POPULARITY
4 episodes with As You Sow
2 episodes with As You Sow
2 episodes with As You Sow
2 episodes with As You Sow
3 episodes with As You Sow
2 episodes with As You Sow
2 episodes with As You Sow
2 episodes with As You Sow
Proxy Season 2025: How Shareholders Are Making an Impact Amid Political Pushback At AIO Financial, we specialize in helping our clients align their investments with their values through socially responsible investing (SRI). We believe in the power of the individual investor—and there's no better example of that power than proxy season, when shareholders come together to hold corporations accountable. The 2025 Proxy Preview Report, developed by As You Sow, Proxy Impact, and Empower Venture Partners, underscores how shareholder advocacy remains one of the most powerful tools we have to influence corporate behavior—even in the face of increasing political and regulatory headwinds.
The Low-Carbon Stocks for Sustainable Investors includes Corporate Knights company rankings (by sustainable revenues), top natural food stocks, and more! By Ron Robins, MBA Transcript & Links, Episode 149, March 7, 2025 Hello, Ron Robins here. Welcome to my podcast episode 149, published March 7, 2025, titled “The Low-Carbon Stocks for Sustainable Investors.” It's presented by Investing for the Soul. Investingforthesoul.com is your site for vital global ethical and sustainable investing mentoring, news, commentary, information, and resources. Remember that you can find a full transcript and links to content – including stock symbols and bonus material – on this episode's podcast page at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts. Also, a reminder. I do not evaluate any of the stocks or funds mentioned in these podcasts, and I don't receive any compensation from anyone covered in these podcasts. Furthermore, I will reveal any investments I have in the investments mentioned herein. Additionally, quotes about individual companies are brief. Please go to this podcast's webpage for links to the articles and more company and stock information. ------------------------------------------------------------- The Low-Carbon Stocks for Sustainable Investors (1) I'm beginning this podcast with my just-released annual favorite sustainable company ranking: Corporate Knights 2025 Clean200 List. Here are some quotes from an article by CK staff introducing the 2025 ranking. “California-based shareholder advocates As You Sow and Corporate Knights (Canada) today released the new cohort of the Carbon Clean200, a global list of 200 publicly traded companies leading the sustainable clean energy economy… It shows sustainable companies on path to dominate global economy. Key findings include: The top 10 companies on the list by revenue include Apple (AAPL), Contemporary Amperex Technology (300750.SZ), Microsoft (MSFT), Tesla (TSLA), Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM) and Volkswagen (VOW3.DE). Thirty-five countries are represented in the Clean200, including the United States (41), China (21), Japan (18), Germany (14), and France and Canada (11 each). Clean200 companies earned more than $2.5 trillion in sustainable revenue in 2023 (the most recent year for which full-year results are available). Clean200 companies generated a total return of 190.9% on a sustainable-revenue-weighted basis, outperforming the MSCI ACWI index (162.0%) and the MSCI ACWI/Energy Index of fossil fuel companies (76.7%) on Total Return Gross – USD Basis from the Clean200 inception of July 1, 2016, to January 29, 2025. $10,000 invested in the Clean200 on July 1, 2016, would have grown to $29,090 by January 29, 2025, versus $17,670 for the MSCI ACWI/Energy benchmark for fossil fuel. The industrial sector accounts for 52 companies on the list, followed by information technology (32), and consumer discretionary and materials (29 each). IT companies had the highest total sustainable revenue, a cumulative total of more than US$687 billion. Background ‘It is telling that clean energy stocks generated more than double the returns of fossil fuel stocks since 2016, despite political headwinds, underlining that stock markets care more about economic materiality of the parabolic growth in clean energy than the political leanings of the day,' says Toby Heaps, CEO of Corporate Knights and co-author of the report. The Clean200 utilizes the Corporate Knights Sustainable Revenue database, which tracks the percentage of revenue companies earn from sustainable economy themes ranging from green power to electric vehicles to plant protein and smart buildings. The list excludes companies that are flagged on Corporate Knights' list of ‘red flag' companies and As You Sow's Invest Your Values suite of mutual-fund transparency tools that identify companies involved in fossil fuels, deforestation, the prison industrial complex, weapons and tobacco, as well as the exclusionary screens that form part of the Corporate Knights Global 100 methodology.” End quotes. ------------------------------------------------------------- The Low-Carbon Stocks for Sustainable Investors (2) The next article is about a sector that appeals to many ethical and sustainable investors. However, few invest in it directly. The article is titled 3 Natural Foods Stocks Positioned for Success in 2025. It's by Sumit Singh and is on zacks.com. Here are some quotes from the article. “Companies like The Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (HAIN) and Vital Farms, Inc. (VITL) are responding to the rising demand for organic, clean-label and ethically sourced foods… However, this article focuses on these 3 Natural Foods Stocks to Watch. Quote. 1. United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) stands as a prominent player in the natural foods sector, serving as one of the largest distributors of organic and natural products in North America. Through its extensive network, United Natural Foods supplies a vast array of products, including fresh produce, pantry staples, dairy alternatives and plant-based foods. With its diverse portfolio, the company caters to both retail giants and independent natural food stores… This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company is increasingly focusing on innovation and sustainability within the natural foods space. The company has committed to enhancing its supply-chain practices, reducing waste and supporting regenerative agriculture initiatives. United Natural Foods is also working closely with suppliers to accelerate food innovation. Through its supplier go-to-market program, the company has simplified the process of bringing new natural and organic products to store shelves. This initiative has enabled suppliers to reintroduce thousands of SKUs that were previously discontinued, expanding consumer access to diverse and healthier food options. 2. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (SFM) has been at the forefront of the natural and organic food movement, catering to health-conscious consumers seeking fresh, high-quality and ethically sourced products. The company's commitment to fresh, organic and attribute-driven products sets it apart. With nearly 46% of total produce sales now coming from organic products, Sprouts Farmers Market continues to expand its assortment, ensuring accessibility to high-quality, responsibly sourced food… This Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company continues to strengthen its connection with customers through tailored marketing and engagement efforts, such as social media campaigns and in-store discovery events like Sprouts Brand Discovery Days. These initiatives showcase the company's differentiated offerings while attracting a younger demographic and increasing foot traffic. 3. Beyond Meat, Inc. (BYND) is transforming plant-based food by using cleaner, healthier ingredients. The company's latest Beyond 4 products, including the Beyond Burger and Beyond Beef, are made from a blend of yellow peas, brown rice, red lentils and fava beans. These ingredients provide 21 grams of protein per serving while cutting saturated fat by 75% compared to traditional beef burgers, thanks to the use of avocado oil. This commitment to nutrition has earned recognition from the American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association, reinforcing Beyond Meat's focus on making plant-based options both tasty and healthy… This Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) company's commitment to food innovation extends beyond retail into food service partnerships. The reintroduction of Beyond The Original Orange Chicken at Panda Express and the expansion of Beyond Nuggets at McDonald's locations in Europe underscore its ability to integrate healthier, plant-based options into mainstream dining. At the same time, Beyond Meat is working to educate consumers on its clean-label approach, challenging misconceptions about plant-based food processing.” End quotes. ------------------------------------------------------------- The Low-Carbon Stocks for Sustainable Investors (3) This next article is by an analyst who frequently appears on this podcast: Matt DiLallo. He is also writing about one of his favourite stock picks. His article is titled This Infrastructure Stock Could Be the Best Investment of the Decade. It can be seen on fool.com. Now, here are some quotes by Mr. DiLallo on his recommendation. “Brookfield Infrastructure (BIPC) (BIP) has an embarrassment of riches. The leading global infrastructure company is capitalizing on not one but three massive global megatrends: decarbonization, deglobalization, and digitalization. Those catalysts help drive the company's view that the world needs to invest an astounding $100 trillion over the next 15 years to maintain, upgrade, and build infrastructure. Given its leadership in the sector, it could be one of the best investments over the next decade as it capitalizes on massive opportunities to invest in infrastructure. Multiple growth drivers Brookfield Infrastructure believes that a trio of organic drivers will grow its funds from operations (FFO) by 6% to 9% per share each year. They are: Inflation indexation: Brookfield's infrastructure businesses produce very stable cash flow backed by long-term contracts and government-regulated rate structures, many of which link rates to inflation. Those escalators should boost its funds from operations per share by 3% to 4% per year. GDP growth Reinvested cash flow: Brookfield pays out 60% to 70% of its stable cash flows via dividends. It retains the rest to fund high-return organic expansion projects, which should drive another 2%-3% (in) annual funds from operations per-share growth… A trio of value enhancers Brookfield Infrastructure's megatrend-powered catalysts position it to grow its earnings at a more than 10% annual rate for many years to come. On top of that, it pays a more than 4%-yielding dividend that should continue growing at a healthy rate. Those factors alone position the company to deliver total returns of around 15% per year. Meanwhile, there's additional upside potential from an expansion in its valuation multiple. This high total return potential could make Brookfield one of the best investments over the next decade, especially when factoring in its much lower risk profile.” End quotes. ------------------------------------------------------------- The Low-Carbon Stocks for Sustainable Investors (4) Now, my final article is by another analyst on fool.com. Her name is Robin Hartill, and the article is titled How to Buy Constellation Energy Stock (CEG). Here's some of what Ms. Hartill says of her pick. “Constellation Energy (CEG) is the largest provider of carbon-free energy in the U.S., supplying about 10% of the nation's zero-carbon electricity. The Baltimore-based company's nuclear, hydro, wind, and solar generation facilities power about 16 million homes in the U.S. The company was established in 1999 as a part of Constellation Energy Group but later merged with Exelon Group (EXC) in 2012. Constellation Energy then spun off to become its own publicly traded company in 2022, focusing primarily on nuclear and renewable energy. In January 2025, Constellation Energy announced plans to acquire Calpine, a privately held company that's the leading generator of electricity from natural gas and geothermal resources in the U.S., for a net purchase price of $26.6 billion. The merger will create the largest provider of clean energy in the U.S. Last year, the company also made headlines when it inked a deal with Microsoft (MSFT) to restart a Three Mile Island nuclear power plant and power its artificial intelligence (AI) data center. If you want to invest in the transition to clean energy, buying Constellation Energy stock could be a smart move… Is Constellation Energy stock profitable? Constellation Energy stock is profitable. The company reported generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) net income of $11.89 per share and adjusted operating earnings of $8.67 per share for fiscal 2024, easily beating the top end of its twice-revised guidance range of $8 to $8.40 per share. In the fourth quarter of 2024, it posted adjusted earnings per share of $2.44, well above the analyst consensus of $2.19. The company's Q4 and full-year earnings report contained several other pieces of good news for investors. Constellation Energy said it completed $1 billion worth of share repurchases in 2024 and grew its dividend by 25%. It also received a credit ratings upgrade from Moody's, which could make it cheaper for the company to borrow money for projects that will power its growth. Constellation Energy pays annual dividends of $1.41, which works out to a dividend yield of 0.44% based on its share price as of mid-February 2025. That may not be the kind of dividend yield that excites income investors, considering that many utility stocks have yields well north of 3%. But the stock could be worth snatching up if you're looking for dividend growth. Since becoming its own publicly traded company in 2022, Constellation Energy has increased its dividend every year. The company said in its 2024 annual report that it expects to hike its dividend by another 10% in 2025.” End quotes. ------------------------------------------------------------- Additional article links 1. Title: Lenovo Honored With Prestigious Corporate Governance on 3blmedia.com. By press release. 2. Title: TOV ETF: A Unique Blend Of Financial Growth And Ethical Investing on pradeshtak.com. By Ankit puri. One article from the UK Title: Two funds for investing in ‘most attractive' developed market on .ii.co.uk. By Morningstar. ------------------------------------------------------------- Ending Comment These are my top news stories with their stock and fund tips for this podcast. Please click the like and subscribe buttons wherever you download or listen to this podcast. That helps bring these podcasts to others like you. And please click the share buttons to share this podcast with your friends and family. Let's promote ethical and sustainable investing as a force for hope and prosperity in these troubled times! Contact me if you have any questions. Thank you for listening. I'll talk to you next on March 21st. Bye for now. © 2025 Ron Robins, Investing for the Soul
Story of the Week (DR):Trump signed an order ending DEI. Here's what it means for Fortune 500 companiesTrump's latest presidential moves mandate government agencies to specifically target companies in the private sector engaged in what it describes as “illegal DEI discrimination and preferences.”Despite the intended chilling effect of these executive moves, multiple legal sources point out that Trump's order and action do not constitute a change in the law. Rather, the language used in the order simply “enforces longstanding federal civil rights laws,” says Britney N.D. Torres, senior counsel at employment law firm Littler.Trump's executive moves just mean that companies will have to continue to carefully review their DEI-related policies, practices and initiatives based on longstanding anti-discrimination laws, and make sure they can't be interpreted in a way that is different from what they intended, she says.This week in Davos, Jamie Dimon reaffirmed JPMorgan's DEI commitments after the National Legal and Policy Center, a conservative nonprofit, proposed the bank revisit how compensation is tied to the company's racial-equity goal. “Bring them on,” said Dimon referring to the efforts from right-leaning groups. “We are going to continue to reach out to the Black community, the Hispanic community, the LGBT community, the veterans community.”Will this ever trickle down to JPM leadership?15 on Operating Committee: 1 POC (an Indian man–Sanoke Viswanathan, CEO of International Consumer and Wealth–who came from McKinsey); 7/15 F though so some credit dueBoard: nearly 50% F but a woeful -21% gender gap; no leadership positions on board or top 3 committees: only committees where women have power are Public Responsibility Committee and Risk Committee; 11 on board: 9 WM and 2 BFCan we stop pretending board and shareholder oversight is a thing? DRJPMorgan CEO Dimon's 2024 pay rises 8.3% to $39 million after record profitDisney CEO Bob Iger's Pay Package Rises 30% to $41.1 Million in 2024 Barclays proposes 45% increase in CEO pay under new bonus-linked scheme Goldman CEO gets big pay boost, and $80 million bonus for another five years at helmI promise I try not to pick Musk, but…‘The gesture speaks for itself': Germans respond to Musk's apparent Nazi saluteSome say it was an unambiguous Nazi salute but others are unsure and say focus should be on Musk's stated support for far-rightStarbucks lead independent director Mellody Hobson to step down Is this the only time in history a lead independent director was named in a headline or even mentioned at all?No more black people on board: no women in leadership positionsGoodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Trump has a message to CEOs: Build in America or pay upDR: This confusing headline: Voters who backed Trump identify new swamp to drain: corporate power“The pendulum has swung so far. Things have gotten so out of line. Companies ought to be able to police themselves and not hurt people, and it's just gotten way, way out of line. It's time that it swings back the other way.”DR: Trump's DOGE department is now down to just one leader after Vivek Ramaswamy steps downMM: Microsoft Signs Forest Restoration Deal to Remove 3.5 Million Tons of CO2 DR MMMM: Jamie Dimon is doubling down on JPMorgan's DEI work as a conservative group targets Wall Street: 'Bring them on'Jamie Dimon says LFG RACISTSAssholiest of the Week (MM):John DeereSee, instead of sticking up for yourself against pretend journalists with zero credibility who cosplay at being ESG analysts but are really just anti gay middle school boys, you caved. You caved and now you have not one, but THREE shareholder proposals in a couple weeksAnd the ONLY one you challenged - the one you tried to exclude from your proxy - was the one by As You Sow, who asked the SAME THING as the National Public Policy Research Consumer Blah Blah BlahNational Legal and Policy Center (8 shares): SHAREHOLDER PROPOSAL ON A REPORT ON RACIAL AND GENDER HIRING STATISTICSAs You Sow (26,000 shares): SHAREHOLDER PROPOSAL ON A REPORT ON EFFECTIVENESS OF EFFORTS TO CREATE A MERITOCRATIC WORKPLACE You also got these anti woke gems:National Center for Public Policy Research ($2,000): SHAREHOLDER PROPOSAL ON A CORPORATE FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY REPORT, asking for a new committee to show how committed you are to making moneyBowyer Research (100 shares): SHAREHOLDER PROPOSAL ON A REPORT ON CHARITABLE GIVING, asking for a report on how you don't give to Southern Poverty Law Center, but they think you might be and they're discriminating against white religious conservatives and the KKKYou thought, “oh, if we just cut out our DEI stuff and make a press release, they'll go away… sure, we'll offend, like, all the black people and women and stuff, but it's worth it for our white farmers, and everyone will forget…”You were wrong. Your board was wrong. Your management was wrong. You know what petty middle school bullies do when you give them your lunch money? Take it the next fucking day, too. Grow a spine, tell the anti woke shitbirds that DEI is about expanding the talent pool that's been historically excluded and maximizing skills, and keep your lunch money in your pocketMaybe call someone at Costco to ask for advice on how to grow a pairThe proxy vote at Air ProductsOnly three directors have batted under 500 during their tenure at Air Products, only two on all boards in the last 7 years80 year old CEO has been on the board since 2013 and has 32% influenceThere are 81 current directors that are 80 with >30% influence in the US, 21 of whom are CEOsOf them, 12 rate worse than Seifi on TSR, and 13 are worse at EBITDA22% of the board are connected through other directorshipsThere are 910 US companies with higher degree of director interlocks12 of those companies have directors over 80 years old with >30% influence, and 8 of them perform worse than Air ProductsWhat the fuck does ISS and Glass Lewis do all day that they can write this about Air Products, but NOT the others:ISS: “With that said, one must acknowledge the reality of Ghasemi's age, and the board should have a robust strategy in preparation for his eventual departure. Confoundingly, the board appears to have ceded control of deciding Ghasemi's successor to Ghasemi himself…”GL: “… we are concerned that available information strongly suggests that the incumbent board, if left to its own devices and not held accountable at the forthcoming AGM, may simply surface something of a figurehead candidate previously selected or endorsed by Mr. Ghasemi, while concurrently permitting Mr. Ghasemi to retain substantial influence for an unspecified period, without a substantive acknowledgment of the poor capital allocation performance of his strategy.”Egan Jones: “We firmly believe that Air Product's unsatisfactory performance stems in part from mismanagement and the absence of effective leadership to guide the Company.”And why the fuck to investors WAIT until an activist is involved??Air Products CEO unseated from board; Activist investors win 3 seatsWill Hild, Consumer ResearchNasdaq files to withdraw mandate on ‘diverse' board directors after court defeatThose cheering Nasdaq's decision to pull the diversity mandate included Will Hild, executive director of Consumers' Research. He said he was pleased to see the exchange “abandon its anti-White, anti-Asian, and anti-male discrimination scheme.”24,960 directors in the US17,453 are male with an average influence of 1.4 women (it would take about 1 ½ women to equal one dude)White and Asians are 83% of directors and 83% of the US workforce, but are worth 1.4x the influenceWill Hild's most discriminated group - the White and Asian male - is worth, on average, 1.75x the average Black or Hispanic woman in terms of influence and powerConsumers Research is associated with the Philanthropy Roundtable which is associated with every idiot anti-woke anti-gay anti-black anti… non profit org, and Will Hild has made a solid 300k/year making up things about ESG and wokeismHolding students hostageData breach hitting PowerSchool looks very, very bad64.2m students9.5m teachersLargest breach everMaybe they also need to hire Clorox CEO on their board…Headliniest of the WeekDR: Velveeta just made nacho cheese you can stick in your pocketMM: Marriott elects Taco Bell CEO to board of directorsWho Won the Week?DR: the security team paid to protect Tim Noel, UnitedHealthcare new CEO to replace murdered Brian Thompson: best negotiation position ever?MM: Lawyers - how many law firms salivated at the idea of suing the Trump administration for every one of his six thousand executive orders on day one?PredictionsDR: Compensation Committees go buck wild in 2025MM: Zuckerberg's new algorithms automatically append the word “boobs” to every user search, except for the search for Democrats, which also replaces the word Democrats with “boobs”
Janine Firpo, a pioneer in values-aligned investing, shares her journey from technology and social entrepreneurship to advocating for financial decisions that reflect personal values. Janine offers practical advice and tools to help you navigate the world of impact investing, empowering you to align your investments with your values and make a meaningful impact. Key Takeaways: The importance of aligning your investments with your personal values for meaningful change. How small groups and community support can enhance your confidence and knowledge in investing. Practical tools and resources for identifying and selecting values-aligned investments. How women taking control of their financial decisions can drive social change Inspirational Moments: [00:07:45] – Janine discusses her transition from a career in technology to becoming a leader in impact investing and how personal values play a crucial role in investment decisions. [00:22:10] – Take a deep dive into the importance of creating small, supportive groups to foster learning and confidence in values-aligned investing. [00:38:25] – Janine shares powerful stories of women who have transformed their financial lives and driven social change through impact investing. Meet Our Guest - Janine Firpo: Janine Firpo is a seasoned values-aligned investor and social innovator, with a long history of working at the intersection of women and their money. From the early years of Apple Computer to senior positions with Hewlett-Packard, the World Bank, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Janine has always found herself making an impact. In 2017 she left a successful 35-year career in technology and international development to focus on how women can create a more just and equitable society through their financial investments. Her book, Activate Your Money: Invest to Grow Your Wealth and Build a Better World, a collaborative effort that involved almost 150 women (and a few men) was published in May 2021 by Wiley. Later that year, Janine co-founded Invest for Better, a non-profit organization that helps women invest their money in ways that align with their values. Janine walks her talk. She is taking action to move all her own assets into investments she feels good about and is watching them grow with market-rate returns. Website: Invest for Better LinkedIn: Janine Firpo Inside Scoop: Janine Firpo has made it her mission to empower women to become confident investors who align their financial decisions with their values. Through her nonprofit, Invest for Better, she creates small groups where women can openly discuss and learn about investing. Her approach emphasizes the importance of personal values in investment choices, advocating for a personalized definition of sustainability and impact. Janine also shares practical tools and resources, such as ethos ESG and As You Sow, to help individuals make informed investment decisions. Important Links: Get courses, templates and more at our online store- Learn Grow Thrive: https://learngrowthrive.wendieveloz.com DIYers dream—hop in our University for templates and FREE resources: https://wendieveloz.com/university Podcast audio/video management by Podcast Abundance. Find out more at www.podcastabundance.com/services --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/social-impact-level-up/support
