SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
For Immediate Release
September, 17 2019, 12:00am EDT
Contact:
Stefanie Spear, sspear@asyousow.org, 216-387-1609
Investment Giants BlackRock and Vanguard Fail to Live Up to Climate Commitments by Voting Against Shareholder Resolutions
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA
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 every proposal supported by the Climate Action 100+, an investor coalition with $34 trillion assets under management; in 16 cases the asset managers' support would have led to majority votes. Instead, the report states, "BlackRock and Vanguard chose to shield management from accountability, serving as a blockade for global investor action on climate."
In contrast, the report noted Legal & General, BNP Paribas, and PIMCO supported more than 95 percent of the shareholder proposals analyzed in this study, as did DWS Group, voting in favor of improved emissions disclosures and reduction plans, transparency regarding corporate political influence activity, and governance reforms to improve accountability to long-term shareholders. In addition, Legal & General Investment Management, BNP Paribas Asset Management, PIMCO, and Standard Life Aberdeen had the highest rate of voting against management proposed director candidates and say on pay proposals in the oil and gas and utility industries. These large asset managers are choosing to set and enforce policies to hold corporate boards accountable if climate-related concerns are not adequately addressed.
Danielle Fugere, president of As You Sow, made the following statement:
"This year we saw many shareholder proposals encouraging companies to take action to mitigate the material climate risks facing their companies and the global economy. By voting against such proposals, BlackRock and Vanguard are demonstrating a profound inconsistency with their own stated purpose, while also jeopardizing shareholder value. There is little time left to change the trajectory of a warming globe, yet these firms are abdicating the power of their proxy vote to help protect the climate, the economy, and investor portfolios from systemic climate risks."
Lila Holzman, energy program manager of As You Sow, made the following statement:
"Transparency is key to investors' ability to assess climate-related risks. While firms like BlackRock and Vanguard have acknowledged climate change risks, they counterproductively vote against proposals that ask for enhanced disclosure and action and fail to transparently explain why. This exposes their clients to even greater risks."
Rosanna Landis Weaver, executive compensation program manager of As You Sow, made the following statement:
"BlackRock and Vanguard voted for 99 percent of U.S. energy and utility companies' proposed directors and 100 percent of their pay packages rewarding CEOs of companies that have underperformed the S&P500 for the past decade. Shareholders should be particularly focused on what behavior is incentivized in this industry, and whether compensation aligns executives' long-term interests with those shareholders."
Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, made the following statement:
"We are pleased to see some of the large asset managers, including BNP Paribas, Legal & General, DWS, and PIMCO, taking climate change seriously by supporting these resolutions. This sends a strong message that shareholders see business as usual by the energy sector no longer acceptable and negatively impacting the entire economy."
For more information on As You Sow's work on climate change, click here.
As You Sow is the nation's non-profit leader in shareholder advocacy. Founded in 1992, we harness shareholder power to create lasting change that benefits people, planet, and profit. Our mission is to promote environmental and social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy, coalition building, and innovative legal strategies.
LATEST NEWS
'An Absolute Disgrace': Trump Abruptly Fires Librarian of Congress
"Her dismissal is not just an affront to her historic service but a direct attack on the independence of one of our most revered institutions," said Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro.
May 09, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump sparked widespread outrage Thursday by abruptly firing Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden with a two-sentence email sent by the White House's deputy director of presidential personnel.
According to her bio, Hayden was the first woman and first African American to lead the national library, which is the largest in the world and home to more than 178 million items—from books to photographs to primary historical documents.
Hayden was also the first professional librarian appointed to the role in decades, The Washington Postnoted. She was nominated for a 10-year term in 2016 by then-President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate with bipartisan support.
Her sudden termination was met with fury, with education advocates, civil rights campaigners, and Democratic lawmakers condemning the firing as yet another Trump administration attack on a cherished public institution.
"This is an absolute disgrace," civil rights attorney Sherrilyn Ifill wrote in response to the news. "Dr. Hayden is a consummate professional, career librarian, and public servant. I cannot think of anyone in the Trump administration who is fit to address the Librarian of Congress in this way."
"This move undermines the foundational principles of our democracy and erodes public trust in our institutions."
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) said in a scathing statement that "this is yet another example in the disturbing pattern of the President removing dedicated public servants without cause—likely to fill the position with one of his 'friends' who is not qualified and does not care about protecting America's legacy."
"Dr. Hayden's tenure has been marked by a steadfast commitment to accessibility, modernization, and the democratization of knowledge," said DeLauro. "Her dismissal is not just an affront to her historic service but a direct attack on the independence of one of our most revered institutions."
"This move undermines the foundational principles of our democracy and erodes public trust in our institutions," DeLauro added. "The Trump administration must provide a transparent explanation for this decision. I urge my colleagues in Congress—especially the Republicans who benefited from Dr. Hayden's work—to stand united in defending the integrity of the Library of Congress."
Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.), the top Democrat on the House panel that oversees the Library of Congress, called Hayden "an American hero" who "has spent her entire career serving people—from helping kids learn to read to protecting some of our nation's most precious treasures."
"President Trump's ignorant decision will impact America's libraries, our copyrighted economic interests, and service to the American people by threatening support for Congress. His decision is a complete disgrace," added Morelle, who vowed to introduce legislation guaranteeing that the Librarian of Congress is appointed by lawmakers, not the president.
Trump fired Hayden hours after the right-wing American Accountability Foundation urged the president to terminate her, claiming she is "woke" and "anti-Trump." The group celebrated her termination in a post on X late Thursday.
Keep ReadingShow Less
'Civilized People Do Not Starve Children to Death': Sanders Rips Israel's Gaza Aid Blockade
"What we are seeing now is a slow, brutal process of mass starvation and death by the denial of basic necessities," the senator said, calling for an end to U.S. complicity in the humanitarian disaster.
May 08, 2025
"Today marks 68 days and counting since ANY humanitarian aid was allowed into Gaza. For more than nine weeks, Israel has blocked all supplies: no food, no water, no medicine, and no fuel."
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) not only highlighted those conditions in a speech on the Senate floor Thursday but also called out the fact that the worsening humanitarian crisis "gets very little discussion here in the nation's capital or in the halls of Congress," even though Israel has spent the past 19 months destroying Gaza with armed and diplomatic support from the United States.
"Hundreds of truckloads of lifesaving supplies are waiting to enter Gaza, sitting just across the border, but are denied entry by Israeli authorities," Sanders pointed out, echoing the U.S. nonprofit World Central Kitchen, which said Wednesday that it "no longer has the supplies to cook meals or bake bread," but "our trucks—loaded with food and supplies—are waiting in Egypt, Jordan, and Israel, ready to enter Gaza."
The senator took aim at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Palestinian territory, and key members of his administration.
"There is no ambiguity here: Netanyahu's extremist government talks openly about using humanitarian aid as a weapon," Sanders declared. "Defense Minister Israel Katz said, 'Israel's policy is clear: No humanitarian aid will enter Gaza, and blocking this aid is one of the main pressure levers.'"
"The time is long overdue for us to end our support for Netanyahu's destruction of the Palestinian people."
Noting that Israel's actions run afoul of U.S. and international law, Sanders said: "Starving children to death as a weapon of war is a clear violation of the Geneva Convention, the Foreign Assistance Act, and basic human decency. Civilized people do not starve children to death. What is going on in Gaza is a war crime, committed openly and in broad daylight, and continuing every single day."
Since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the Israeli assault on Gaza has killed more than 52,000 Palestinians. According to local officials, at least 57 Palestinians have died from malnutrition and a lack of adequate medical care. Many more are struggling to find food and water, particularly since Israel ramped up its blockade on March 2.
"With Israel having cut off all aid, what we are seeing now is a slow, brutal process of mass starvation and death by the denial of basic necessities. This is methodical, it is intentional, it is the stated policy of the Netanyahu government," said Sanders. "Without fuel, there is no ability to pump fresh water, leaving people increasingly desperate, unable to find clean water to drink, or wash with, or cook properly. Disease is once again spreading in Gaza."
Families in Gaza "are now surviving on scarce canned goods," and "the starvation hits children hardest," the senator continued. "With no infant formula, and with malnourished mothers unable to breastfeed, many infants are also at severe risk of death."
"What is going on in Gaza today is a manmade nightmare," one that "will be a permanent stain on the world's collective conscience," he said. "History will never forget that we allowed this to happen and, for us here in the United States, that we, in fact, enabled this ongoing atrocity."
Sanders has moved to block some U.S. weapons sales under both the Biden and second Trump administrations, but his efforts have not garnered enough support in Congress to succeed. Still, people across the United States and around the world have condemned the Israeli assault on Gaza as genocide—and Israel faces a case on the subject at the International Court of Justice.
The senator spotlighted Israel's latest plan for Gaza, Operation Gideon's Chariots, which involves "conquering" and indefinitely occupying the territory, and ethnically cleansing the region of its Palestinian inhabitants, who would be force into the south.
"This would be a terrible tragedy, no matter where in the world it was happening or why it was happening—whatever the causes of it might be. But what makes this tragedy so much worse for us in America is that it is our government, the United States government, that is absolutely complicit in creating and sustaining this humanitarian disaster," he said.
"It didn't just happen," Sanders emphasized. "Last year alone, the United States provided $18 billion in military aid to Israel. This year, the Trump administration has approved $12 billion more in bombs and weapons."
