate-related shareholder proposals and CEO pay at energy and utility companies. The report finds that influential firms like BlackRock and Vanguard repeatedly voted with corporate management in opposing climate risk mitigation proposals. In fact, BlackRock and Vanguard voted against…
So who in sustainable finance is going on climate strike this Friday? RI looks at who is downing tools for the environment. – Responsible Investor
Starting this week from September 20-27 students around the world are taking to the streets to demand more effective climate action – and they want the adults to join them. Unions and NGOs are pledging to bolster the numbers. But there’s one sector that’s notably absent: finance….What’s behind the reluctance? Preventable Surprises’ Raj Thamotheram says…
On Governance: 2019 Proxy Season was Huge for E&S Proposals
From the Conference Board: For the third year in a row, environmental and social (E&S) proposals are most of all shareholder proposals filed (political spending resolutions have increased in advance of the 2020 presidential elections). Voluntary withdrawals of shareholder proposals have been increasing and in 2019 close to half of E&S proposals were withdrawn after…
Big US sustainable funds fail to support ESG shareholder proposals | Financial Times
Big US fund managers that have promoted their credentials in tackling sustainability issues have done little to support environmental and social shareholder proposals, their voting records reveal. During the 2019 shareholder voting season, funds labelled by BlackRock, JPMorgan Asset Management and Vanguard as sustainable frequently sided with a company’s management and against shareholder proposals on…
A Reminder for CEOs Considering a Shift in Focus: Shareholders Are Still King – WSJ
VEA Vice Chair Nell Minow is quoted by John Stoll in this WSJ article about the BRT’s new “stakeholder” statement. Now, even as investor interests are increasingly cast as the root of many social problems, I offer this word of encouragement to shareholders: You may be unpopular, but you are still king. How do I…