Sacrificing the comforts of life is often seen as part of the “spiritual path,” so it might seem unusual to hear from a Vedic master that, “You deserve the best.”Yet this is one of the key teachings of Swami Bramhananda Saraswati, Thom's master's master, also referred to as Guru Deva.In this episode, Thom clarifies the meaning and intent of Guru Deva's quote, reconciling the notion of deserving the best with the “pervasive guilt” that often holds us back from claiming or accepting the best. It's an episode you deserve to listen to…Episode Highlights:[00:45] Your Birthright[02:38] In the Best Interests of All[04:12] Pervasive Guilt Consciousness[05:37] Living Your Best - Tat Wale Baba[07:46] A Dark Cave in the Jungle[09:19] As You Sow, So Shall You Reap[11:08] Lean Into the BestUseful Linksinfo@thomknoles.com https://thomknoles.com/https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.facebook.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoleshttps://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/info@thomknoles.com https://thomknoles.com/https://www.instagram.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.facebook.com/thethomknoleshttps://www.youtube.com/c/thomknoleshttps://thomknoles.com/ask-thom-anything/
The backlash against ESG is continuing, with a string of lawsuits aimed at shutting down shareholder activism. We don't often talk about shareholder activism in the vein of protecting protest, but it's absolutely part of the story. Andrew Behar, CEO of shareholder advocacy group As You Sow, joins us to explain what's going on, and why anyone who cares about basic rights needs to be tuning into the ESG fight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Greenest Global Companies podcast features Corporate Knights and As You Sow's 2024 Clean 200 global green company rankings. Plus Ron Robins, MBA Transcript & Links, Episode 124, February 23, 2024 Hello, Ron Robins here. So, welcome to this podcast episode 124 titled “The Greenest Global Companies.” It's presented by Investing for the Soul. Investingforthesoul.com is your site for vital global ethical and sustainable investing mentoring, news, commentary, information, and resources. And look at my newly revised website at investingforthesoul.com! Tell me what you think. Now, remember that you can find a full transcript, and links to content – including stock symbols and bonus material – on this episode's podcast page located at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts. Also, a reminder. I do not evaluate any of the stocks or funds mentioned in these podcasts, nor do I receive any compensation from anyone covered in these podcasts. Furthermore, I will reveal to you any personal investments I have in the investments mentioned herein. Additionally, quotes about individual companies are brief. Please go to this podcast's webpage for links to the actual articles for more company and stock information. Also, some companies might be covered more than once and there are also 8 article links below that time didn't allow me to review them here. ------------------------------------------------------------- List of Clean 200 companies captures the green transition in full flight I'm beginning this podcast with one of my favorite company rankings that has just been released! It's on corporateknights.com and titled List of Clean 200 companies captures the green transition in full flight. The introduction is by Rick Spence. Here are some quotes by Mr. Spence. “Released by Corporate Knights and California-based shareholder advocates As You Sow on February 15, the 11th Clean200 ranking captures the green transition in full flight, cataloguing those public companies that are earning the most from sustainable sources. Crucially, it also signals to investors – venture capitalists, institutions and individuals alike – that a wide range of companies are capitalizing on new-economy principles without sacrificing annual returns or opportunities for growth. Between July 1, 2016, and January 15, 2024, Clean200 companies generated a total return of 103.5%. Although they underperformed the MSCI ACWI broad market index, which grew 114.4%, the Clean200 trounced the key index of global fossil fuel companies (the MSCI ACWI/Energy Index), which gained only 64.5% through those years. And that's the big deal, says As You Sow CEO Andrew Behar, who co-authored the 2024 study. ‘In 2016, we created the Clean200 in response to investors saying, if we divest fossil fuels, there is nothing to invest in.' Eight years later, the message is clear: ‘Investors who are not tilting their portfolios toward a clean future do so at their own peril.' Top Companies In first place again is Apple (AAPL)… Other blue-chip names on the list include Tesla (TSLA) (number three), HP (HPQ) (five), Microsoft (MSFT) (six), Daimler (DTG.DE) (12), BMW (BMW.DE) (16), Nissan (NSANY) (36), Nike (NKE) (50), Swatch (UHR.SW) (157) and even the iconic U.S. Steel (X) (177) – which recently committed to being zero-carbon by 2050. ‘Our mission is to shine a light on the heroes of the battle against climate change,' notes report co-author Toby Heaps, CEO of Corporate Knights. ‘The 2024 Clean200 proves there are true sustainability champions out there. The key is to rigorously apply a scientifically inspired method to identify these gems.' In total, Clean200 companies earned more than $2.2 trillion in sustainable revenue in 2022, deriving on average 54.7% of their revenues from sustainable business activities, versus 13.6% for their MSCI ACWI peers… The ranking excludes firms involved in industries such as fossil fuels, deforestation, prisons, weapons and tobacco – as well as companies that engage in blocking climate policies. Leading the pack is the U.S., with 39 companies making the list this year. Other blooming centres of corporate sustainability are China (23), Japan (18) and France (13), followed by Brazil, Canada and Germany with 10 companies each.” End quotes ------------------------------------------------------------- 13 Best Renewable Energy Stocks To Buy According to Hedge Funds Next up is back to energy with this article titled 13 Best Renewable Energy Stocks To Buy According to Hedge Funds. It's by Fatima Farooq and seen on finance.yahoo.com. Here's some of what Ms. Farooq says. “We selected the names for our list of the best renewable energy stocks to buy by consulting Insider Monkey's hedge fund data for the third quarter… Hedge funds' top 10 consensus stock picks outperformed the S&P 500 Index by more than 140 percentage points over the last 10 years (see the details here)”. 13. Daqo New Energy Corp. (NYSE:DQ) Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 18 It manufactures and sells polysilicon to photovoltaic product manufacturers in China to be used in ingots, wafers, cells, and modules for solar power solutions. 12. Avangrid, Inc. (NYSE:AGR) Hedge Fund Holders: 19 Anthony Crowdell at Mizuho holds a Neutral rating and a $34 price target on Avangrid, Inc. as of January 3… Avangrid… engages in the renewable energy generation business in the US, focusing on onshore wind power, solar, biomass, and thermal. 11. Clearway Energy, Inc. (NYSE:CWEN) Hedge Fund Holders: 23 Clearway Energy… has about 5,500 net megawatts of installed wind and solar generation projects… Oppenheimer's Noah Kaye maintains an Outperform rating and a $37 price target on Clearway Energy… as of January 19. 10. Green Plains Inc. (NASDAQ:GPRE) Hedge Fund Holders: 24 Green Plains… produces, stores, distributes, and sells clean fuel… On January 30, Goldman Sachs analyst Adam Samuelson maintained a Buy rating and a $34 price target on Green Plains. 9. Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ:RUN) Hedge Fund Holders: 26 Sunrun Inc. designs, develops, installs, and sells residential solar energy systems in the US … A Buy rating and a $28 price target were maintained on Sunrun Inc. on January 3 by Mizuho's Maheep Mandloi. 8. SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SEDG) Hedge Fund Holders: 27 Christopher Souther at B. Riley Securities maintains a Buy rating and a $133 price target on SolarEdge Technologies… as of February 5. SolarEdge Technologies designs, develops, and sells direct current optimized inverter systems for solar photovoltaic installations. 7. Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (NYSE:AQN) Hedge Fund Holders: 28 On January 8, Ben Pham at BMO Capital upgraded Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. from Market Perform to Outperform and placed a $7.50 price target on the stock… Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. is a renewable energy and utility company. 6. Enbridge Inc. (NYSE:ENB) Hedge Fund Holders: 35 Enbridge is an energy company with a proactive Renewable Power Generation segment that operates assets such as wind, solar, geothermal, and waste heat recovery. 5. Enphase Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENPH) Hedge Fund Holders: 40 Enphase Energy designs and manufactures home energy solutions for the solar photovoltaic industry in the US and internationally… A Buy rating and a $140 price target were maintained on Enphase Energy… on February 1 by Philip Shen at Roth MKM. 4. Constellation Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:CEG) Hedge Fund Holders: 45 Constellation Energy Corporation is a producer of carbon-free energy with about 32,355 megawatts of generating capacity consisting of nuclear, wind, solar, natural gas, and hydroelectric assets. 3. First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) Hedge Fund Holders: 49 First Solar is a provider of photovoltaic solar energy solutions… On January 3, Maheep Mandloi maintained a Buy rating on First Solar alongside a $196 price target. 2. NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) Hedge Fund Holders: 58 NextEra Energy… generates electricity through wind, solar, nuclear, coal, and natural gas facilities. RBC Capital's Shelby Tucker reiterated an Outperform rating and a $74 price target on NextEra Energy on January 30. 1. General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) Hedge Fund Holders: 76 GE… provides green energy solutions by combining onshore and offshore wind, blade manufacturing, grid solutions, hydro storage, hybrid renewables, and more… Overweight rating and a $153 price target were maintained on General Electric on January 24 by Julian Mitchell at Barclays.” End quotes ------------------------------------------------------------- Profit and Purpose: 7 Standout Stocks for the Ethical Investor This next article covers some well-known companies. It's titled Profit and Purpose: 7 Standout Stocks for the Ethical Investor by Josh Enomoto, on investorplace.com. Here are some quotes on each of his picks. “1. Waste Management (NYSE:WM) It's one of the leaders in environmental sustainability with a focus toward waste reduction and renewable energy initiatives. For one thing, the company owns a vast network of recycling facilities… Second, the company forwards a waste-gas-to-energy project. Per its website. Analysts rate shares a consensus moderate buy with a high-side target hitting $230. 2. NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) Commanding a presence in 49 states… (and) through its vast network of facilities – including solar and wind turbines – NextEra Energy features about 72 gigawatts (GW) of operating capacity… Rough economic conditions hurt NextEra Energy bad in the final months of 2023. However, analysts anticipate a recovery, pegging shares a moderate buy with a $69.60 average price target. 3. Costco (NASDAQ:COST) I don't think it's an anecdote to say that most Americans love the open-warehouse-style big-box retailer… But where it really shines is how well Costco treats its employees… In 2022, data from Glassdoor noted that the retailer's employees rated the business a four out of five regarding worker satisfaction… Analysts rate Costco stock a strong buy with a high-side target of $825. 4. Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Starbucks… appeals to modern investors by emphasizing the ‘S' component of ESG stocks… the company proudly boasts of its ethical sourcing of its key ingredients, from coffee beans to tealeaves to cocoa. In addition, its manufactured goods – from the merchandise on its shelves to the furniture in its stores – involve ethical sourcing… Also, I'd be remiss not to mention Starbucks' youth empowerment, hunger relief, and inclusivity programs… And analysts love it, pegging shares a consensus strong buy. 5. Visa (NYSE:V) According to a Forbes article in 2023, Visa represents the most carried card, printing a market share of 52.8%... Lots of folks love talking about the ‘E' and the ‘S' in ESG stocks. However, governance is also a major component of holistic ethics. Here, Visa's corporate governance practices help promote long-term value and accountability to its shareholders. Part of this involves ensuring diversity and inclusion and not just in the workforce itself but in the upper echelons of leadership… Analysts rate shares a consensus strong buy with a $303.74 average price target. 6. Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Maintaining high standards of governance, Apple focuses on a range of important issues. In June 2020, the company launched its Racial Equity and Justice Initiative, advancing opportunities for many people of color and Indigenous communities…. Also, Apple implements a shareholder voting process focused on executive compensation. That's one distinct mechanism to keep the company accountable to stakeholders. Overall, analysts peg shares a moderate buy with a $208.07 average price target. Notably, the high-side target hits $250, implying robust bullishness despite a soft start to 2024. 7. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Thanks to the tech giant's big investments in artificial intelligence, it has steadily rocketed higher since the 2022 doldrums. Further, as AI becomes more ingrained into everyday life, Microsoft stands to be a massive winner. And when it comes to ethical stocks, the company may be the all-around champion… management set out ambitious environmental targets, most conspicuously being its aim to be carbon negative; that is, it will remove its historical emissions since its founding in 1975. In addition, it's a huge player in social equity, promoting directives focused on encouraging women to participate in technology. Finally, MSCI Ratings awarded Microsoft an AAA rating, the highest rating available to organizations. Unsurprisingly, analysts love Microsoft, rating it a consensus strong buy with a $469.45 price target.” End quotes. ------------------------------------------------------------- Other Honorable Mentions – not in any order. 1. Title: Top 10: Solar Companies found on energydigital.com. By Maya Derrick. 2. Title: 3 Solar Energy Stocks Poised for a Strong Comeback on investorplace.com. By Faisal Humayun. 3. Title: ESG Funds Bucking The Trend on fa-mag.com. By Ron Delegge. 4. Title: BK Named A Top Socially Responsible Dividend Stock on nasdaq.com. By BNK Invest. 5. Title: Get Rich Quick with These 7 Renewable Energy Stocks to Buy Now on investorplace.com. By Ian Cooper. 6. Title: 3 Strong Buy Renewable Energy Stocks to Add to Your February Must-Watch List on investorplace.com. By Tomas Levani. 7. Title: 3 Renewable Energy Stocks to Own Before the Election Frenzy Begins on investorplace.com. By Jeremy Flint. 8. Title: 3 Hidden-Gem Renewable Energy Stocks Ready to Ride a Massive Market Wave on investorplace.com. By Matthew Farley. ------------------------------------------------------------- Ending Comment Well, these are my top news stories with their stock and fund tips -- for this podcast titled: “The Greenest Global Companies.” Now, please be sure to click the like and subscribe buttons on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or wherever you download or listen to this podcast. That helps bring these podcasts to others like you. And please click the share buttons to share this podcast with your friends and family. Let's promote ethical and sustainable investing as a force for hope and prosperity in these deeply troubled times! Contact me if you have any questions. Thank you for listening. And, again, please look at my new totally revised website at investingforthesoul.com. Tell me what you think! I'll talk to you next on March 8th. Bye for now. © 2024 Ron Robins, Investing for the Soul
S3 Ep6 | The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, with almost 2.2 million people in prison, and 1 in 7 Americans have an immediate family member incarcerated for more than a year. And yet the prison-industrial complex remains a robust, well-funded system. The right data gives us not only a picture of the dire state of incarceration, but a powerful tool to invest in social change. In this episode, Tanay Tatum-Edwards, Founder & CEO of FreeCap Financial, shares how social justice-informed financial data can help investors take real action against mass incarceration. About Tanay.Tanay Tatum-Edwards is the founder and CEO of FreeCap Financial, Inc, a research company that provides investors and money managers with intelligent, social-justice oriented data to equip individuals and collectives with the tools they need to enact positive change in this world. Before FreeCap, she developed a lifelong commitment to using investment strategies to create systemic social change while working in asset management. Tanay has multiple loved ones impacted by mass incarceration and is committed to using her expertise to address it. Prestigious fellowships have supported her work, including Echoing Green, Fulbright, Halcyon Incubator, and Roddenberry Foundation.Tanay regularly shares insights from FreeCap's research at events, including SOCAP, Confluence Philanthropy, Stanford University, Vassar College, Tufts University, Georgetown University, and Yale University. Her thought leadership has been spotlighted in major news outlets, including MarketWatch. A foodie, NBA fan, and lover of hip-hop, Tanay received an M.A. in Law and Diplomacy from The Fletcher School at Tufts University, where her classmates elected her commencement speaker, and a B.A. in Africana Studies & Sociology from Vassar College, where she served as student body president.Renegade Capital Tools & Tips.A renegade not only listens but acts. We've consolidated a few tips from this episode to help you use your investments to fight mass incarceration. Check if your investments are incarceration-free. As You Sow has a great resource to see if your 401k or personal portfolio is prison-free. You can also share this resource with your advisor and ask questions about other ways to decarcerate your investments. They also have some great suggestions as part of the Prison-Free Action Toolkit. Join the Waitlist for FreeCap's Free Prison Risk Index. FREE is an index that makes it possible to invest in companies who lead in fair chance hiring and disrupt the prison industrial complex. The index will be made up of FreeCap's highest rated companies and will be the first of its kind to incorporate a companies' fair chance hiring practices and prison risk mitigation efforts. Join the waitlist Support the showLove the podcast? Subscribe and follow to never miss an episode.Linkedin | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Join our mailing list
2023 saw a record number of shareholder proposals pushing companies to bring environmental and social issues more into focus, and one of the most active in the space has been As You Sow. Founded in 1992, the group bills itself as the nation's non-profit leader in shareholder advocacy. They have an extensive track record of putting forward resolutions on issues such as energy & climate, social justice, and the circular economy. On this episode of the ESG Currents podcast, BI analyst Rob Du Boff sits down with Danielle Fugere, As You Sow's President & Chief Counsel. This episode was recorded on Oct. 10.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On this week's episode of Lever Time, news editor Lucy Dean Stockton is joined by researcher Rosanna Landis Weaver and Andrew Behar, CEO of the non-profit shareholder advocacy organization As You Sow, to discuss how they're using stock ownership in publicly-traded companies to promote corporate change from within. 50 years ago, economist Milton Friedman argued that a corporation's “greatest responsibility lies in the satisfaction of the shareholders.” In other words, the primary goal of every business is to increase its profits and maximize returns to investors. But in hindsight, even Fortune magazine acknowledges that the ideology of “shareholder primacy” has extensively damaged society. That's where shareholder advocates come in, since they use their ownership in publicly traded companies to influence company decision-making. Whether it's pushing for transparency, addressing ethical concerns, advocating for sustainable practices, or curtailing CEO pay, shareholders have the ability to shape the companies in which they own stock. In today's interview, Rosanna and Andrew explain how their organization As You Sow practices shareholder advocacy, including a recent win at Starbucks to reduce their plastic waste. They break down their annual list of “The 100 Most Overpaid CEOs,” which details how some of the highest paid CEOs actually underperform for their companies. And they discuss how the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee recently opened an investigation into As You Sow along with other organizations, as part of their culture war against ESG (Environment, Social, and Governance) investments. A transcript of this episode is available here.Links: As You Sow The 100 Most Overpaid CEOs (As You Sow, 2023) BONUS: On Monday's bonus episode of Lever Time Premium, exclusively for The Lever's supporting subscribers, we'll be publishing our interview with journalist and author Cole Stangler about his new book Paris Is Not Dead: Surviving Hypergentrification in the City of Light, which explores how gentrification has affected the cultural makeup of Paris, and the public housing policies that have helped maintain the city's diverse, working-class character.If you'd like access to Lever Time Premium, which includes extended interviews and bonus content, head over to LeverNews.com to become a supporting subscriber.If you'd like to leave a tip for The Lever, click the following link. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. levernews.com/tipjar
SRI360 | Socially Responsible Investing, ESG, Impact Investing, Sustainable Investing
Andrew Behar, the CEO of As You Sow, is a well-known advocate for shareholder advocacy. With a rich background in documentary filmmaking, entrepreneurship, and technological innovation, he brings a unique perspective to shareholder advocacy.Behar's journey as a shareholder advocate was influenced by his personal experiences. Growing up near Long Island Sound in Connecticut, he witnessed the environmental impact of industry on his surroundings. These early observations of environmental degradation left a lasting impression on him.Before dedicating himself to shareholder advocacy, Behar explored entrepreneurial endeavors, including a medical device company that earned him five patents and demonstrated his commitment to using technology for positive change.Behar then transitioned to As You Sow in 2010. As CEO of a nonprofit organization, he began advocating for values-aligned investing and using shareholder influence to drive corporate responsibility.Behar emphasizes that As You Sow practices shareholder advocacy, which focuses on engaging with companies to improve their practices. Shareholder activism, on the other hand, often involves taking over boards or liquidating companies, a different approach that doesn't align with As You Sow's goals.The core philosophy of As You Sow is to compel companies to reduce material risks on various issues, including climate change, diversity, equity, inclusion, and more. Under Behar's leadership, As You Sow has developed valuable tools to empower shareholders, including the Investor Value Tool and As You Vote Tool.The goal is to create a win-win situation where companies make responsible decisions that benefit all stakeholders.In this episode, we'll explore Behar's journey and the core principles of shareholder engagement, shedding light on how it works, where it falls short, and how it can be improved. I really learned a lot from my discussion with Andrew, and I hope you will too!Show notes: https://sri360.com/podcast/andrew-beharAbout the SRI 360° Podcast: The SRI 360° Podcast is focused exclusively on sustainable & responsible investing. In each episode, I interview a world-class investor who is an accomplished practitioner from all asset classes. In my interviews, I cover everything from their early personal journeys to insights on how they developed and executed their investment strategies and what challenges they face today. Each episode is a chance to go way below the surface with these impressive people and gain additional insights and useful lessons from professional investors. Connect with SRI360°: Sign up for the free weekly email update: https://sri360.com/newsletter/Visit the SRI360° PODCAST: https://sri360.com/podcast/Visit the SRI360° WEBSITE: https://sri360.com/Follow SRI360° on X: https://twitter.com/SRI360Growth/Follow SRI360° on FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/SRI360Growth/Key TakeawaysIntro (00:00)Andrew's journey into shareholder advocacy (06:55)Our rights as shareholders (15:31)The concept of materiality in advocacy (22:18)Investor Values and As You Vote Tools (25:23)Shareholder activism vs shareholder advocacy (38:48)Successful engagement campaigns (45:38)As You Sow escalation process (50:31)Driving change amidst culture wars (01:03:44)Is Shareholder Advocacy always a win-win (01:04:38)What asset managers need to do differently (01:08:54)Disclosure issues with private equity (01:20:17)
Andrew Behar is the CEO of As You Sow, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing environmental and social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy. As You Sow helps companies gage their social and environmental impact, improve their culture, and generally do better in the ways their individual stakeholders really want to see. Discover the work As You Sow does in bringing shareholders' concerns to the boardroom, why the companies shifting toward justice and sustainability are thriving, and how you as a shareholder (retail or institutional) can shift the system by exercising your right to vote on the issues that matter to you. Get full show notes and more information here: https://sensiba.com/resources/
Host Chris Adams is joined by Andri Johnston, Digital Sustainable Lead for Cambridge University Press and Assessment as they talk about using DIMPACT to calculate the carbon impact of digital publishing as well as news from the world of green software concerning one acronym; ESG and one portmanteau; LightSwitchOps. They also cover some upcoming events and we learn about Andri's love of books!
Is the world going crazy? This week we discuss how an abortionist is apparently bringing their baby to the clinic, WHO's recommendation to encourage children 4 and under to “ask questions about sexuality”, the anti-capitalist cafe that's going under, and Coke's battle with woke culture. So listen and decide for yourself! Topics Discussed:The Abortionist that brings their baby to work!WHO pushes the sexualization of toddlersPro-Abortion, Anti-Capitalist Coffee Shop to close after just one yearCoca-Cola won't be investigating ‘risks' of doing business in pro-life statesCoke Shadiness Links Mentioned:Unhappy Mother's Day: Abortionist Brings Baby to Work! - Operation RescueAbortion Testimonials of Clinic WorkersWHO Pushes “Early Childhood Masturbation” For Toddlers, Encourages Questions About Gender Identity For Kids Aged 4 - Summit NewsToronto “Anti-Capitalist” Coffee Shop With “Pay What You Can” Model Closing After One Year Of Business - The PublicaCoca-Cola shareholders reject proposal to investigate ‘risks' of doing business in pro-life states - Live Action NewsIn Proxy Memo, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo Are Urged to Stay Out of Divisive Abortion Issue - Financial ContentCoca-Cola's PartnershipsCoca Cola Foundation's Grants in 2021Project Last Mile: Matching Health Enterprises With Private Sector Expertise To Improve Family PlanningProject Last Mile 2020 Annual ReportPro-Life America Podcast Episode 129: Population Control & Eugenics Efforts have been Disguised as “Aid”Maafa 21 - Black Genocide in 21st Century AmericaRate & Review Our Podcast Have a topic you want to see discussed on the show? [Submit it here.]To learn more about what Life Dynamics does, visit: https://lifedynamics.com/about-us/Support Our Work
Optimizing product packaging is essential for reducing waste and driving the circular economy. In this episode, Tad and Julianna sit down with Kelly McBee, Circular Economy Sr. Coordinator at As You Sow, to discuss the mission of As You Sow, the Corporate Plastic Pollution Scorecard they developed to rank companies on their progress toward plastic goals, how companies can get better scores in the future, why third-party certifications are so important to the achievement of corporate plastic reduction goals, and what's next for As You Sow. Interested in submitting a question for Tad to answer on an upcoming episode? Click the link below and scroll to the bottom of the page! SHOW NOTES: https://www.tadradzinski.com/tad-talks-sustainability-podcast/episode32-circular-product-packaging
If the “ESG”—environmental, social, and governance—movement had a guiding text, it would the Proxy Preview. Put out by the corporate social responsibility investing nonprofit As You Sow, the Proxy Preview details all the ESG “shareholder resolutions” that activist shareholders, government worker and labor union pension funds, and left-of-center nonprofits want American businesses to adopt. Joining […]
If the “ESG”—environmental, social, and governance—movement had a guiding text, it would the Proxy Preview. Put out by the corporate social responsibility investing nonprofit As You Sow, the Proxy Preview details all the ESG “shareholder resolutions” that activist shareholders, government worker and labor union pension funds, and left-of-center nonprofits want American businesses to adopt. Joining us to discuss the Proxy Preview and the organizations behind it is our colleague, Capital Research Center research specialist Robert Stilson.Sources: The Proxy Preview: ESG in 2023Influence Watch ESG Activism HubAs You SowFollow us on our Socials: Twitter: @capitalresearchInstagram: @capitalresearchcenterFacebook: www.facebook.com/capitalresearchcenterYouTube: @capitalresearchcenter
In this episode, I interview ESG expert Andy Behar, CEO of As You Sow. Learn how you and your community can make an impact in your company and beyond by leveraging your power as a stakeholder in our economy.
Women bring the skills, perspectives, and emotional intelligence necessary to achieving the green transition, addressing food shortages, and equitable financing. Women are 49.7% of the world's population, but only 1.9% of venture capital investments in 2022 were placed with women-led startups. Patience Marine-Ball and Ruth Shaber, coauthors of The XX Edge: Unlocking higher returns and lower risk, join Mitch Ratcliffe to discuss the power and impact of women in business and other leadership roles. The book shares stories of corporate, startup, nonprofit and many other organizational innovations and improvements led by women, and they make the case that those of us with two X chromosomes bring essential skills that are in short supply in the face of climate change, social disruption, and 20th Century business strategies that are too exhausted to thrive in the 21st Century. There has been progress in bringing women into leadership across society, but it is slow work. Today, 42% of U.S. businesses are owned by women and 19% of startups have at least one female founder. And women are making the educational investments to lead. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, in 2018-19 women earned 57.9% of bachelors degrees,. 63.9% of masters degrees, and 56.4% of doctoral degrees. Patience and Ruth explain several resources to keep in mind as you shop, invest, and vote to create the world your want, including As You Sow, a nonprofit shareholder activist organization, Ethos ESG, a values-based tool for filtering investment options, as well as Patience's work at the Women of the World Endowment and Ruth's at the Tara Health Foundation. The XX Edge is available now at Amazon. You can learn more about Patience at Ruth at https://thexxedge.com/
How much do you know about corporate responsibility and sustainability? This week, Andy Behar, the CEO of As You Sow, joins Kim Griego-Kiel to talk about the nonprofit organization's role in shaking up the business world with its innovative environmental and social justice approach. Listen in as Andy details the ins and outs of creating … Continue reading Critical Climate and Diversity Stakeholder Resolutions for 2023 with Andy Behar (Ep. 85) →
Shareholder advocacy group As You Sow judged CEO pay based on stock returns, shareholder opposition, and the ratio of compensation to average worker pay.
Timeless Concepts That Your Soul Knows. Find out which of the principles you are naturally of and living. Join Sam and I as we discuss the keys to an inspired life. This is an exploration into the 7 Spiritual Principles of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Trust Yourself – All that you need for growth and guidance in life is already present inside you. As You Sow, You Will Reap – Your thoughts and actions shape your character, and your character determines your destiny. Nothing Outside You Can Harm You - Circumstances and events don't matter as much as what you do with them. The Universe Is Inside You - The world around you is a reflection of the world within you. Identify with the Infinite - Center your identity on the soul and your life's purpose will unfold. Live in the Present - The present moment is your point of power. Eternity is now. Seek God Within - The highest revelation is the divinity of the soul. Sam's Book: Living from the Soul: https://geni.us/Livingfromthesoul (Amazon) Lorraine's website: lorrainenilon.com.au Book a personal session with Lorraine https://calendly.com/lorrainenilon/60min Check out Gems of Wisdom from XXXX - Use them as journal prompts, contemplation points or conversation starters. https://www.facebook.com/LorraineNilon A special WORDS OF WISDOM form for reviews - https://form.jotform.com/Insight.../words-of-wisdom-reviews- Thought-Provoking videos and Flip the Book - https://youtube.com/@lorrainenilon Support the show- https://www.buymeacoffee.com/LorraineNilon Music by Joystock - https://www.joystock.org
Welcome to a look back at this year's interviews with industry experts. It has been a packed year so join Kieran Poole as we journey through the class of 2022. Hear from CorpGov's Jim McRitchie, Schulte Roth and Zabel's Ele Klein and Marc Weingarten, As You Sow's Olivia Knight, film director Bruce David Klein, Muddy Waters Research's Carson Block, White & Case's Tom Matthews and Sonica Tolani, The California State Teachers' Retirement System's Aeisha Mastagni, Shareholder Rights Group's Sanford Lewis, Georgeson's Cas Sydorowitz and Alicia Ogawa, Olshan Frome Wolosky's Ryan Nebel and Elizabeth Gonzalez-Sussman, The Activist Investor's Michael Levin, Vinson & Elkins' Lawrence Elbaum, Sustainable Governance Partners' Jessica Strine, William Blair's Christina Bresani, and Alliance Advisors' Emmanuelle Palikuca, FT's Dan McCrum, and Willis Tower Watson's Heather Marshall and Kenneth Kuk. Want to hear a guest on the show? We have put together a quick survey for you to tell us how we can improve our offering.
In this episode, we investigate corporate climate commitments and how to make them stronger. We get to the root of zero-emissions pledges and greenwashing — specifically in the oil and gas industry. Dr. Paasha Mahdavi, associate professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, joins us to report this story. Paasha talks with Louise Rouse, a consultant who teams up with investors to push corporations for climate accountability. He also speaks with The Science Based Targets Initiative's head of standards, Emma Watson, and Jill Courtenay, director of communications and project management at the shareholder advocacy nonprofit, As You Sow. Leah, Katharine, and Paasha look at how we can get to a decarbonized economy through policy and shareholder activism — a tool that can be used by anyone with a retirement account. They learn about the SEC's proposed mandatory disclosure rules, shareholder resolutions, and the difference between buzzwords like “carbon neutral” and “net zero.” Paasha also mentions three different categories, or “scopes,” of corporate emissions. You can read about scope one, “burn,” scope two, “buy,” and scope three, “beyond.” Corporations that keep this info hidden can face serious blowback from their investors. Check out this earth-shaking vote by ExxonMobil shareholders to reshape the company's board of directors in 2021 (which Jill Courtenay mentions in the episode). Next time, we'll enter the worlds of three activists working across the country to fight petrochemical pollution within their communities. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and don't miss a single episode this season!
Rosanna is much more than just one of the foremost executive compensation experts. She's a sharp eyed observer of American capitalism who has had more than three decades of corporate governance experience at the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC), the Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Change to Win.Rosanna is Wage Justice & Executive Pay Program Senior Manager at As You Sow where she's the author of the As You Sow foundation's The 100 Most Overpaid CEO's annual report.On this episode of Outside In she talks with Jon about executive compensation, income inequality, her Mennonite upbringing, the different kinds of smart and her book Weaving A Family.
You may not know it, but there's a political and ideological war raging inside your investment portfolio. In recent years, a tiny but very vocal minority has sought to bully financial institutions into adopting their views of culture and politics. But it seems they've gone too far. We'll talk about that with economist Jerry Bowyer today. WHAT IS ESG? ESG is an acronym for Environmental, Social, and Governance investing, ESG, and it's being exploited by the minority you mentioned. The Wall Street Journal recently ran a story about a letter addressed to the money management giant Blackrock by the Attorney General of Arizona and 18 of his counterparts in other states. This comes after a series of actions taken by state-level financial officers questioning Blackrock and other asset managers as well as rating agencies for their heavy-handed imposition of ESG. They were imposing their views of ESG on state investment assets and even on the states themselves. Add to that the world's richest man, and former ESG darling, Elon Musk, calling the whole thing a scam, and pushback from Republican senators, governors, and other hopefuls against the politicization of the world of finance, and it adds up to a powerful reaction to a movement which had been seen as the inevitable future of the industry. BACKLASH AGAINST ESG MOVEMENT Bowyer says the backlash against the ESG movement is important because that sense of inevitability was a key source of ESG's power. The message was fall in line with the inevitable march of history or get left behind. When investors questioned the prudence of imposing political criteria on financial decisions, they were assured that it was, indeed, prudent because this was where the world was going. Eventually, the governments of the world would wake up to the reality of climate change and outlaw fossil fuels, leaving them as stranded assets sitting on company balance sheets. As social consciousness inevitably rose, anti-social behavior would be punished in the form of reputational risk and eventually the loss of the company's social license to do business. So don't take a risk, do the safe thing, and fall into line now. But a populist revolt stubbornly held on, not just to God and guns, but also to fossil fuels, color-blindness, viewpoint diversity, parental rights in education, and the sanctity of life. Facts are stubborn things, but our ruling class now has to learn that stubborn people are also a fact. Those who stubbornly hold fast to things which the anointed can't believe still exist are aware, angry, and registered to vote (and have the IDs to prove it) know it. And dozens of attorneys general, treasurers, senators, and governors know it. This means that the chief selling point, risk management, has suddenly become the chief objection. ESG is now a controversial political risk. How is the ESG crowd reacting to this backlash? The controversy is now so undeniable, Bowyer says, that the ESG industry is lashing back at the backlash, the denial of which is essential to the premise of that industry. As You Sow, one of the non-profit clearinghouses for the industry, posted a quote on social media acknowledging that the acronym ESG as a construct may have lost some of its luster and has been explaining to the shrinking faithful that the reason why there's been such a backlash against ESG is that it It's extremely effective! So, the new party line is basically, We're losing so much because we win so much. The unspun version is that ideology pushed the movement beyond the investing public's tolerance point and the shareholders and the voters are correcting the imbalance. Things have gotten so bad that they haven't just alienated the populist right, they've alienated some pretty close former allies, for example Tesla Inc. The green giant of industry had been an ESG colossus until Elon Musk failed to keep pace with the inevitable march of history and came out of the closet as a free speech absolutist and Twitter-prisoner public defender. At the recent Tesla Annual meeting, the shareholder base of an electric car and solar panel company jeered as activists presented ideologically charged public statements, cheered when the moderator stepped in to cut the speeches short and then went on to vote down the slate of ideological ballot proposals. Did I mention that this was Tesla? If they've lost Tesla, they've lost. THE WAR ISN'T OVER But the war isn't over. Even if the whole ESG movement goes down in flames, the people behind it are always looking for something and they never give up. Let me explain it like this: Humanistic philosophy can deny, but not ignore, the reality of human sin. This means the people who espouse it need it to find other ways to purge their own feelings of guilt. Social justice investing stepped in as their form of atonement for the sin of being a capitalist. But the thing is, and it's critical to understand this: Whatever form of atonement they come up with in the future will never be complete because the demands for purity keep escalating. Americans should revolt against this new form of authoritarianism, but only a Christian worldview can truly replace it. (RW) Economist Jerry Bowyer is the author of The Maker Versus the Takers: What Jesus Really Said About Social Justice and Economics and you can read Jerry's weekly insights on the economy at Vident.com. On today's program, Rob also answers listener questions: ● What is the best way to manage an IRA at age 64? Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000 or email them to Questions@MoneyWise.org. Also, visit our website at MoneyWise.org where you can connect with a MoneyWise Coach, join the MoneyWise Community, and even download the free MoneyWise app. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1085/29
You may not know it, but there's a political and ideological war raging inside your investment portfolio. In recent years, a tiny but very vocal minority has sought to bully financial institutions into adopting their views of culture and politics. But it seems they've gone too far. We'll talk about that with economist Jerry Bowyer today. WHAT IS ESG? ESG is an acronym for Environmental, Social, and Governance investing, ESG, and it's being exploited by the minority you mentioned. The Wall Street Journal recently ran a story about a letter addressed to the money management giant Blackrock by the Attorney General of Arizona and 18 of his counterparts in other states. This comes after a series of actions taken by state-level financial officers questioning Blackrock and other asset managers as well as rating agencies for their heavy-handed imposition of ESG. They were imposing their views of ESG on state investment assets and even on the states themselves. Add to that the world's richest man, and former ESG darling, Elon Musk, calling the whole thing a scam, and pushback from Republican senators, governors, and other hopefuls against the politicization of the world of finance, and it adds up to a powerful reaction to a movement which had been seen as the inevitable future of the industry. BACKLASH AGAINST ESG MOVEMENT Bowyer says the backlash against the ESG movement is important because that sense of inevitability was a key source of ESG's power. The message was fall in line with the inevitable march of history or get left behind. When investors questioned the prudence of imposing political criteria on financial decisions, they were assured that it was, indeed, prudent because this was where the world was going. Eventually, the governments of the world would wake up to the reality of climate change and outlaw fossil fuels, leaving them as stranded assets sitting on company balance sheets. As social consciousness inevitably rose, anti-social behavior would be punished in the form of reputational risk and eventually the loss of the company's social license to do business. So don't take a risk, do the safe thing, and fall into line now. But a populist revolt stubbornly held on, not just to God and guns, but also to fossil fuels, color-blindness, viewpoint diversity, parental rights in education, and the sanctity of life. Facts are stubborn things, but our ruling class now has to learn that stubborn people are also a fact. Those who stubbornly hold fast to things which the anointed can't believe still exist are aware, angry, and registered to vote (and have the IDs to prove it) know it. And dozens of attorneys general, treasurers, senators, and governors know it. This means that the chief selling point, risk management, has suddenly become the chief objection. ESG is now a controversial political risk. How is the ESG crowd reacting to this backlash? The controversy is now so undeniable, Bowyer says, that the ESG industry is lashing back at the backlash, the denial of which is essential to the premise of that industry. As You Sow, one of the non-profit clearinghouses for the industry, posted a quote on social media acknowledging that the acronym ESG as a construct may have lost some of its luster and has been explaining to the shrinking faithful that the reason why there's been such a backlash against ESG is that it It's extremely effective! So, the new party line is basically, We're losing so much because we win so much. The unspun version is that ideology pushed the movement beyond the investing public's tolerance point and the shareholders and the voters are correcting the imbalance. Things have gotten so bad that they haven't just alienated the populist right, they've alienated some pretty close former allies, for example Tesla Inc. The green giant of industry had been an ESG colossus until Elon Musk failed to keep pace with the inevitable march of history and came out of the closet as a free speech absolutist and Twitter-prisoner public defender. At the recent Tesla Annual meeting, the shareholder base of an electric car and solar panel company jeered as activists presented ideologically charged public statements, cheered when the moderator stepped in to cut the speeches short and then went on to vote down the slate of ideological ballot proposals. Did I mention that this was Tesla? If they've lost Tesla, they've lost. THE WAR ISN'T OVER But the war isn't over. Even if the whole ESG movement goes down in flames, the people behind it are always looking for something and they never give up. Let me explain it like this: Humanistic philosophy can deny, but not ignore, the reality of human sin. This means the people who espouse it need it to find other ways to purge their own feelings of guilt. Social justice investing stepped in as their form of atonement for the sin of being a capitalist. But the thing is, and it's critical to understand this: Whatever form of atonement they come up with in the future will never be complete because the demands for purity keep escalating. Americans should revolt against this new form of authoritarianism, but only a Christian worldview can truly replace it. (RW) Economist Jerry Bowyer is the author of The Maker Versus the Takers: What Jesus Really Said About Social Justice and Economics and you can read Jerry's weekly insights on the economy at Vident.com. On today's program, Rob also answers listener questions: ● What is the best way to manage an IRA at age 64? Remember, you can call in to ask your questions most days at (800) 525-7000 or email them to Questions@MoneyWise.org. Also, visit our website at MoneyWise.org where you can connect with a MoneyWise Coach, join the MoneyWise Community, and even download the free MoneyWise app. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/1085/29
Quantum Quote: “You can't climb a mountain if it's smooth." -Andre Iguodala Investing is one of the primary ways to secure a better financial future for you and your family. But, did you know that where we bank and how our investments are managed can greatly impact our carbon footprints? Our finances, including our retirement funds, are not charity. Ensuring that these are properly invested is a must. Carbon Collective provides the opportunity to ensure that our investments not only build a better future for us, but also for our planet. As part of its mission, we have the power to create a zero-carbon society by forcing major corporations to transition and decarbonize faster through your investments. Make the right choice. Invest with impact. Save our planet. Zach Stein is the co-founder of Carbon Collective, the first investment advisory firm focused solely on solving climate change. Zach's entrepreneurial journey began with his hands on the ground, well, more accurately, in poop. He founded Urban Worm, a Bay Area worm composting farm that took free waste products– horse manure and apple pulp– and turned them into premium compost that sold for $20 a gallon. This urban agriculture base led Zach into the world of indoor farming, raising leafy vegetables and fish in controlled environments. He teamed up with James Regulinski to launch Osmo Systems, an innovative sensor/monitoring platform that would enable first indoor farmers and then the broader world of fish and shrimp farming to detect key aspects of their water quality for 1/10th the cost. They raised over $4m from top-tier VCs to commercialise the tech. Now, Zach and James are scaling Carbon Collective and rapidly expanding their offerings, team, and member base. Sign up for a free webclass to discover how easy it is to get ultra-efficient geothermal heating and cooling installed in your home – without the pain of emptying your savings account. In “The Power Of Earth With Comfort” From Climate Master webclass, you'll discover the answers every homeowner needs to know, including: How geothermal heating and cooling can draw energy from the ground beneath our feet (for pennies) Why homeowners everywhere are making the switch The secrets to securing utility incentives and tax credits to pay for a large portion of your new geothermal system and much more… If you are tired of rising energy costs and want to save up to 70% on your energy bills, go to www.AWESomeEarthKind.com and register now for this FREE special event that will show you exactly how to get geothermal heating and cooling installed in your home. SuperNova #1. So often, when it comes to climate change, individuals get stuck in a loop of "I'm terrified, emotionally. And I don't know what to do. I see these lists, and it's like you have to do everything." How should we prioritise that? What we found to be a really helpful framework is focusing on the big things, like the gears of your life that run in the background, focus where it's a weighty decision to make a change, but once you make it, you're done, and you just get to go on living your life. One simple example is where you keep your money. SuperNova #2. Remove the really big rocks first. And then you can kind of take a breath and re-establish. SuperNova #3. If you don't have effective teamwork, then you aren't going to be successful, or it's very hard to be successful. Invest in the team, and put that front and center. AHA! Moment: I'll share like, from fairly early on, we ended up doing 120 interviews with folks to try and understand where their climate anxiety took them and where they got blocked. This was before we knew that Carbon Collective was going to be an investing company. We set up all these elaborate demos to try to walk people through a simulation of what it could be. In our first interview, this guy says, "Hey, this was fine, but you really should read this book called the "Mom Test". We're like, "What's the Mom Test?" It is the best book I've ever read for people who are looking to see if a particular product should exist. It teaches you how to interview, where you go, and how to dig for past behaviors. When you dig for the why of their behavior, you see where people got blocked. Best Advice He's Ever Received: “Learn. So long as you're learning you're on the right path.” -Zach Stein Personal Habit that Contributes to Success: “Making sure I get good sleep, which has been really hard with a five-month-old.” -Zach Stein Internet Resource: Loom Magic Wand: “I think I would re-establish our deep human connection to nature and that we're a part of it. I think that if that happened across the world, so many of our environmental problems, in addition to climate change, we would just feel so much of the pain that is happening that we wouldn't need to do anything to solve it. It would just happen.” -Zach Stein WTF Moment: “I lived through the orange day in San Francisco in the Bay Area. This was during fire season. I, at the time, was waking up with the sun at seven am. There was a skylight right above my bed. It was so dark- I woke up at 10 am. It was the weirdest day I've ever been in. My wife, and I had recently bought a home in the Bay Area and we looked at each other and were like, "Did we make a huge mistake?" -Zach Stein Most Energized About Today: “Honestly, I'm really energized about my kid. He's in such a cute phase. Whenever I see him, he smiles at me. It's incredible!” -Zach Stein Parting Advice: “So long as you're learning, you're on the right path. And just trust that that's going to take you there.” -Zach Stein Connect: Website: https://www.carboncollective.co/ Email: zach@carboncollective.co Project Drawdown: http://www.projectdrawdown.org/ Project Drawdown's Climate Solutions at Work: https://drawdown.org/publications/climate-solutions-at-work As You Sow: https://www.asyousow.org/ International Energy Agency: https://www.iea.org/ Renewing America: https://www.rewiringamerica.org/
Earthkeepers: A Circlewood Podcast on Creation Care and Spirituality
In this episode, Forrest talks with Zach Stein, co-founder of Carbon Collective. Carbon Collective is the first online investment advisor that is 100% focused on combatting climate change. They help individuals and organizations to invest in diversified, low-fee, climate-focused portfolios. By helping investors to know which companies are truly operating in ways that are in keeping with a zero-carbon future, Carbon Collective helps people who want to live greener lives to collectively focus their resources and their influence as consumers in ways that work for the good of the planet.Forrest and his daughter Kayra and I did a “test drive” of Carbon Collective by making an actual investment—to see if the platform is easy to understand, easy to use, and up front about all costs and fees. If you want to watch a video of that process, we'll send you a link to anyone on the Circlewood e-mail list. If you aren't yet on that list, go to circlewood.online and add your name to our growing, global community of earthkeepers; use this link to join the Circlewood email list.Guest: Zach Stein - co founder of Carbon Collective - online investment platform Mentions: zero carbon future Dr. Katharine Hayhoe - Earthkeepers' interview minimum of $5 trillion/year investment into climate solutions needed Project Drawdown Climate Policy Initiative McKinsey - $9 trillion/year investment estimate Vanguard -investment firm; MSCI - analyticscompany Carbon Collective's investment strategy As You Sow - nonprofit in Berkeley, California Pacific Garbage Patch 2018 IPCC report - UnitedNations' scientific body for climate change 2017 fire season in Bay area - San Francisco, California fossil fuel industry in decline; fossil fuels get more expensive to extract solar, wind & batteries get cheaper as manufacturing issues get resolved Vanguard index funds - market innovation ; new ESG fund
Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, joins the podcast to discuss the power of using shareholder advocacy to drive change at large corporations. Andrew walks us through “a day in the life,” specifically May 25, 2022, when his team presented resolutions at five corporate annual meetings on issues ranging from climate change to racial justice; Andrew talks about the SEC's new draft rule that addresses the ESG naming problem within mutual funds; and the paradox of employees unknowingly investing in companies that are destroying the Amazon through company retirement plans.
Today's episode focuses on what's perhaps the easiest way for you to help move billions of dollars out of fossil fuels. That's right, I said “you,” “billions of dollars,” and “easy,” all in the same sentence. The surprising answer to this riddle is your 401k—and a young company called Sphere. In this episode of Invested in Climate, I have a fascinating conversation with Sphere CEO and Founder Alex Wright-Gladstein, a serial entrepreneur who's making it easy for everyday people and companies of all sizes to divest their 401ks from fossil fuels. I think you'll learn a lot from this episode and walk away with a really easy and impactful action to take. In Today's Episode, we cover:[2:35] When Alex realized her life's work was to protect the planet [6:05] Learn more about Sphere and the problem it works to solve [10:30] Is divesting money from fossil fuels having an impact? [15:11] What do you need to do to get started? [16:04] Are climate-friendly 401k options more expensive? [18:41] Details about the Sphere 500 Fossil-Free Index Fund [22:34] Raising awareness for fossil-free investing [25:49] Who is currently working with Sphere? [27:03] How to change investments in a 401k with a past employer [29:32] Other investment strategies you should consider [32:04] Actionable ways Alex is making strides in other areas [34:32] Why you should focus on creating infrastructure change Resources & People Mentionedhttps://ayarlabs.com/ (Ayar Labs) https://www.oursphere.org/ (Oursphere.org) https://www.asyousow.org/blog/category/invest+your+values (As You Sow) https://fossilfreefunds.org/ (Fossil Free Funds) https://marilynwaite.com/sustainable-banking-and-investing/ (Marilyn Waite's blog) with link to green banks Ayana Elizabeth Johnsson's https://www.ayanaelizabeth.com/climatevenn (venn diagram) for climate action https://www.oursphere.org/news/case-study-university-of-california (How University of California Decided to Let its Employees Divest from Fossil Fuels) Learn more about https://investedinclimate.com/podcast/stop-lending-your-money-to-fossil-fuels-with-atmos-financial-ep-3/ (Atmos Financial) https://gimletmedia.com/shows/howtosaveaplanet (How to Save a Planet podcast) Connect with Alex Wright-GladsteinConnect on https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwrightgladstein/ (LinkedIn) Connect With Jason Rissmanhttps://investedinclimate.com/ (https://InvestedInClimate.com) On https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonrissman/ (LinkedIn) On https://twitter.com/jasonrissman (Twitter) Subscribe to https://pod.link/1620915138 (Invested In Climate)
Shareholders have filed more ESG resolutions in 2022 than in all previous years, according to Morngingstar.. In this podcast we speak with Andrew Behar, CEO of the non-profit As You Sow, a shareholder advocacy non-profit that focuses on corporate social responsibility. We discuss the current proxy season and how accounting, auditing and financial disclosure practices fit into their approach to engaging with public companies. Special Guest: Andrew Behar.
Jarrod and Olivier speak with Yihana von Ritter, the Associate Director of Private Market Investments at Align Impact. She joined Align Impact in 2019 after completing her graduate studies at Yale and holding impact investing roles at Agora Partnerships in Colombia and Investing for Good in the United Kingdom. Previously, Yihana had gained extensive experience working with various non-profit organizations in the United States, Panama, and Colombia. She was the Country Associate for Clinton Health Access Initiative where she led national-level operations in Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, and El Salvador. Yihana also served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Paraguay as a Community Mobilizer and Health Educator. Yihana holds an MBA and a Master of Global Affairs from Yale University and a BA from Stanford University.We discuss what makes Align Impact unique from the rest of the impact investing industry, the myth of having to sacrifice financial return for ESG impact, how to lower financial risk as entrepreneurs, how to measure impact accurately, actions being taken to scale impact investing, what we can do as entrepreneurs to attract impact investments, and how you can invest your own money responsibly: As You Sow.Website: alignimpact.comLinks to Resources:Catalytic InvestmentConcessional FinanceProfessor Timothy Swanson, The Willingness to Pay for Property Rights for the Giant Panda: Can a Charismatic Species Be an Instrument for Nature Conservation?Basic EconomicsForest Trends - Pioneering Finance for ConservationThe Rockefeller FoundationThe MacArthur FoundationGlobal Impact Investing NetworkProgram-Related InvestmentsIRISSustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB)B Corporation CertificationBlended FinanceR20 (R20 Regions of Climate Action)Convergence - The Global Network for Blended FinanceThe UK Sets the Scene for Mandatory ESG Laws in the Western WorldAs You SowFollow us on Instagram at @makers_on_a_mission!Visit Makers on a Mission to explore more.
Brian Levitt, global market strategist for Invesco says that there is some good news in the market -- with signs that the bond market is expecting inflation to slow and ease and other indicators showing promise -- but everyone should be watching the impact of Federal Reserve interest-rate hikes to see how long the current doldrums drag on. Levitt noted that less than 25 percent of companies on the New York Stock Exchange are trading above their 200-day moving average, and that the market typically bottoms out when that number reaches 15 percent, but he noted that commodity prices, interest rates and inflation all must moderate before the market gets to a more solid footing. Also on the show, Professor Pelin Pekgun from the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina discusses inflation and how supply chain issues typically get resolved so that an economy can break the cycle of rising prices and shortages to return to normal, Ted Rossman of Bankrate.com discusses the record levels of household debt -- but a surprising drop in credit-card debt -- reported Tuesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and Andy Behar of As You Sow discusses the group's research showing that many social investment funds aren't practicing what their name says they should preach, holding stocks that don't belong in a fund built around current governance standards.
Andrew Behar is the CEO of As You Sow, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to promote environmental and social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy, coalition building, and innovative legal strategies. Check out: https://www.asyousow.org/
Are public companies really leaning in to a more suitable, socially responsible future? Boardroom Alpha sat down with Andy Behar, CEO of non-profit shareholder advocacy organization As You Sow, to discuss some of the key ESG issues investment managers are tackling today. Read the full report: https://www.boardroomalpha.com/andrew-behar-as-you-sow-esg-revolution
Click Here to read Marcia's profile on LinkedInClick Here to read Janine Firpo's profile on LinkedInClick here to learn more about Activate Your Money - Invest to Grow Your Wealth and Build a Better WorldClick here to learn more about Invest for BetterClick here to learn more about As you Sow - Invest Your ValuesClick here to learn more about the Rising Tide NetworkClick here to learn more about Next Wave ImpactClick Here to learn more about the ACA 2022 Summit in Atlantic City NJClick here to find out more about the Angel Capital AssociationTake courses to learn how to be an angel investor at Angel University - click here for info!Want to reach the Angel Capital Association? CLICK HEREHave ideas for the show? Email us at theacaangelnextdoorpodcast@gmail.com
Josh Weber, cofounder and executive chairman of nZero, a Nevada company that tracks Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions for large organizations, explains the complexities of tracking corporate greenhouse gas emissions. Tracking emissions is the first step toward business taking responsibility for the previously unacknowledged environmental and social costs of delivering products and services. It will be some time before this information is widely available in useful form for consumers and citizens to help make decisions about the products or services they buy or the government policies they support. nZero's technology, along with those of other emerging carbon tracking tools, is a critical piece of the environmental puzzle we each need to understand.A study by the non-profit As You Sow of the 55 largest companies in the U.S. found that only three, Microsoft, PepsiCo and Ecolab Inc, earned an A-level grade; Google and Apple received B and B- grades, respectively, and most of the rest, 84% of companies are flunking out of the race to head off climate change. Carbon tracking is mostly restricted to Scope 1 and 2 emissions, the direct and indirect emissions associated with power used by a company. MSCI Research reported in September 2020 that only 18% of the firms it follows are reporting their scope 3 emissions — we'll explore why these emissions are difficult to track. You can find out more at https://nzero.com/.
In May 2020, the world witnessed the horrific death of George Floyd, shocking Americans into confronting the racial injustice experienced by Black Americans daily. This event forced a re-evaluation of our most fundamental beliefs about racial justice and institutions and became a catalyst for change. As You Sow, the nation's leading non-profit in shareholder advocacy, created the Racial Justice Initiative, which provides a complete corporate profile on racial equity issues for companies in the Russell 1000 Index. My guest today is Olivia Knight, Racial Justice Initiative Manager at As You Sow. Knight explains how As You Sow uses the scorecard to engage companies on policy changes and to file shareholder resolutions.
How to fight climate change using retirement funds with Alex Wright-Gladstein, creator of SPFFX, a mutual fund that mirrors the S&P 500 Index without investing in fossil fuels. We discuss: ⭐️ Where to invest fossil-fuel-free ⭐️ SPFFX expected returns and expense ratios ⭐️ How to fight climate change using retirement funds ⭐️ How to ask your 401k provider to provide a fossil fuel free option within your retirement plan Become a patron! https://linktr.ee/artisticfinance Sphere: https://www.oursphere.org/ Fossil Free Funds - Non Profit by As You Sow: https://fossilfreefunds.org/ How Your Retirement Fund May Be Supporting Russia's War In Ukraine: https://medium.com/@ga1ex/how-your-retirement-fund-may-be-supporting-russias-war-in-ukraine-dabd7d5118c5 Is Climate Change A Touchy Subject Around Your Thanksgiving Table: https://medium.com/@ga1ex/is-climate-change-a-touchy-subject-around-your-thanksgiving-table-here-are-some-pointers-to-help-7e21acba4341 Alex Wright-Gladstein on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwrightgladstein/ Episode with David Martin Jacques: https://www.artisticfinance.com/episode/O3a50geiwtSl8721XTMF/Diversify-with-David-Jacques Ethical Investing Episode with Chris Lose: https://www.artisticfinance.com/episode/axDYFWfytfnYqcp5W53Q/Ethical-Investing-with-Chris-Lose Elena Notkina - Russian Dancer: https://www.artisticfinance.com/episode/WuzWj66NREiKwHKhsH0M/Elena-Notkina-Choreographer Daria Vergizova - Russian Choreographer: https://www.artisticfinance.com/episode/bzQys2Hka73gUHclofSo/-Daria-Vergizova-Choreographer M1 Finance - Sign up with our affiliate link: https://m1.com/?affiliateCode=38CySeWQVxyIR9SVoUwu6Q2UUkGThrxgE1JnxQ0&utm_source=2762113&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=10646&utm_term=38CySeWQVxyIR9SVoUwu6Q2UUkGThrxgE1JnxQ0&utm_content=Online%20Tracking%20Link&irgwc=1 Interview by Ethan Steimel
Investors and advisers are more interested than ever in putting their money to work to better the planet and the people living here. While there's lots of talk about "making sure your money aligns with your values," there's very little talk about how to actually to do so. Where does one find the data on environmental impact, carbon emissions, social justice, diversity, community impact, biodiversity protection (or harm) and all the other critical ESG metrics when making an investing decision? What does that data look like? How should one weigh those metrics against basic financials? In short, how does one actually go about ESG investing?As You SowYourStake.org MSCI ESG RatingsRelated Article: SEC chief takes to Twitter to issue warning on greenwashingRelated Article: Industry plea to SEC: Too early for Scope 3 disclosuresGuest BiosMax Mintz is a partner and financial planner at Common Interests, a holistic financial advisory firm specializing in sustainable, responsible and impactiInvesting. Common Interests is a Certified B Corp®, a designation the firm pursued to demonstrate verified commitment to social and environmental responsibility, and track their progress over time. In 2019, Max was honored as a 40 under 40 advisor by InvestmentNews, which he ascribes to the firm's commitment democratizing access to both financial services and impact investing.You can learn more about Max and his firm on their website: www.commoninterests.comJina Penn-Tracy is passionate about leaving this world a better place. Jina believes that comprehensive planning allows individuals, businesses, and nonprofits to make more ethically aligned and influential decisions regarding the spending and investing of their money. A cancer diagnosis at age 19 led Jina to years of consumer activism around issues of chemical contamination in our environment and especially the food system. After co-founding a rapidly growing import company in the 1990s, Jina shifted careers in 2004 to become the type of financial advisor she wished she could find; an advisor focused on utilizing the power and influence of money to make positive changes in the world. In 2019, early life trauma led her to found the nonprofit Children's Theatre Alumni Survivors Fund (CTA Wellness). Jina is the president of the Board of CTA Wellness. Since 2014, Jina has volunteered with the Carbon Divestment Coalition in Minnesota, committed to seeing the Minnesota state pension funds divested from the top 200 carbon-holding companies.