For months, U.S. President Donald Trump "has offered blanket support for Netanyahu," the senator said. "More than that, he has repeatedly said that the United States will actually take over Gaza after the war, that the Palestinian people will be driven—forcibly expelled—from their homeland, and the United States will redevelop it into what Trump calls 'the Riviera of the Middle East,' a playground for billionaires."
Citing unnamed sources, Reutersreported Wednesday that "the United States and Israel have discussed the possibility of Washington leading a temporary post-war administration of Gaza," sparking global criticism and comparisons to the U.S. misadventures in Iraq in the early 2000s.
US, Israel discuss possible US-led administration for Gaza Yes, cause the American occupation in Iraq famously went really well www.reuters.com/world/middle...
[image or embed]
— Nick Cunningham (@nickcunningham.bsky.social) May 7, 2025 at 11:55 AM
"This war has killed or injured more than 170,000 people in Gaza. It has cost American taxpayers well over $20 billion in the last year. And right now, as we speak, thousands of children are starving to death," Sanders detailed. "And the U.S. president is actively encouraging the ethnic cleansing of over 2 million people."
"Given that reality, one might think that there would be a vigorous discussion right here in the Senate: Do we really want to spend billions of taxpayer dollars starving children in Gaza?" the senator bellowed. "You tell me why spending billions of dollars to support Netanyahu's war and starving children in Gaza is a good idea. I'd love to hear it."
Sanders then made the case that the U.S. Senate isn't having that debate "because we have a corrupt campaign finance system" that allows organizations like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee to set the agenda in Washington, D.C. He pointed to AIPAC and its super political action committee spending over $100 million in the latest election cycle.
"And the fact is that, if you are a member of Congress and you vote against Netanyahu's war in Gaza, AIPAC is there to punish you with millions of dollars in advertisements to see that you're defeated," he said. "Sadly, I must confess, that this political corruption works. Many of my colleagues will privately express their horror at Netanyahu's war crimes, but will do or say very little publicly about it."
"The time is long overdue for us to end our support for Netanyahu's destruction of the Palestinian people. We must not put another nickel into Netanyahu's war machine," he concluded. "We must demand an immediate cease-fire, a surge in humanitarian aid, the release of the hostages, and the rebuilding of Gaza—not for billionaires to enjoy their Riviera there, but rebuilding Gaza for the Palestinian people."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'Assault on Children': UNRWA Condemns Israeli Raids on East Jerusalem Schools
"Now, nearly 800 girls and boys—some as young as 6 years old—are left in shock and trauma."
May 08, 2025
Israeli occupation forces enforced a ban on the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees on Thursday by storming three schools in East Jerusalem, terrorizing children and staff as they shuttered the facilities and drawing condemnation from human rights defenders.
According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, heavily armed Israeli security forces raided the schools in the Shu'fat refugee camp in illegally occupied East Jerusalem, detaining one UNRWA employee and forcing around 550 children out of their classrooms as the invaders closed the facilities.
"As a result, UNRWA was forced to evacuate all children across the six schools it runs in East Jerusalem," UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said. "Now, nearly 800 girls and boys—some as young as 6 years old—are left in shock and trauma."
"Storming schools and forcing them shut is a blatant disregard of international law," Lazzarini added. "These schools are inviolable premises of the United Nations. By enforcing closure orders issued last month, the Israeli authorities are denying Palestinian children their basic right to learn. UNRWA schools must continue to be open to safeguard an entire generation of children."
The International Court of Justice—which is also weighing a genocide case against Israel over the U.S.-backed Gaza onslaught—is considering whether the Israeli government's ban on UNRWA violates international law.
Hundreds of UNRWA staffers and their relatives have been killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip since October 2023. Israel has bombed many UNRWA schools-turned-shelters in Gaza, including a Tuesday "double-tap" airstrike on school in the al-Bureij refugee camp that killed at least 30 of the more than 2,000 people sheltering there.
UNRWA officials also accuse Israeli forces of torturing kidnapped agency workers in a bid to elicit false confessions that they took part in the October 7, 2023 attack. UNRWA and much of the international community have condemned such allegations as baseless.
In the West Bank, which includes East Jerusalem, Israeli forces launched Operation Iron Wall in January. Israel says the invasion is targeting resistance fighters largely based in West Bank refugee camps. However, tens of thousands of people have been forcibly displaced by the offensive, which has killed numerous civilians.
According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 900 Palestinians including nearly 200 children have been killed by Israeli forces in the West Bank since October 2023. Attacks by Israeli settler-colonists, sometimes aided by Israeli troops, have also killed, wounded, displaced, and terrorized West Bank residents as Israel's far-right government forges ahead with plans to steal more land from Palestinians, ethnically cleanse them, and open the door to further Israeli colonization.
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular