Proxy Power: Shareholder Successes on Climate, Energy & Sustainability

This report from Ceres tracks how more than 230 shareholder resolutions over the last three years have influenced company commitments to energy, climate and sustainability issues.

Among the notable examples from the report:

• When As You Sow filed a resolution in 2009 targeting Idaho-based energy company Idacorp’s sustainability commitments, the resolution got 52 percent approval from shareholders, and resulted in a commitment from the company to reduce their emissions by 10 to 15 percent by 2013, as well as the launch of its first wind-energy projects and research into solar generation.

• Through shareholder resolutions across a range of companies, investors convinced Hershey and General Mills to commit to sourcing 100 percent certified sustainable palm oil, and Avon to purchase certified sustainable palm oil offsets. Ceres president Mindy Lubber wrote about the commitments for GreenBiz back in 2010.

• Ceres investors targeted KB Homes, one of the nation’s largest home builders, to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Between 2006 and 2010, the company raised the efficiency of new homes by about 15 percent over 2004 models, with 90 percent of its 2010 homes earning Energy Star certification.