We talk with Olivia Knight, Racial Justice Initiative Manager, As You Sow. We discuss how investors can better track whether companies are walking the walk as well as talking the talk on racial justice and environmental justice issues. We talk about the increase interest in social justice data, and what companies and industries are doing a better job of providing investors with this information. More on As You Sow: https://www.asyousow.org/
Olivia Knight of As You Sow joins Kieran Poole to discuss racial equity audits, EEO-1 surveys, the Racial Justice Scorecard, and her most challenging moments. View all of the products offered by Insightia by visiting our website and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. Want a guest interview or topic discussed? Tell us here.
Topping ESG rankings (stocks): “Report--Meet the top 200 companies investing in a clean energy future”; “Barron's 100 Most Sustainable Companies”; “Top 5 ESG Stocks To Radar Now”; “10 Real Estate Companies That Are Both Greener and More Profitable”; “For Greenification in Munis, Try SMI”; and “This ETF is designed to help fight heart disease”; plus PODCAST: The Stocks Topping ESG Rankings. And More… Transcript & Links, Episode 77, February 25, 2022 Hello, Ron Robins here. Welcome to podcast episode 77 published on February 25, 2022, titled “The Stocks Topping ESG Rankings. And More…” — and presented by Investing for the Soul. investingforthesoul.com is your site for vital global ethical and sustainable investing news, commentary, information, and resources. Remember that you can find a full transcript, links to content – including stock symbols, quotes, and bonus material – at this episode's podcast page located at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts. Now, just a reminder. I do not evaluate any of the stocks or funds mentioned in this podcast. Furthermore, if you're concerned about the ESG and sustainability ratings of any stock or fund included in this podcast, check your broker's online site for such information. If your broker doesn't have this information, signup for free with Morningstar and you can gain access to company and fund ESG-sustainability ratings. Please note, I receive no compensation from Morningstar or anyone else covered in these podcasts. Also, if any terms are unfamiliar to you, simply Google them. Now a point about current volatile market conditions. You should know that in such markets studies show that companies highly rated for their ESG and sustainability scores usually show superior returns compared to the overall markets. Just a thought in these troubled times where we all wish for the troubles around Ukraine to get resolved peacefully and without much loss of life. ------------------------------------------------------------- 1. The Stocks Topping ESG Rankings. And More… Let's begin looking at As You Sow and Corporate Knights' Report: Meet the top 200 companies investing in a clean energy future. By TOBY A.A. HEAPS, ANDY BEHAR, MICHAEL YOW, AND MATTHEW MALINSKY. Here are some quotes. “The Clean200 are the largest 200 public companies ranked by green energy revenues… Geographically… the United States dominated the 2022 list, with 52 companies on the Clean200, while Canada had the second largest share with 18, closely followed by China, which 16 Clean200 companies are headquartered in. On average, 58% of revenues earned by Clean200 companies are classified as clean, which is up from 39% in 2021 and significantly above the 20% average clean revenue for their MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI) peers… $10,000 invested in the Clean200 on July 1, 2016, would have grown to $20,709 by January 31, 2022, versus $20,315 for the MSCI ACWI broad market benchmark and $13,167 for the MSCI ACWI/Energy benchmark for fossil fuel companies.” End quotes. The top five Clean 200 companies are Apple inc., Alphabet Inc., Intel Corp, TSMC, and Iberdrola. ------------------------------------------------------------- 2. The Stocks Topping ESG Rankings. And More… Another good ranking is the just-released 2022 edition of Barron's 100 Most Sustainable Companies. Writing about them is Lauren Foster. Ms. Foster writes, quote… “In the fifth annual Barron's ranking of America's Most Sustainable Companies, shares of the 100 companies on our list returned 34.4%, on average, in 2021, besting the S&P 500 index's 28.7%... 41 of the 100 companies on last year's list beat the market in 2021.” End quotes. Barron's top five are NVIDIA, ON Semiconductor, Crocs, Inc., Applied Materials, and Jones Lang LaSalle. ------------------------------------------------------------- 3. The Stocks Topping ESG Rankings. And More… Now Mavis Babcock at topnewsguide.com has penned this article titled Top 5 ESG Stocks To Radar Now. Here are their names followed by some brief quotes on each one. “1) Viking Energy Group (OTCMKTS:VKIN) is perfect for any speculative investor searching for ESG investments. The diversified green company has made three recent acquisitions; a carbon capture system that produces sellable commodities from carbon emissions, a medical waste treatment device called the ‘OZONE', and a Green Renewable Diesel Production Facility in Reno that it is extremely close to closing on. 2) Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) … the stock has gained 15% so far this year… Mattel is now projecting its 2021 net sales of $5.4 billion to grow 8% to 10% in the current year. Adjusted EPS is seen at $1.42 to $1.48. The toymaker also lifted its 2023 net sales growth forecast to high-single-digit from a previous outlook of mid-single-digit growth… Hasbro forecast growth of ‘low-single digit' in both annual revenue and operating profit this year. 3) American Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:AFG) … the stock has jumped 58% over the past year… (and) delivered fourth-quarter 2021 core net operating earnings per share of $4.12, which outpaced the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 38.3%. The bottom line doubled on a year-over-year basis. 4) CNH Industrial N.V. (NYSE:CNHI) … The stock is trading above 34% from its 52-week low and 4% away from its 52-week high. CNH Industrial came out with quarterly earnings of $0.25 per share, beating the Consensus Estimate of $0.21 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.30 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items. This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of 19.05%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this truck, tractor and bus maker would post earnings of $0.22 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.36, delivering a surprise of 63.64%. 5) Ternium S.A. (NASDAQ:TX) Is another stock in the ESG sector which has been showing consistent rise. The stock has moved up 8% over the past one quarter… Benefits of higher steel prices and healthy shipments are likely to reflect on its fourth-quarter results.” End quotes. ------------------------------------------------------------- Considering green real estate REITS? Well, here's a list also published in Barron's titled 10 Real Estate Companies That Are Both Greener and More Profitable. It's by Evie Liu. 2022 Rank* 2021 Rank Company Ticker REIT Industry Weighted Score 2021 Return Market Capitalization (bil)** Dividend Yield** 1 1 Kilroy Realty KRC Office 74 19.3 $7.1 3.3% 2 2 Host Hotels & Resorts HST Hotel 73 18.9 11.8 0.0 3 8 Boston Properties BXP Office 72 26.0 17.3 3.5 4 NR Ventas VTR Healthcare 71 7.9 20.4 3.5 5 3 Alexandria Real Estate Equities ARE Office 70 27.6 28.4 2.4 6 NR AvalonBay Communities AVB Apartment 70 61.4 33.1 2.7 7 5 Kimco Realty KIM Retail 69 68.8 14.4 2.9 8 NR Equity Residential EQR Apartment 69 56.7 32.5 2.8 9 4 Equinix EQIX Data Center 69 20.0 61.5 1.7 10 10 Brixmor Property BRX Retail 68 60.2 7.2 3.5 *Rank based on non-rounded weighted average; **Market cap and dividend yield as of 12/31/2021; NR=not on the 2021 ranking; N/A= not available Sources: Calvert Research & Management. ------------------------------------------------------------- For Greenification in Munis, Try SMI Many US ethical and sustainable investors like municipal bonds. If this, is you, review this article titled For Greenification in Munis, Try SMI. It's by TOM LYDON and published on etftrends.com. Here are some quotes from Mr. Lydon. “The vast fixed income market is fertile ground for green fund innovation.... Consider the case of the VanEck HIP Sustainable Muni ETF (SMI), which debuted last September as the first exchange traded fund dedicated to green municipal bonds. The actively managed VanEck HIP Sustainable Muni ETF is managed by HIP Investments — a pioneer in the green municipal bond space… ‘HIP Ratings incorporate research that shows which variables are key to improving outcomes. Then, HIP tracks data and metrics related to evidence-based targets and goal,' said HIP Investors founder and CEO Paul Herman in a recent note. (This ETF)… which sports a 30-day SEC yield of 1.27%, holds just 44 municipal bonds. That's the result of a high bar for entry created by HIP Investor's stringent investment criteria and the newness of green municipal bonds. None of the ETF's holdings exceed a weight of 4.77%. ‘HIP Investor's methodology, which precedes the term ‘ESG' by several years, uses five pillars based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. These five pillars — Health, Wealth, Earth, Equality, and Trust – can be mapped to ESG as well,' adds Herman. Additionally, the HIP's methodology features a dual-pronged approach that focuses on sustainability and education… ‘In the VanEck HIP Sustainable Muni ETF (SMI), HIP Ratings also track the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) framework, as well as a Climate Threat Resilience score,' notes Herman. California and New York municipal bonds combine for 60.6% of the ETF's weight. (This ETF) has an effective duration of 5.77 years, and 84% of its holdings carry investment-grade ratings.” End quotes. ------------------------------------------------------------- This ETF is designed to help fight heart disease while making you money. Here's how Now here's another specialist ETF that might be of interest to numerous ethical and sustainable investors. The article's titled This ETF is designed to help fight heart disease while making you money. Here's how. It's by Josh Meyers and found on cnbc.com. Here are some quotes from Mr. Meyers' article. “'The IQ Healthy Hearts ETF (HART)… is designed to help investors do well while doing good,' New York Life Investments' Wendy Wong told CNBC's 'ETF Edge' on Monday. HART's current portfolio includes companies such as UnitedHealth Group (UNH), Apple (AAPL), Novartis (NVS) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). The ETF, powered by Index IQ, sees a portion of fees go toward supporting the American Heart Association's fight against heart disease… ‘The American Heart Association uses [the funds] to support its Social Impact Fund,' she said. ‘This addresses health inequalities in under-resourced communities.' New York Investments' support has accelerated the growth of the Social Impact Fund by nearly three times, according to Wong. The HART ETF is significant in the ESG space as well, ETF Trends CEO Tom Lydon said in the same interview. Lydon called the partnership a great example of ‘[making] sure that we're not only doing right but feeling good about it at the same time and maybe learning how we can help our family do a better job of staying healthy.' HART is outperforming the S&P 500 so far this year, down about 5% versus the benchmark index's 6% loss.” End quotes. ------------------------------------------------------------- Other Honorable Mentions – not in any order 1. Title Most Active Stocks Today? 4 Renewable Energy Stocks For Your Watchlist | Nasdaq. By Amos C. The stocks are Enphase Energy Inc (NASDAQ: ENPH), Daqo New Energy Corp (NYSE: DQ), Brookfield Renewable Partners LP (NYSE: BEP), and Solaredge Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SEDG). (As mentioned in previous podcasts, Daqo is accused of using Chinese forced labor.) 2. Title This Top Stock Is a Rock for Any Renewable Energy Portfolio | The Motley Fool. By Travis Hoium. Quote “First Solar (FSLR) was the one that I really wanted to bring to bear for people.” End quote. 3. Title Here are the top 20 BSE 100 companies with strong corporate governance: Report - BusinessToday. By Rahul Oberoi. Click the link on this podcast's webpage for company names. 4. Title 3 ethical ASX companies with Australian Ethical's Mike Murray | Ethical Investing in Australia | Rask Media. Recommendations by Mike Murray. Again, click the link on this podcast's webpage for the company names. 5. Title 6 Top-Performing ESG ETFs With High MSCI Ratings on money.usnews.com. By Aaron Davis and Tim Lawson. Again, click the link on this podcast's webpage for the company names. Recommendations Related to UK, Australian, and European Stocks and Funds 1. Title Interactive Investor's top 20 ethical funds and trusts | This is Money. By Jane Denton. Quote “The Baillie Gifford Positive Change impact fund was the most popular ethical option for investors with Interactive Investor over the past 10 months, new data shows.” End quote. As before, click the link on this podcast's webpage for list of the funds. ------------------------------------------------------------- Ending Comment Well, these are my top news stories with their stock and fund tips -- for this podcast: “The Stocks Topping ESG Rankings. And More…” To get all the links, stock symbols, or to read the transcript of this podcast -- and more -- go to investingforthesoul.com/podcasts and scroll down to this episode. Also, be sure to click the like and subscribe buttons in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or wherever you download or listen to this podcast. And please click the share buttons to share this podcast with your friends and family. Let's promote a better post COVID world through ethical and sustainable investing! Contact me if you have any questions. Stay well and healthy—and conscious about the ethical and sustainable values of your investments! Thank you for listening. Talk to you next on March 11. Bye for now. © 2022 Ron Robins, Investing for the Soul.
In their new book, Patience Marime-Ball and Ruth Shaber share a simple but often overlooked investment strategy to earning higher returns: including women as financial decision-makers within your organization or team. Here they share why they wrote the book, why it is important, and some of key findings.--BiographiesPatience Marime-BallPatience has more than two decades of investment experience across capital markets – debt and equity financing, large scale infrastructure, distressed assets, as well as venture stage opportunities. She has made major contributions to the gender lens investing field, including conceptualizing and building IFC's Banking on Women Investment Platform (current portfolio of approx. $2.7 billion); co-development of the first ever Gender Bond issued on the Uridashi market; and co-structuring alongside Goldman Sachs of a $600M debt fund ( $1.7 billion in loans to women entrepreneurs deployed to-date). She is an early stage investor with Golden Seeds and was previously Vice President with Mizuho Bank.Patience is a member of As You Sow's Prison Free Funds and Racial Justice Initiative Advisory Committees. She is Vice Chair of the Board at the International Center for Research on Women, as well as an Advisor to Emerging Sun, and a Venture Partner with ATP. Patience holds a JD from the Pritzker School of Law and an MBA from Kellogg at Northwestern University.Ruth ShaberRuth Shaber MD is the founder and president of the Tara Health Foundation, which promotes health, well-being and opportunity for women and girls through innovative evidence-informed programs. Her philanthropic goals include advancing the field of gender lens impact investing. She started her career as an Obstetrician and Gynecology at the Kaiser Permanente South San Francisco Medical Center in 1990. From 1997 to 2003, she served as chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology and from 2001 to 2007 she served as the director of Women's Health for the Northern California division of Kaiser Permanente. She is also the founder of the Women's Health Research Institute in Kaiser Permanente's Northern California Region. Ruth was the Medical Director at the Kaiser Permanente Care Management Institute (CMI) from 2007 to 2012. She is a member of the board of directors at Jacaranda Health and on the National Medical Committee for Planned Parenthood Federation of America.Ruth received her B.A. from Yale University and her medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. She served her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of California in San Francisco.
In this episode, hosts Gil Jenkins and Chad Reed speak with Ravi Mikkelsen, co-founder of ATMOS Financial -- an exciting new climate fintech startup that offers ethical banking and savings accounts for a fee-free and climate positive future.Ravi and the ATMOS team are on a mission to develop the best technology solutions and banking experience available so that you never again have to give up convenience or yield for doing the right thing. Links:ATMOS FinancialRavi on LinkedInRavi on TwitterATMOS on TwitterATMOS on LinkedInATMOS Nonprofit PartnersHow ATMOS Calculates Carbon ImpactBros for Decarbonization Report: Banking on Climate Chaos 2021, Rainforest Action NetworkEpisode recorded: January 12, 2022Email your feedback to Chad, Gil and Hilary at climatepositive@hannonarmstrong.comor tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.
We chat with Andrew Behar of As You Sow, a titan of shareholder activism, about how investors can use their proxy voting power to push their portfolio companies to make positive changes.
One hundred million Americans are contributing to 401(k) retirement plans, but few know that many of these plans invest in fossil fuels, deforestation, private prisons and other companies that may not be aligned with their values. My guest on today's program, Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, explains that many companies who sponsor 401(k) plans are contradicting their own stated sustainability goals. For example, companies like Apple, Disney, Microsoft, and Visa all have ambitious ESG targets, but the investment choices in their plans often include major GHG polluters and companies that are burning down the Amazon rainforest. Behar and I also talk about As You Sow's exciting new programs: “As You Vote,” for proxy voting, and the “Activate Network,” that works with financial advisors to empower shareholders.
In this reverse episode, I'm interviewed by Omural Ates. We talk about my book Living from the Soul: The 7 Spiritual Principles of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Stoic philosophy, creating a life vision statement, and more. Omural is a school teacher, fitness instructor, and personal development coach in Texas. He's the creator of Recoding Behavior, www.recodingbehavior.com. The book Living from the Soul is available at www.samtorode.com. THE 7 PRINCIPLES: 1. Trust Yourself All that you need for growth and guidance in life is already present inside you. 2. As You Sow, You Will Reap Your thoughts and actions shape your character, and your character determines your destiny. 3. Nothing Outside You Can Harm You Circumstances and events don't matter as much as what you do with them. 4. The Universe Is Inside You The world around you is a reflection of the world within you. 5. Identify with the Infinite Center your identity on the soul and your life's purpose will unfold. 6. Live in the Present The present moment is your point of power. Eternity is now. 7. Seek God Within The highest revelation is the divinity of the soul.
You'll want to pack your umbrella for a trip to TOI-3362b, it rains molten aluminium there. We discuss alien weather, and the reason why we're very unlikely to ever take a holiday there. Surprisingly, the molten aluminium isn't the biggest barrier to visiting TOI-3362b.Microsoft have promised to do better with Right to Repair for Microsoft hardware after pressure from shareholder group As You Sow. They've made a commitment to provide training and replacement parts, along with easier to repair hardware. PAY ATTENTION APPLE. We know they won't, the iPhone 13 is deliberately crippled if you attempt to repair it yourself using genuine hardware.Yet another Marvel writer has criticised the current state of the comics industry. Somewhere beneath the outrage, there are some really good points for why comics aren't as good as they could be.The Metal Planet- https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-10-15/new-planet-toi3362b-extreme-seasons-rare-orbit/100539088Microsoft Helps Right To Repair- https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-10-07-microsoft-expands-right-to-repair-optionsWhy Are Marvel & DC Comics Bad- https://boundingintocomics.com/2021/10/14/chuck-dixon-diagnoses-why-dc-and-marvel-comic-books-suck/IntroArtist – Goblins from MarsSong Title – Super Mario - Overworld Theme (GFM Trap Remix)Song Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GNMe6kF0j0&index=4&list=PLHmTsVREU3Ar1AJWkimkl6Pux3R5PB-QJFollow us onFacebook- Page - https://www.facebook.com/NerdsAmalgamated/- Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/440485136816406/Twitter - https://twitter.com/NAmalgamatedSpotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/6Nux69rftdBeeEXwD8GXrSiTunes - https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/top-shelf-nerds/id1347661094Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nerds_amalgamated/Email - Nerds.Amalgamated@gmail.comSupport via Podhero- https://podhero.com/podcast/449127/nerds-amalgamated See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Stai ascoltando un estratto gratuito di Ninja PRO, la selezione quotidiana di notizie per i professionisti del digital business. Con Ninja PRO puoi avere ogni giorno marketing insight, social media update, tech news, business events e una selezione di articoli di approfondimento dagli esperti della Redazione Ninja. Vai su www.ninja.it/ninjapro per abbonarti al servizio.Global Tax: il Congresso degli Stati Uniti verso l'approvazione. Il segretario al Tesoro americano Janet Yellen ha affermato che "la riallocazione dei diritti fiscali per le grandi multinazionali potrebbe avere un certo appeal bipartisan". L'accordo, infatti, sostituirebbe le tasse sui servizi digitali già imposte da alcuni paesi a società come Facebook, Google, Amazon e Apple. Venerdì scorso l'accordo storico: 136 Paesi hanno raggiunto un'intesa sulla tassa globale (o global minimum tax), che impone una tassazione minima del 15% sulle grandi multinazionali. Internet si sta rompendo. Un interessante articolo ha alimentato il dibattito online degli ultimi due giorni. "Internet si è rotta", si legge nell'articolo di Domani che sottolinea come la scomparsa di tanti siti dal web stia dimostrando la fragilità della struttura della rete. Risponde il Post, che aggiunge ai problemi tecnici e di archiviazione anche i limiti spesso imposti dai Paywall sempre più utilizzati dai siti di informazione. Un tema su cui ci si interroga sempre più spesso anche a livello internazionale. Diritto di riparazione. Microsoft ha accettato di rendere più facile per i clienti riparare indipendentemente i suoi dispositivi. As You Sow, un'organizzazione senza scopo di lucro che sostiene gli investitori, aveva presentato una risoluzione degli azionisti alla SEC a giugno, chiedendo che Microsoft esaminasse i benefici ambientali e sociali di rendere i suoi dispositivi più facilmente riparabili.
Cet été, les actionnaires de Microsoft s'étaient prononcés pour davantage de réparabilité des produits de l'entreprise. Une position en faveur de l'environnement qui en avait étonné plus d'un sur le moment, et à laquelle nous avions consacré un épisode de Tech Verte. Aujourd'hui, place à une petite mise à jour dans ce dossier, d'autant que plusieurs nouveaux éléments valent le coup d'œil.Pour rappel, c'est via l'organisme As You Sow, spécialisé dans l'impact environnemental des déchets électroniques, que les actionnaires de Microsoft avaient présenté une résolution au mois de juin. Objectif : pousser l'entreprise à se verdir en facilitant la réparabilité de ses produits. Si cet appel était resté sans réponse, les dirigeants se sont finalement exprimés sur le sujet il y a peu, promettant tout d'abord d'étudier la question, puis de prendre des mesures concrètes d'ici la fin de l'année 2022… soit dans un an ! De son côté, As You Sow précise que Microsoft va je cite « déterminer de nouveaux mécanismes pour accroître l'accès à la réparation, y compris pour les appareils Surface et les consoles Xbox ». Traduction, les consommateurs devraient dès 2023 être en mesure de réparer eux-mêmes leurs objets grâce à la mise en vente de pièces détachés, au grand damne des prestataires agréés qui ne devraient plus avoir ce monopole.On est d'accord, cette annonce peut paraitre décevante, notamment niveau calendrier. Toutefois, difficile de reprocher à Microsoft sa prudence, étant donné que c'est la première fois qu'un fabricant américain accepte de modifier ses politiques de réparation suite à la pression de ses investisseurs. D'ailleurs, le GAFAM est clairement l'un des plus actif en matière d'environnement, n'hésitant pas à multiplier les expériences pour trouver les systèmes les plus respectueux de l'environnement. On peut notamment citer l'immersion de ses serveurs dans des bains bouillants… ce qui permet de réduire la consommation électrique et l'usure des machines de quasiment 20% comparé aux systèmes classiques de refroidissement.Chez la concurrence, la société de placements Green Century a également déposé une résolution similaire auprès d'Apple. Une bouteille à la mer finalement, quand on sait que la marque à la pomme n'a jamais été exemplaire sur la réparation de ses produits. Le géant américain avait notamment refusé d'aider les boutiques indépendantes à réparer ses produits en gardant pour lui les pièces officielles. Ajouter à cela le fait que les propriétaires d'iPhone 13 ne pourront pas non plus faire changer leur écran chez un réparateur non agréé, puisque cela risquerait de désactiver la technologie Face ID. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
As leaders, it can be tough to make corporate decisions that align with big issues because the shift in operations would create a disruption to business as usual. And then, shareholders might jump ship after the potential short-term loss of that disruption — or would they? Andrew Behar has data that proves the opposite is usually true: Shareholders care deeply about corporate commitment to big issues and won't abandon companies who sacrifice short-term profit to uphold those values. In fact, most major companies are rewarded by shareholders for these types of decisions - and he has the data to prove it. This week on The Enlightened Executive, we are joined by Andrew Behar. Andrew is the CEO of As You Sow, the nation's leading non-profit practitioner of shareholder advocacy and engagement. In this video, he shares why leaders who commit to addressing big issues enjoy better business outcomes and longevity.
Olivia is a Racial Justice Initiative Manager at As You Sow. She leads Racial Justice Initiative by monitoring corporate actions on racial equity, DEI disclosure, and environmental justice. She manages a team of Research Associates to create, and maintain, Racial Justice Scorecards on the S&P500. She has received masters in Environment, Development and Policy, at the International Development school within the University of Sussex. https://www.linkedin.com/in/oeknight/ She talks about the story of her work on Racial Justice Initiative Scorecards. You can listen to her story in this episode. I request you to share this episode with anyone you know who works for racial equity, DEI disclosure, and environmental justice incorporates You can see the scorecard here https://www.asyousow.org/our-work/social-justice/workplace-equity/data-visualization She also has questions for you: 1) How do we make companies continue the momentum of racial justice? 2) How do we make companies pay attention to social issues as much as they are paying to the environmental issue? Do you want to be a guest on our podcast? I will be waiting for your email at vikram@73bit.com http://www.73bit.com/
Today we welcome guest Olivia Knight, racial justice initiative manager for As You Sow. Olivia joins us to discuss the role of corporations in the racial justice movement and how As You Sow works to hold shareholders accountable for environmental and social justice decision making. Listen to The Optimist Daily Update with Summers & Kristy - Making Solutions the News!
Andrew Behar is CEO of As You Sow,the nation’s leading non-profit practitioner of shareholder advocacy and engagement. Since 1992, As You Sow has used shareholder power to align investments with values and compel companies to reduce material risk on issues including climate change; toxins in the food system; ocean plastics; diversity, equity, and inclusion; racial justice; and wage equity. Previously Andrew was a documentary filmmaker and entrepreneur founding start-ups developing an innovative physiological monitoring medical device and grid-scale fuel cells. He is on the XPrize Brain Trust for Abundant Energy and the advisory boards of Real Impact Tracker and 1-Earth Institute. His book, The Shareholders Action Guide: Unleash Your Hidden Powers to Hold Corporations Accountable, was published in November 2016 by Berrett-Koehler. https://www.asyousow.org/ https://nexuspmg.com/
Transparency about sustainability plans is incredibly important and investors are interested in knowing how companies are working towards carbon neutrality. As You Sow helps investors gain visibility on the companies they are looking to invest in. Kaylee Nix is joined by Lila Holzman.Apple PodcastSpotifyMore FreightWaves Podcasts
Transparency about sustainability plans is incredibly important and investors are interested in knowing how companies are working towards carbon neutrality. As You Sow helps investors gain visibility on the companies they are looking to invest in. Kaylee Nix is joined by Lila Holzman.Apple PodcastSpotifyMore FreightWaves Podcasts
Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) has grown in popularity lately. But does it pay well to do good? I speak with Personal Capital's Brendan Erne about what Socially Responsible Investing is and why investors are flocking to it. Also, I have a conversation with Andrew Behar from As You Sow about how we can all hold corporations accountable in creating a better tomorrow for our families and our society.
Monica and Mike have an announcement. They also top 5 and discuss drink chicken, flavored cream, and thunder cups. The charity this week is As You Sow.
In this episode, I talk with Chelsea Linsley ('10) and Juliana Andrew ('21) about their vocational motivations for pursuing law. We also discuss the importance of recognizing the theological underpinnings of U.S. policy, examining where this has been destructive and where spirituality has potential for fueling movements toward justice. They also share some of their takeaways from studying abroad with and beyond PLU. Juliana is majoring in both Religion and Global Studies with a concentration in International Relations and minoring in the Peace Corps Prep program. Juliana has studied away with PLU in Greece, Oxford, and Norway. In the fall, she plans to start a dual degree program, pursuing her J.D. and her Master’s of Theological Studies. Chelsea graduated from PLU in 2010 with her Bachelor’s in Anthropology and Global Studies with a concentration in Development and Social Justice. While at PLU, she studied away in Norway, South Africa, and Namibia, and served as a Sojourner Advocate at the Wang Center. She then got her J.D. at George Washington University, studying International and Environmental Law, and studying abroad at the University of Oxford. Chelsea now works at the Berkeley-based nonprofit, As You Sow, where she handles environmental and toxic exposure litigation. She is also the founder of The Law School Project, which coaches students who are seeking purpose-driven careers in law. You can learn more about The Law School Project by following @lawschoolproject on Instagram. This podcast was produced by Becca McInally in collaboration with the Wild Hope Center for Vocation at Pacific Lutheran University. Our music is created by Emma Christensen. Have an idea for the show? Contact us at wildhope@plu.edu. Follow us on Instagram @pluwildhope!
Welcome to Going Dark: A Podcast Exploring Netflix's sci-fi series, Dark. This week Dan and Olga review Dark season 1 episode 8 entitled "As You Sow, So You Shall Reap." Every Tuesday we watch an episode of the show for the very first time and come here to gush about it. Hope you enjoy the podcast!Timecodes:Intro: 0:00Recap: 3:26Points of Interest: 20:00Feedback: 34:15YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/doingokTwitter: https://twitter.com/doingokvideo#Dark #DarkNetflix #NetflixReviewMUSIC:"Clip_05_Interlude" by sscheidl via Pixabay"B-3" by BoxCat Games and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution License found here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
This week's podcast features several RPCVs working within the environmental or environmental advocacy field, speaking to their own careers, field of work, and tips for RPCV job seekers interested in this vital field. These professionals will also spotlight some of the amazing work the RPCVs for Environmental Action (RPCV4EA) affinity group is doing and how interested persons can get involved virtually. Panelists include: Lila Holzman (RPCV-Panama) is the Energy Program Manager at As You Sow (environmental advocacy)Julien Joy (Ethiopia 2016-2018) is a master in public policy candidate at the Harvard Kennedy SchoolCaitlin Dickson is a PC volunteer evacuated from Fiji in March; supported RPCVs for Environmental Action group as IT Specialist and recently landed a new job in the environmental field!Click here to access the RPCV4EA website.
As You Sow, So Shall You Reap When Supersizing Your Business! Check in here every day for a dose of different business building perspective: https://facebook.com/supersizebusiness #supersizeyourbusiness #whatthingsmean #asyousowsowhatllyoureap
As You Sow, So Shall You Reap When Supersizing Your Business! Check in here every day for a dose of different business building perspective: https://facebook.com/supersizebusiness #supersizeyourbusiness #whatthingsmean #asyousowsowhatllyoureap
On this week's episode, Lauren is joined by Courtney Blodgett. The two discuss ESG investing, impact investing, sustainable/value based investing and the differences between them. Courtney offers actionable advice on how to evaluate where your money currently is, and how to use resources to ensure your bank account, mutual funds, ETFs, retirement accounts, and all investments are aligned with your values. Courtney Blodgett is the founder of Yield Positive, whose mission is to help everyday investors yield positive – positive returns, positive impact – through sustainable investing. She has worked for more than 15 years on sustainable finance. She was a climate finance advisor to the United Nations and lead the Impact Investing Team at Vulcan, Inc, the family office of Paul G. Allen, Microsoft’s co-founder. Courtney is a sustainable investor herself, doing personal sustainable investing since her early 20s. How to contact Courtney: Twitter: https://twitter.com/Yield_Positive Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/yieldpositive/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YieldPositive/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIbJrO31fScazdqle04yhzw Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yield_positive/ Resources mentioned: Mighty Deposits: https://mightydeposits.com/ As You Sow: https://www.asyousow.org/invest-your-values Story: https://yieldpositive.com/2020/07/15/sustainable-investing-401k-options/
Kelly McBee is the Waste Program Coordinator at As You Sow, a nonprofit uniting financial shareholders of large public companies to achieve sustainability. As You Sow represents the voices of these shareholders when engaging large companies to make sustainable changes on issues like decreasing plastic waste. To explore some other resources on the global plastic pollution issue please visit www.theplasticshift.com. To learn more about As You Sow's work, you can visit their website (https://www.asyousow.org/) or read their report
[The Mars Volta is a band and here is their history and such] with Dave, Brad, and Dave's friend (and ACTUAL professor) Ben Birkinbine to unravel the journey of Cerpin Taxt... Coming Up: 10-31-20 ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY AND HALLOWEEN SHOW!!! King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard - Murder of the Universe Travelers: A Dark Podcast episode 4 - https://anchor.fm/travelersadarkpodcast/episodes/Season-1-Ep-7-Crossroads--Ep-8-As-You-Sow--so-You-Shall-Reap-elhfl2 Other Links: www.twitter.com/RevoloverAudio www.anchor.fm/AlbumConceptHour www.twitter.com/AlbumConceptPod www.myspace.com/AlbumConceptHour www.ko-fi.com/RevoloverAudio --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/albumconcepthour/support
As You Sow is a non-profit foundation that utilizes shareholder advocacy to force corporations to be more responsible in their business. They have had remarkable successes with big corporations and the type of change they have been involved in can have huge rippling effects through sectors and society. Joining us on the show is Sarah Milne, Vice President of Advancement at As You Sow, and she is here to share some of the strategy and action that has allowed the organization to achieve these wins. We talk about how they apply pressure in order for shifts to happen and the idea of putting shares in a company to good use. Sarah underlines the values of ‘safe, just, and sustainable’ as a foundation for what we should be requiring of corporations, and we also get into her idea of creating a better capitalist reality. Our guest believes strongly that government action is vital on big issues such as climate change and that without legislative change, we will be unable to shift the tide. Listeners can expect to hear about what it takes to stay committed to incremental change, the efficacy of reports, and moving beyond important words in vital actions. Sarah gives us such a great picture of what it means to work for good within the confines of huge companies and political powers, and her steadfastness and drive is truly inspiring. Listen at one of the below links to hear the full episode:Listen on SpotifyListen on Google PodcastsListen on Apple Podcasts
Related Links:Waste and Opportunity 2020: Searching for Corporate LeadershipListen now & subscribe to The Indisposable Podcast to stay updated on more solutions-focused inspirations!
Tisha Schuller sits down with Danielle Fugere, President of As You Sow, to learn about shareholder activism from the activist perspective. Shareholder resolutions are increasingly successful in pushing oil and gas companies to address climate concerns on activist terms. To meet the incoming challenges, oil and gas leaders must both build an understanding of the activist perspective, and develop an engagement strategy. In today's episode, Tisha and Danielle discuss: · The drivers behind shareholder advocacy · How oil and gas companies can engage constructively with shareholder activists · What to expect next from future shareholder resolutions Danielle assumed the role of President of As You Sow in 2012 and continues to serve today. She has served in leadership roles for environmental advocacy organizations since 1995 including Environmental Advocates, Friends of the Earth, and the Environmental Law Foundation. Danielle holds a J.D. from the Berkeley School of Law and a degree in political economics from the University of California, Berkeley. Subscribe here for Tisha's weekly "Both Things Are True" email newsletter. Follow all things Adamantine Energy at www.energythinks.com. [Interview recorded on August 26, 2020]
Tisha Schuller sits down with Danielle Fugere, President of As You Sow, to learn about shareholder activism from the activist perspective. Shareholder resolutions are increasingly successful in pushing oil and gas companies to address climate concerns on activist terms. To meet the incoming challenges, oil and gas leaders must both build an understanding of the activist perspective, and develop an engagement strategy. In today’s episode, Tisha and Danielle discuss: · The drivers behind shareholder advocacy · How oil and gas companies can engage constructively with shareholder activists · What to expect next from future shareholder resolutions Danielle assumed the role of President of As You Sow in 2012 and continues to serve today. She has served in leadership roles for environmental advocacy organizations since 1995 including Environmental Advocates, Friends of the Earth, and the Environmental Law Foundation. Danielle holds a J.D. from the Berkeley School of Law and a degree in political economics from the University of California, Berkeley. Subscribe here for Tisha's weekly "Both Things Are True" email newsletter. Follow all things Adamantine Energy at www.energythinks.com. [Interview recorded on August 26, 2020]
Your mind is a garden and we are the gardener. We have to sow good thoughts to reap positive outcomes. AS YOU SOW,SO YOU SHALL REAP.
Digesting FARGO: An unofficial Fargo on FX companion podcast
Zach and Aaron Brooks rewatched and discussed "As You Sow, so You Shall Reap", episode 8 of Netflix's DARK. We break down everything that happened in this episode as it ties into the series as a whole. Will you step into the cave with us?
Given this fiscally-uncertain world for the 99%, how can we put our money where our values are? For the best answers, I made a 2 part episode on the topic. I teamed up with Joelle Sostheim of the Joelle Show. She gives us a step-by-step lesson on personal finance and shows us how we can use this important practice as a tool to make alternative spending and investments through a climate change- and global pandemic-conscious lens. For those able to invest, we’ll have our conversation follow with As You Sow’s Energy Program Manager, Lila Holzman (Part 2 begins at 55:00). Lila tells us how we can place our accrued wealth into environmentally-friendly funding sources in order to stray away from the investor’s status quo, which typically takes company means to contribute towards fossil fuel and greenhouse gas emissions and practices. *In this podcast episode, you’ll learn: * - What personal finance looks like in an ideal world and practical steps to get there. We’ll discuss ways to bravely confront the oftentimes-uncomfortable dichotomy of variable spending and challenging our behaviors. How we can navigate a crisis -- today’s current Recession and global COVID-19 pandemic -- when we’re already in the middle of it. We’ll learn more about emergency funds and sustainable, environmentally-conscious budgeting practices. The reality of big financial institutions investing in fossil fuel emissions and the solutions that can work as alternatives to policy change, which can oftentimes take too long before it’s much too late. “It won’t get better unless you confront it.” Joelle Sostheim We begin this episode asking Joelle, “In a perfect world, how does someone’s personal finance change from start to finish?” Joelle gives us her answer in two parts: i) your current self and ii) your future self. Asking ourselves what we want in the future works as a motivator to challenge our current behaviors and modify accordingly in order to push our goals forward. “Given the circumstances of Coronavirus, I would highly recommend putting down your expenses so you can save an emergency fund… made up of 3 months, up to 6 months, of monthly expenses -- what you spend every month. A good place to start is next month’s rent.” Joelle Sostheim We haven’t been in a Recession + global pandemic in modern history… how many of us had the means to prepare? The answer -- hardly any -- brings us to problem-solving. Joelle talks us through how to mitigate today’s crisis for the common person and average listener in order to come out of this pandemic with the tools to save and, eventually-speaking, grow wealth in the future. 3.“If you cut out the labor it took to make that… small unit item and you, instead, budgeted out your time… time is just as important as budgeting your money.” Kristy Drutman We begin thinking about everyday ways to save and follow our budget, the tactic mentioned being one of my favorites-- investing in reusable materials, as opposed to disposable ones. Using the framework, “How can I squeeze the most juice out of an item before I dispose of it?” works as just a starting point for this part of our conversation. We go back-and-forth on how wallet-saving practices ultimately reduces unnecessary labor and the annual amount we waste. 4.“What we’re starting to see too is that this is not just about doing the right because it’s good for people. It’s good for profit as well. We’re starting to get the data, especially now, that the space is getting a little more mature and that companies and investments that prioritize ESG (environmental, social, governance) factors over the long-term end up performing better.” Lila Holzman Moving forward from Joelle’s personal finance expertise, we meet Lila’s knack for advising large financial institutions to allocate their funds towards sustainable investments that value ESG factors. As mentioned above, the quid pro quo demonstrates that shareholders who follow through with ESG practices will have their companies succeed further than they would have by pushing their money into fossil fuel emissions and infrastructures. Given the data, Lila emphasizes the importance of asking and pushing for sustainable investments. Places you can consider donating your stimulus check to: 805 Undocufund https://www.805undocufund.org CCAEJ (EJ group in southern CA) https://www.ccaej.org/covid19-fund CDC Foundation Feeding America Asian Pacific Environmental Network Emergency Stablization Fund https://donate.apen4ej.org/covid Learn more about personal finance and sustainable investing As You Sow works to empower shareholders to turn their corporations towards sustainable investing. If you want to learn more about this company, where Lila Holzman works, then check out their website. https://www.asyousow.org/ Fossil Banks No Thanks shows what happens when shareholders invest in fossil fuel infrastructures and emissions. On their website, you can find a link to join their campaign and take action. https://www.fossilbanks.org/ If you’re looking to invest, then Fossil Free Funds serves as the space for you. This non-profit, created by As You Sow, can give you the resources for mutual funds and ETFs that avoid fossil fuel investments, in addition to looking at funds from your 401K or retirement plan more closely. https://fossilfreefunds.org/ Continue to learn from Joelle’s financial expertise through “The Joelle Show.” Her most recent content includes more details on how to keep your wallet healthy during COVID-19. https://linktr.ee/the.joelle.show CC:August Jay, Content Operator of Brown Girl Green Find out more at https://brown-girl-green.pinecast.co This podcast is powered by Pinecast.
The Earth911 team is talking about the household decisions and projects to think about if you have some extra coronavirus-isolation time on your hands. We look at four kinds of laundry detergent, including powdered, liquid, pod, and sheet detergents that are easier on your clothes and the environment. Thinking about a Mother's Day or Father's Day gift you can make yourself this year? Take a look at our guide to making an eco-friendly shaving kit or eight ways to reuse aluminum cans in DIY projects that also make fun gifts.And we discuss the labeling of foods and a recent study by As You Sow, a non-profit that examined the supply chains of major food producers for pesticide-use transparency. You'll be surprised by which companies did well and some of the names of the laggards that are best to avoid if you want to know what you are eating.In this week's Earthling Questions, we explain how to recycle VHS tapes and used tires. Also, there's a new section in the Earthling Forum where sustainable businesses can share information with our readers. Add your business now!Join the conversation and share your thoughts with the community in our Earthling Forum.
The Earth911 team is talking about the household decisions and projects to think about if you have some extra coronavirus-isolation time on your hands. We look at four kinds of laundry detergent, including powdered, liquid, pod, and sheet detergents that are easier on your clothes and the environment. Thinking about a Mother's Day or Father's Day gift you can make yourself this year? Take a look at our guide to making an eco-friendly shaving kit or eight ways to reuse aluminum cans in DIY projects that also make fun gifts.And we discuss the labeling of foods and a recent study by As You Sow, a non-profit that examined the supply chains of major food producers for pesticide-use transparency. You'll be surprised by which companies did well and some of the names of the laggards that are best to avoid if you want to know what you are eating.In this week's Earthling Questions, we explain how to recycle VHS tapes and used tires. Also, there's a new section in the Earthling Forum where sustainable businesses can share information with our readers. Add your business now!Join the conversation and share your thoughts with the community in our Earthling Forum.
BE SURE TO SEE THE SHOWNOTES AND LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE HERE. Eve Picker: [00:00:03] Hi there! Thanks so much for joining me today for the latest episode of Impact Real Estate Investing. My guest today is Janine Firpo. Janine is a writer, values-aligned investor and entrepreneur. Janine's background is fascinating. She left a career in the tech world many years ago to pursue a more meaningful work experience. This led her into the world of microfinance and philanthropy. She has consulted and lived all over the world. And now for almost 10 years, she has been on a personal mission to invest all of her assets so they create a positive impact. It's a bold move and she is all in. Be sure to go to EvePicker.com to find out more about Janine on the show notes page for this episode. And be sure to sign up for my newsletter so you can access information about impact real estate investing and get the latest news about the exciting projects on my crowdfunding platform, Small Change. Eve: [00:01:21] Hello Janine, thanks so much for joining me today. Janine Firpo: [00:01:24] It's my pleasure, Eve. Thank you so much for asking me and for being interested in what I'm doing. Eve: [00:01:30] Yeah, well, you've had a really fascinating career, starting with technology companies when they were startups, and are household names now. And you left that path to follow a very different one. But I wanted to ask you how you started your career? Janine: [00:01:45] I'd be happy to tell you. So, I actually started my career very early in 1981. It's a long time ago for many people. And I sort of fell into the computer industry, first in Louisiana, and then when I really got into it, I moved back to the Silicon Valley where I was originally from and I'm still here. And I worked in high tech for about 15 years, worked at Apple Computer in the 80s, and then also did some startup work. And then in 1995 I left a job and I did a solo backpacking trip through sub-Saharan Africa. And what was really interesting about that is when I left on my trip, I was in something called the CD-ROM and multimedia industry. And when I came back, everyone I knew was in the Internet industry. So the internet literally turned on in the four months that I was away. Eve: [00:02:37] Wow. Janine: [00:02:38] And I was perfectly positioned to get on that ride, that dot com ride. But when I was in Africa, I saw poverty like I had never seen it before. And I decided that I wanted to use my life in a way that had meaning. And so I set out on a track to figure out how could I use the skills I had, technology and business knowledge, to bring change to the levels of poverty that I was seeing in Africa. And so that launched me on then what became a twenty-year career in international development and bringing technology into Africa, Southeast Asia and other parts of the world. And while I was on that trajectory, I got involved in something called microfinance, which is making loans to poor women, primarily in developing countries around the world. And in looking at what is the role that tech could play in really scaling microfinance, it was reaching 100 million people in the world when I started, and the need was to reach two and a half billion people. That inquiry, other people were involved in it as well, led to something called 'mobile money,' which is using the cell phone as a bank for the poor. Eve: [00:03:50] I was at the Bellagio Foundation in Italy, a few years back, with someone who was writing a book about the M-Pesa. Janine: [00:03:58] Exactly! M-Pesa, which was one of the first incidences of this, it actually started in the Philippines, but M-Pesa was the example that just shot off the charts within the first year. It came out in 2007, and within its first year it had a million people using the service. And in the second year it was many more millions. And it's now serving, over 85 percent of the population of Kenya uses M-Pesa now, and it has become a de facto way to move money. And now people are getting loans over it. It's being used as a financial mechanism for all sorts of things. So, it became an amazing industry. There are now over 250 incidences in more than 90 countries around the world. Eve: [00:04:44] But it really started because people had cell phones. Right? And they needed to move money. Janine: [00:04:51] They had cell phones, well, actually the way it really started was the people behind M-Pesa was Vodacom, and they were trying to apply the cell phone technology to microfinance. And they started in 2004 with a microfinance institution in Kenya. And it just didn't work for a lot of reasons that I won't go into. But what they found that was really interesting when they were trying to help this microfinance industry scale its business was that people were using the phone just to move money back and forth. And they saw a real opportunity. So, they retrenched. They rethought everything. They set up all the infrastructure that they needed. And then in ... February of 2007, they launched M-Pesa as we know it today, which was a money transfer service. Now, super-fascinating the way it all unfolded. Eve: [00:05:40] Yeah. Janine: [00:05:41] Yeah. And then so I had this great career for 20 years. I traveled all over the world. I've been to more than 80 countries. I worked all over the world. It was amazing. I loved it, but I was also traveling 50 to 70 percent of the time for 20 years. And the industry became huge. And I was always more interested in startups and new things. And so it just became time, a couple years ago, for me to leave that. And so I retired from that career. And along with being involved in all of that, so, I was sort of a social entrepreneur before that kind of word became a thing. And because I was in the Bay Area I was involved in all of these conversations around what has ultimately become known as impact investing. I was working at Hewlett Packard in the corporate social responsibility world. So, part of just that entire conversation about the new philanthropy and different ways of using our money. And about 10 years ago, even though I am not a high net wealth individual myself, I realized I'd made the choices in my life to live and lead from a life of value, and something where I was making a difference in the world, and I realized my money was working against me. And so I decided I was going to figure out how to invest all of my own money, from my cash to my public stocks to private stuff. If I could do that to real estate, all of it, how do I invest all of that in a way that lines with my values and is supporting the world I want to see. Eve: [00:07:18] That's a pretty powerful step to take, Janine. Janine: [00:07:19] Well, it just was really in alignment with who I was. And it was because I was watching, I was going to these conferences and I was seeing these ultra-rich people and financial, you know, foundations and institutional investors doing this. And I thought, well, why can't, why can't the rest of us do this? Why is this yet another thing that's just being left to the very rich? And so I decided to try on my own. And in the 10 years I was working super hard, so I had financial advisors. They didn't get me where I wanted to go. And so when I retired a couple of years ago, I took a lot of my assets back. And I've been working on this myself. Eve: [00:08:01] Wow. Janine: [00:08:03] And I have realized that in the 20 years that I was, have been sort of watching this space, it's really evolved. And I now think we've gotten to a point where the goal of investing your money in alignment with your values is becoming mainstream. At this point, one of four dollars that are invested by institutional investors are invested in socially responsible ways. It just hasn't trickled down enough to those of us who aren't wealthy. And it shouldn't be that way, because there are now products across virtually all asset classes that you can invest in a values-aligned way, even if you're a non-accredited investor, which means even if you don't have a million dollars in net worth, you can invest this way. And so I have corralled a bunch of the brilliant women I know who are now helping me develop a book, helping people, primarily women, because we have been really left out of the financial services conversation in a lot of ways, to help them think about how to be smarter about their investing overall and how to do this in a way that aligns with their values, too. Eve: [00:09:12] That's pretty fabulous. So, just shifting gears a bit, when we talked awhile back, you mentioned that you were interested in investing in impactful real estate, the next step in this process for you. And ... Janine: [00:09:25] Yes. Eve: [00:09:25] First of all, I'm wondering why that's an interest now? Janine: [00:09:28] Because, well, I currently own real estate. So, when I was a kid, I actually learned a lot about money from my mom, and my mom when I was a really young kid, we didn't have very much money. In fact, we were kind of poor. We didn't always know where we were going to get food. We were wearing secondhand clothes. My mom was a coupon shopper. And at some point along the way, she decided that she needed to find a way to make more money. And so she got herself into real estate. She became a real estate professional. And she started learning about buying property, buying and selling property. And so she, we're talking like back in the 60s, I think, she started going to the courthouse steps and buying foreclosed property and sometimes sight unseen. She would buy them and then she would turn my sisters and I into her crew and we would go ... we were, like, this is how I spent my summers, my teen years. Ripping up carpets, refinishing carpets, painting interiors, painting exteriors, cleaning, you know, all of that. We were her crew. And then she would rent these properties out. Sometimes she'd sell them. So, I learned about real estate and I'm in the Bay Area. This is a really hot real estate market. And so I've, you know, I've learned something along the way. And ... I bought my first house when I was 30, and have purchased real estate. So, I have those assets. Now, if I am truly aligning all of my money with my values, then that has to include my real estate. And so I've gotten to the point where I've pretty much figured out a strategy for all of my other asset classes. My cash has all been moved in alignment with my values. I'm working on doing that with my public equity stuff. My fixed income is moving that way. I'm an angel investor. I only invest in socially responsible businesses and I primarily am investing in companies that are started by female CEOs, because women get less than two percent of the private equity capital in this country. So, we need to support more women founders. So, I'm doing that with a lot of my money already. It's time for me now to start shifting my focus to the real estate. So how do I get out of, so I'm starting to think about, how do I get out of single family residences, and what might have more values aligned real estate set of opportunities look like. Eve: [00:12:02] That's really interesting. I have the reverse problem, so I'm going to probably ask for your help in dealing with my other assets. Janine: [00:12:11] Happy to do that. Eve: [00:12:12] So, you've been looking. And what does real estate impact investing look like to you? What does that mean? Janine: [00:12:19] Well, that's a really good question. And I have to be honest that I'm in the early days of this journey. And so I'm just starting to learn and that's how I found you. Actually, I was out on the Web and I was kind of searching around and thinking, well, who's doing anything out there in real estate? And that's how I found you. So, I know a little bit. So, and I've invested in a little bit. So, my last job was up in Seattle working through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. And when I was up there, I heard about a company, that basically what they were doing was they were buying distressed property in Seattle, and they were single family, and they were gutting a lot of these places and then rebuilding them green. And could actually tell the buyer this is what you're energy saving is as the result of buying this house. So, green is one way of thinking about this. I'm also somewhat familiar with affordable housing. And my current financial advisor actually has me in an affordable housing fund. I forget the name right now. I apologize for that. But they had me in that kind of fund. I've been aware of the whole opportunity zone set of things that are cropping up around the country. Although I've heard varied things about those opportunities. And, you know, those are basically things that I know. I also am invested, a very small amount of money, this particular deal could only take a thousand dollars from each investor. But it's a woman here in Oakland, the city that I live in, who is basically raising down payments through gathering money from many, many investors. And then she's getting loans and she's buying multi-unit properties that already have tenants, low-income tenants, and what she's doing is, she's setting up structures where these tenants, as they're paying rent, are actually in basically a buy-to-own situation. And she's turning these buildings into cooperatives that are owned by the people that live in them. So, I think there's some interesting models out there. I just don't, I only have seen a smattering of them so far. Eve: [00:14:40] Yeah, actually, I think, I just interviewed Rebecca Foster, who is also in the Bay Area on the Housing Accelerator Fund, which is a different model, they are working on raising money to preserve existing affordable housing in San Francisco. Yeah, I think there's lots of ways to make impact and you're just really scratching the surface. Right? Janine: [00:14:59] Exactly. And there's a, yeah, there's a man that I met recently through something I'm involved in who's in the real estate business out here. And he's starting to think about building his career around socially responsible real estate. So, he and I have had a couple of conversations. And one of the things that he sort of suggested to me, although I don't know that I have enough assets to do this, but he talked about wouldn't it be cool to like have a building where you could have businesses in it and and tenants in it, residential and office space combined. But really determine that you want a certain kind of business. Like create a space where these are all businesses that are run by women, or these are, you know, so ... or these are all businesses that are in this kind of vertical and they're helping each other and that particular vertical is good for the world. That was kind of an interesting thought. Eve: [00:16:02] I think a lot of people are thinking about this in many very different ways. Like, I built a portfolio of what I believe are socially responsible projects, but really starting before green was the theme. And I focused on underserved neighborhoods and blighted architecture ... Janine: [00:16:26] Right. Eve: [00:16:27] And so what I think is interesting about the real estate impact investing world is there's really 1001 ways to make an impact. You just really need to figure out what matters the most for you. Janine: [00:16:41] I totally agree. In fact, that's one of the things that I'm talking about in this book I mentioned is I am moving away from the words impact investing and socially responsible investing and all of that, because I think so many people use those words and they mean different things by them. And what I and it's, so it's hard to get a clear definition on it. And what I've found is when push comes to shove and you talk to people who are thinking about impact investing, they're usually talking about private deal flow, private debt and private equity. And I'm really interested in looking across all of your assets. So, what I've come to realize is even though I believe that if enough of us move our money this way, we can change the economy. At the end of the day this is really about our individual choices and who we think we are as people and how we want our money to reflect who we are in the world. Eve: [00:17:35] Yes. Janine: [00:17:36] Right? Eve: [00:17:37] When you take money, you use it, you spend time on it as well. So, for me, it's even more than money. It's how I spend the time around it. Janine: [00:17:47] Exactly. In fact, I realized the other day, it's, for me ... so much of this conversation about values align or impact investing, it's always the extra thing that people have to talk about. It's, like, here's your financial issues and how you invest in all of that. Oh, and then there's this impact investing thing. And I realized, particularly for women and millennials, who the vast majority of us want to invest our money this way, it's not the extra thing. It's sort of like the icing on the cake. Yeah, you can go out and you can invest your money to maximize return or whatever. But it's really kind of boring, in a way, to do, at least to me, it's like, yeh, so my money is out there and it's doing whatever and I don't even know what it's doing, and all I really care about is the return? No, I want more from my money than that. I've worked hard to get it. I care about everything I do in my life. Why wouldn't I care about what my money is doing? And when I get feedback from the people that I invest in about how my money is being used and what it's doing in the world, that makes me so insanely happy. And it's really fun to be able to talk to people about the cool stuff that my money is doing. I love it. It changes the game. Eve: [00:19:08] Are you still getting your return? Janine: [00:19:10] Oh, my God, yes! This is not about giving up return. This has never been about giving up returns. I can meet or beat the return that you that any other investment is giving. So, for example, if you look at public equities markets, so, one of the things that I'm invested in is the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index. This is like one of the things that people talk about all the time. Go into an index fund, Vanguard is really cheap, blah, blah, blah. Right? Great thing to be invested in. Eve: [00:19:41] Right. Janine: [00:19:41] But if you actually look at that from the perspective of environmental sustainability, there is a website out there called As You Sow that ranks, if you look up As You Sow 'Invest Your Values,' you will go to a page that you can say, "I care about fossil free stuff" or "I care about gender diversity" or whatever. And you can put your stock tickers into this tool and it will tell you, it'll show you a grade that that particular holding gets across all of these different variables. And it will show you how much of that fund is invested in the things you don't want it to be in it. What are those holdings? And so that stock gets a D on As You Sow. Now, I did some homework on As You Sow and I actually found another Vanguard Fund, an FTSE Social Index Fund, and other funds that not only are getting a better grade like A's and B's, but they also get better returns over a 10 to 15 year time horizon than what I'm in, that's getting a D. Eve: [00:20:54] Wow. Janine: [00:20:55] So why am I in that? Eve: [00:20:57] Yes. Janine: [00:20:57] I'm going to get out. Eve: [00:20:59] Well, I have to ask, you spent a lot of time on this, right? Janine: [00:21:02] Yes. Eve: [00:21:03] What about those who are just trying to find time in between the cracks to figure out where to put our money? Janine: [00:21:12] Right. Well, that's why I'm writing a book, because I realized that this shouldn't be this hard, and people shouldn't have to do the level of work that I've had to do to figure this out. So, the book is going to tell you how to do it. It's going to basically, what it's going to do, it's going to have three different sections, and the mid-section goes asset class by asset class and tells you this is what this asset class is, here's how it works, here's how it's generally thought about, and here's all the ways you can invest in this asset class in a values aligned way. Eve: [00:21:42] Wow. Let's go back to real estate. So, on your journey to find impact impactful real estate ... Now I'm feeling very self-conscious about the word ... What information haven't you been able to find? What's missing out there for someone who wants to figure this out? Janine: [00:22:00] There is no place that really says these, this is what this space looks like, and here's all the different kinds of deals that are available. And, you know, this is what's going on, these are the cool things that people are doing. I mean, I think that you're trying to do that through your podcast, and I applaud you. And that's it. I mean, I realize in order to figure this out, I'm going to have to go do serious homework and talk to a lot of people and see what other people are doing and then start to piece together what feels like an interesting way for me to move forward. Finding the information is super, super hard. Eve: [00:22:46] Yup, it's very hard. There's a lot of high level information that I'm aware of that I, that is really for sophisticated investors. I find it difficult to follow myself and, there is sort of an ... exclusiveness around it ... investing that I agree with use a little bit disappointing. Janine: [00:23:10] So, there are financial advisers out there who are socially focused, but they don't share information about the things that they invest their clients in. Eve: [00:23:21] Oh. Janine: [00:23:21] Because that knowledge is sort of their intellectual property. Right? So, there has been an opaqueness around this for a long time. And I feel like it's time to blow that up, too, and just make this stuff completely transparent. There's no reason why this information shouldn't be easily available and easily accessible. Eve: [00:23:43] Well that's very exciting. So, have you found anything you want to invest in real estate? Janine: [00:23:48] Not yet, because I haven't gone far enough down the path. But I will say the other thing that has intrigued me is the idea of co-living or shared housing kinds of situations. I've been intrigued by some of the things that you've had on your show and, you know, have added them to my list of possibilities. But I've been so focused on the other asset classes and just trying to get this book, bringing this book to life, that I haven't had the time to do the real homework on real estate. Eve: [00:24:24] I mean, I think if I was starting out now, I'd be making a list for myself and not expecting to check every box, you know? Certainly if I think about moving other assets, top of my list would be women-owned businesses. You know, it's just things that you, that I care about, that really matter to me that the next person, you're about something else more. Janine: [00:24:48] That's exactly right. And there is there will be a chapter on this book, in this book about private debt and revenue-based financing and private equity and how women can get involved in that. Angel groups that are women-based angel groups, and some new innovative models that are coming out to bring women in, even at relatively small value points, and online platforms that are available now if you're not accredited investors. So, there's actually tons of ways to start investing in women, in businesses and things like that for anyone. Eve: [00:25:24] So, I'm in the early, right at the beginning stage of talking to a group about a women's development fund, a fund, not a huge one, a small one that would invest in women-led real estate projects. Janine: [00:25:36] Oh, interesting. Eve: [00:25:38] It's going to take a little while to develop, but I'm very excited about that. I think it's a, you know, a very strong purpose, right? Janine: [00:25:47] Yeah, no, it's great. So, I actually have a question for you. Because I seem to remember and I may have gotten this wrong, but I seem to remember in listening to one of your podcasts at one point that you talked about the fact that people who do impact real estate investing aren't necessarily going to see the same kind of returns as people would in regular real estate deals. So, first of all, did I hear that right? And if I did, could you say more about that and why that's the case? And also, what do you think is a good return? Eve: [00:26:21] I think that's not necessarily true across all types of real estate; affordable housing is the most difficult. Janine: [00:26:30] Ah. Eve: [00:26:30] And that's because the more you return to an investor or a bank, the higher rents are going to be for the tenants. Janine: [00:26:38] Right. I get it. Eve: [00:26:39] So, if subsidy goes away as it has been, and we get a bigger and bigger and bigger need for affordable housing, which we have, this gap, ok? And if investors continue to want to be, quite frankly, a little bit greedy and expect 20 percent internal rate of return, I don't know how you build those projects and keep housing affordable if that continues. So ... Janine: [00:27:09] Yeah. Eve: [00:27:09] There are many examples of affordable housing projects we've done on Small Change that are offering quite generous returns. But they can do that because they have, they are a mixed-use project, they have new market tax credits, they have a grant from the city, they have, you know, historic tax, they do public-private financing, maxxed to be able to squeeze out the best return they can for investors. Very difficult. And so I think that's not true for all real estate, but definitely for that class of real estate. I think a lot has to happen for it to be kind of a normal market driven ... Janine: [00:27:55] That actually makes a ton of sense. I totally hear what you're saying. And I think those kinds of things in real estate and other verticals like health and education, perhaps. That not everything is going to deliver market rate returns. I mean, I think one of the fallacies and the problems that have come out of the impact investing movement, if you want to call it that, is the belief, or that's come out of our very, the way we think about capitalism, is that everything has a market ... everything can be done through the market. And that's just totally not true. There's a, there are brilliant things that can happen, like what you're talking about with affordable housing that can deliver a good return to an investor. If there is a subsidy brought in, or if there is a recognition that, you know, this business model is not going to completely wash its face, it's not going to completely be able to return what it needs to return. But there's lots of ways that you can bring in guarantees or you can bring in first tranches of money that are willing to take a greater loss. Or very interesting things you can do with a financial stack. Eve: [00:29:23] But ultimately is it right for a private investor to get a 15 to 20 percent return on a project that will only move forward if there's tons of subsidy. Kind of wrong. Janine: [00:29:37] I'm not sure it is because, look at the alternative. The alternative, and this is kind of what happened in the microfinance world. So, in microfinance, it was reaching 100 million people. It definitely was shown to help bring people out of poverty. It was completely driven by grants. And there was, when I got involved in it in 2002, there was this huge battle going on between proponents of, like, the Grameen Bank, of keeping it completely the way it had always been and fully driven by grants, and a new group of players who were saying, yes, but we can actually commercialize these microfinance institutions and turn them into commercially viable institutions. And there was this huge battle between those two. They hated each other, actually. And what ended up happening is the commercial play actually got proven out. It was shown that you can, in fact, commercialize microfinance and you can reach a lot more, and the whole technology piece that I talked about came out of that as well. And now you've got, from the time I got started, so that two and a half, in a basically a 10 year span in that two and a half billion people who were previously unbanked. It's now gone below two billion. So, by bringing capital that was seeking a return into the mix, that whole thing was able to scale in a way that it would never have scaled just on grants. Right? Eve: [00:31:18] But I think when I'm talking about is, we had an offering on Small Change that was an homeless housing project in L.A., just a small offering. But the developers were determined to open it up to the community. And the funds they get, the rent they get is actually from the government. So, it's going to be affordable housing in perpetuity. It's not going to, you know, increase in value and be sold at a profit. So ... Janine: [00:31:48] Right. Eve: [00:31:49] ... was a fixed return, OK, return over years, which was a nine percent return, which I thought was pretty generous. And that offering actually filled up faster than any we've had. Janine: [00:32:01] Yeah. I'm not surprised. Eve: [00:32:03] So that question to me was, do you think we could offer a little less and still raise money, because that's hard, to add in a nine percent return to a project like that? And I don't know the answer. Janine: [00:32:14] Well, you try. I mean, I'm ... I think the thing is, you know, people are going to look at this like anything else. They're going to look at it from a risk returns scenario. So in my own personal portfolio, I have money in bonds that are returning me three or four percent. Right. So that's OK, because I know that those are pretty secure and chances are I'm not going to lose my principal. Eve: [00:32:42] Right. Janine: [00:32:42] So getting three or four percent is OK. But if I'm going to put money into a private business where in five years, 50 percent of private businesses will be out of business, then my risk is a lot higher because I don't know that that business is actually going to succeed and I could lose everything. Right? So I'm looking for a better return in a three to four percent. The same thing is going to be true in a real estate deal. I mean, if you're asking me to invest in something and I'm going to get a five percent return on it, then I'm going to need to feel pretty dang confident that I'm going to get that five percent return and I'm going to get my principal back. And that's not always possible in a real estate deal. Eve: [00:33:27] And you get to feel good because you'll be housing most people, right? Janine: [00:33:34] Yes. Yes, I get that. And I also get that people need to make enough return on their money to be able to retire and have the things that they want, too. And they're not going to put that at risk. So, I think there's a, but I, you know, I talked to a woman yesterday who's on the other side of this discussion, and I really liked her a ton. She was great. She's very committed. She is very, you know, in integrity with herself. And she really believes that people should be willing to make investments and get no return if they're doing good stuff in the world. And that that is the way the world should go and that we should stop even thinking about return at all. So, she's got a very different perspective on it. Eve: [00:34:19] I think if you have enough wealth that you can do that with some of your money, that's fantastic. But you're right, most people can't,. Janine: [00:34:26] No, they can't. Eve: [00:34:27] They need to live, too. Janine: [00:34:29] So, yeah, in fact, in doing the research on this book, I found that in the United States, there are 14 million people who are millionaires, about 14, 15 million people. Right? Five percent of this, five, six percent of the country. So, if that's true and if 95 percent of us aren't millionaires, then, you know, asking people to not get a return on their money is a pretty big ask. Janine: [00:35:03] Yeah. An I don't think, and I don't think that one percent of us who really have wealth are sufficient to solve this problem. Eve: [00:35:15] Yes. Janine: [00:35:17] So, we have to find ways that the majority of us can participate in solving this problem. And that means that we need to do this in a way that they can feel comfortable with the return they're getting. And I think subsidizing to help them do that is not necessarily a bad thing. And I actually think that's where the really rich people could come in, is that they could provide some of those subsidies, so they can take lower return to help other people's money come in at a higher level of return. Eve: [00:35:51] So do you think that these new crowdfunding rules, like my platform, Small Change, where we use regulation crowdfunding to let anyone invest? Do you think that is a path towards a solution? Janine: [00:36:02] I think it's one of them, and I think it's, Yes, I do. I think it's a really interesting path. And I think that people who are non-accredited, it's been kind of fascinating to me as well how differently wealthy people invest than people who aren't. And it's not right that people who aren't wealthy shouldn't be allowed to invest in vehicles that can provide them with more direct opportunities to have impact with their money and to provide them with greater return. I mean, there is way more risk, for sure. And some people could make bad decisions. You need to do your homework with this. But there are a lot of really smart people out there who are non-accredited who would put in the time and effort to make the right decisions and they should be allowed to. Eve: [00:36:56] No, you and I agree about that. And I also, I really don't like the idea of classes of investors. So that, you know, I've had discussions with developers who think that accredited investors want more, deserve more, and I ... Janine: [00:37:14] Yeah. Eve: [00:37:14] ... can't agree with that. I think money should be given the same opportunity. And unaccredited investors who had absolutely zero opportunity to get, you know, a half a percent return from your bank account if you're lucky. Janine: [00:37:26] Right. Eve: [00:37:26] That's just not OK. So ... Janine: [00:37:29] No, it's not. And you know, the truth is, there's a great book I read a long time ago by a guy named Nocera about sort of the evolution of money. And, you know, actually even before him, if you go back, San Francisco history. So, this is a story I absolutely adore. The Bank of America. Do you know the origin story of the Bank of America? It's sort of incredible. Eve: [00:37:53] No, I don't. Janine: [00:37:55] So, quick version. So, it started in before 1906. There was an Italian immigrant in the San Francisco, in San Francisco itself, actually, who decided that, at that time, the only people who could have bank accounts were extraordinarily wealthy people. J.P. Morgan, you know, that kind of ilk of person. And so he decided, you know what, I think the average man and woman should have bank accounts and be able to get loans. And so he started this bank. It was called the Bank of Italy. And nobody used him because nobody trusted banks. And so then came 1906, the famous earthquake of San Francisco. And he rushed to his bank. He took all the cash out of his safe. He put it in a wheelbarrow. He put, you know, fruit and vegetables over this thing that he had all his money in. And he carted it out of San Francisco. And then he met with the other bankers and they were talking about what they were going to do for the city. And the other bankers were saying, well, we've got to wait six months before we can open our banks. It's too dangerous. You know, bad stuff is going to happen. And so this man, his name is A.P. Giannini. He took that cart or whatever he had of money and he brought it to Fisherman's Wharf and he set up a little table using barrels and a log, and he started giving out money. Eve: [00:39:30] Wow. Janine: [00:39:30] People came to him and he gave them loans. And all he asked was their signature. He trusted them. And the people were so responsive to that, they had so much gratitude, that his bank grew and the Bank of Italy became the Bank of America. Eve: [00:39:50] That's a great story. Yeah. Janine: [00:39:51] Right? So, and if you look at the history of money and you look at, what you find is that time and time again, there was some innovator like him who said, "You know what? This shouldn't only be for the rich." That's how we got money, mutual funds, and that's how we got invested in, that's how anyone can invest in the stock market. It wasn't always that way either. That was also just something for the rich. So, time and time again, we have seen these things come online for wealthy people. And then some innovator says, you know what? It doesn't have to be this way. Eve: [00:40:32] Yes. Janine: [00:40:34] And then the rest of us can participate. Eve: [00:40:35] Fascinating. So given all of that, what do you think the future of real estate impact investing lies? Janine: [00:40:43] I'm going to take a step back first and say, where does the future of impact or values aligned investing lie first, and I believe it is going to become ubiquitous. I believe that ultimately this is the way people are going to invest writ large, that their values are going to matter to them as much as their return. And they're going to realize they don't have to give up both. And I think that the real estate piece of this, because it's more complicated for people, is going to be a little longer to come online. But I think there will ultimately be a lot of really interesting opportunities, for all of us, to invest in real estate, too, because it is a great diversifier. Eve: [00:41:23] Yes. Janine: [00:41:25] And I'm a huge fan. When I was a young girl, my favorite movie of all time was Gone With the Wind. And, you know, I totally love that she always goes back to the land and she realizes that regardless of what's happening around her, the land is something tangible and real. And it's something that she can hold on to. And I think that's still true today. Eve: [00:41:49] Well, that was some really fascinating conversation. Thank you so much for joining me, Janine. I'm sure we're going to be talking again soon. Janine: [00:41:58] My pleasure. Thank you so much. I enjoyed it, too. Eve: [00:42:03] That was Janine Firpo. Here are some of the things I learned during our fascinating conversation. First, not only can you expect financial return when you make a socially responsible investment, you can meet or even beat the market. Second, only five percent of the U.S. population is a millionaire. That means that 95 percent of the population does not have access to investment opportunities that are largely available for the wealthy. Finally, figuring out what impact means in real estate investing is difficult for someone starting out. It's impossible to find consistent metrics. You can find out more about impact real estate investing, and access the show notes for today's episode at my website, EvePicker.com. While you're there, sign up for my newsletter to find out more about how to make money in real estate while building better cities. Thank you so much for spending your time with me today. And thank you, Janine, for sharing your thoughts with me. We'll talk again soon. But for now, this is Eve Picker signing off to go make some change.
Rosanna Weaver is programme manager for executive compensation As You Sow. ***** Her face looks at the camera in a way that is totally different to how teenagers take selfies now. There’s no elaborate expression, but there is, for some reason, a hint of a smile. Maybe the instinct to smile when a camera is … Continue reading "CO136 Rosanna Weaver on Targeting Shareholders"
Rosanna Weaver is programme manager for executive compensation As You Sow. ***** Her face looks at the camera in a way that is totally different to how teenagers take selfies now. There’s no elaborate expression, but there is, for some reason, a hint of a smile. Maybe the instinct to smile when a camera is … Continue reading "CO136 Rosanna Weaver on Targeting Shareholders"
Oil giant Chevron recently wrote down over $10 billion in fossil fuel assets — things like natural gas projects and oil fields that are losing value. Some analysts suggest a glut of natural gas supply is driving the move, but many observers see a deeper climate change connection: the need to cut emissions is changing consumer demand. “Investors are quite concerned that companies like Chevron that are producing fossil fuels will continually be caught with assets that they can't sell. If utilities can buy solar at a cheaper rate than natural gas, that will impact Chevron,” said Danielle Fugere, president and chief counsel of shareholder advocacy group As You Sow.
This episode is sponsored by George Wensley Hello and welcome to Film Pro Productivity, the podcast that helps film professionals and other creatives to live a more focused, effective and HAPPY life. My name is Carter Ferguson and this is EPISODE 45 – THE LAW OF SUCCESS IN 16 LESSONS: PART 6 This is the final episode of this special interconnected series within the series focusing on Napoleon Hill’s powerful book THE LAW OF SUCCESS IN 16 LESSONS. In whatever walk of life you are in, WANTING TO BE SUCCESSFUL is a universal theme that I felt vital to explore here on the show and this book based on Napoleon Hills own lecture tour I felt was the key to it’s delivery. Now if you’ve not yet heard the previous shows on this topic then I’d strongly advise you to go back and listen to episodes 40 through 44 before listening to this one. Seriously, go back now and get listening, or you will not get the best out of this series. The content in these shows has been my interpretation or direct quotation of NAPOLEON HILL’s words from the book with here and there a sprinkling of information gleaned from Hill’s later life. The main change I make in all of this is in neutralising the gender every now and again simply because I want to make the lessons as accessible for today’s audience as Hill intended it to be in 1928. As proven by Lesson 15, Hill was all about tolerance, equality and inclusion and he wouldn’t want his words of 1928 to be misinterpreted as something intolerant to the ear of a 21st century audience. Before I proceed to THE GOLDEN RULE let me once again start with this. WHATEVER THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE AND BELIEVE THE MIND CAN ACHIEVE. Now I’ve used this phrase to precede every lesson so far, but every chapter except LESSON 4 actually begins with these words "You Can Do It if You Believe You Can!" - I deliberately changed it to Hill’s later phrasing WHATEVER THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE AND BELIEVE THE MIND CAN ACHIEVE as I believe he would have wished it to be so. Bearing that in mind let me proceed to the 16th and final lesson in Napoleon Hill’s LAWS OF SUCCESS book. That which you do not wish for yourself, DO NOT IMPOSE ON OTHERS. Umar UNQUOTE LESSON 16 - THE GOLDEN RULE: This lesson is the Guiding Star that will enable you to profitably and constructively use the KNOWLEDGE assembled in the preceding lessons. This philosophy of THE GOLDEN RULE is simply this "DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WISH THEM TO DO UNTO YOU." Put another way DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD WISH THEM TO DO UNTO YOU IF YOUR POSITIONS WERE REVERSED. Hill wants us to understand one thing very clearly here: That there is more power wrapped up in the previous lessons of this course than most could trust themselves with; therefore, this lesson is what Hill refers to as the - GOVERNOR – or LIMITER - that will enable YOU TO STEER YOURSELF SAFELY DOWN THE PATHWAY OF ALL THOSE WHO COME SUDDENLY INTO POSSESSION OF POWER. The rule is as old as time itself. It’s how we regulate our behaviour in civilised society and it’s the rock on which we build strength of character, as YOUR CHARACTER is but the sum total of your thoughts and deeds! Socrates said it this way DO NOT DO TO OTHERS what angers you IF DONE TO YOU BY OTHERS. Hill asks a question of this which you may have already been thinking and which those of us who just blindly accept such statements would not. He asks it as he has honed the art of accurate thinking within himself… The question he asks is why. WHY? What is the real reason for this kindly consideration of others? His conclusion after years of study is this – That there is an eternal law which simply says WE REAP THAT WHICH WE SOW, also expressed as: AS YOU SOW, SO SHALL YOU REAP. In more modern speak we may say, WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND or in simpler terms once again, THAT YOU MUST EVENTUALLY FACE THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS. Hill states that not only is it advisable to “do unto others as you wish them to do unto you,” but to avail yourself fully of the benefits of this great Universal Law you must also “think of others as you wish them to think of you.” as the law upon which the Golden Rule is based begins affecting you, either for good or evil, the moment you release a thought. As usual here Hill gives many examples of this law in action but he also warns us that a passive attitude toward it will you bring no results; IT IS NOT ENOUGH, he says, merely to believe in this philosophy, while, at the same time, FAILING TO APPLY IT IN YOUR RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS. If you want results you must take an active attitude toward the Golden Rule. A mere passive attitude, represented by belief in its soundness, will simply do you no good. Richard Branson believes in this principle. He says “Play fair, be prepared for others to play dirty, and don't let them drag you into the mud.” Which is a pretty awesome line in the modern tongue. What Hill is doing in this lesson though is ensuring that our character remains sound. Perhaps you have wondered, he says, why the subject of honesty has not been mentioned in this course, as a prerequisite to success, and, if so, the answer will be found here in this lesson. The Golden Rule philosophy, when rightly understood and applied, makes dishonesty IMPOSSIBLE. It does more than this – it makes impossible all the other destructive qualities such as selfishness, greed, envy, bigotry, hatred and malice. When you apply the Golden Rule, you become, at one and the same time, both the judge and the judged - the accused and the accuser. This places one in a position in which honesty begins in one’s own heart, toward one’s self, and extends to all others with equal effect. He presents in this lesson A CODE OF ETHICS to allow us to more concretely embody the law on which the golden rule is based. In full this reads as follows: 1. I believe in the Golden Rule as the basis of all human conduct; therefore, I will never do to another person that which I would not be willing for that person to do to me if our positions were reversed. 2. I will be honest, even to the slightest detail, in all my transactions with others, not alone because of my desire to be fair with them, but because of my desire to impress the idea of honesty on my own subconscious mind, thereby weaving this essential quality into my own character. 3. I will forgive those who are unjust toward me, with no thought as to whether they deserve it or not, because I understand the law through which forgiveness of others strengthens my own character and wipes out the effects of my own transgressions, in my subconscious mind. 4. I will be just, generous and fair with others always, even though I know that these acts will go unnoticed and unrecorded, in the ordinary terms of reward, because I understand and intend to apply the law through the aid of which one’s own character is but the sum total of one’s own acts and deeds. 5. Whatever time I may have to devote to the discovery and exposure of the weaknesses and faults of others I will devote, more profitably, to the discovery and correction of my own. 6. I will slander no person, no matter how much I may believe another person may deserve it, because I wish to plant no destructive suggestions in my own subconscious mind. 7. I recognize the power of Thought as being an inlet leading into my brain from the universal ocean of life; therefore, I will set no destructive thoughts afloat upon that ocean lest they pollute the minds of others. 8. I will conquer the common human tendency toward hatred, and envy, and selfishness, and jealousy, and malice, and pessimism, and doubt, and fear; for I believe these to be the seed from which the world harvests most of its troubles. 9. When my mind is not occupied with thoughts that tend toward the attainment of my definite chief aim in life, I will voluntarily keep it filled with thoughts of courage, and self-confidence, and goodwill toward others, and faith, and kindness, and loyalty, and love for truth, and justice, for I believe these to be the seed from which the world reaps its harvest of progressive growth. 10. I understand that a mere passive belief in the soundness of the Golden Rule philosophy is of no value whatsoever, either to myself or to others; therefore, I will actively put into operation this universal rule for good in all my transactions with others. 11. I understand the law through the operation of which my own character is developed from my own acts and thoughts; therefore, I will guard with care all that goes into its development. 12. Realizing that enduring happiness comes only through helping others find it; that no act of kindness is without its reward, even though it may never be directly repaid, I will do my best to assist others when and where the opportunity appears. As Hill nears the end of this lesson and the book itself he raises the point that “There are people who believe that the Golden Rule philosophy is nothing more than a theory and that it is in no way connected with an immutable law.” Mike Michalowicz of ENTREPRENEURSHIP MADE SIMPLE, explains that IMMUTABLE LAWS are the rules of our lives. They define you. They define your business. They are a blend of ethics, core values and self-assigned law, all wrapped up into one. They are the rules we have defined for ourselves, almost subconsciously, on what is RIGHT and what is WRONG. Here he touches upon something which I raised just a few weeks ago in my episode DON’T DO ME A FAVOUR - They have arrived at this conclusion, he says, because of personal experience wherein they rendered service to others without enjoying the benefits of direct reciprocation. When I created that episode and DISCUSSED THE LAW OF RECIPROCITY, I didn’t know at the time that Napoleon Hill had ventured into the same territory so I’m going to give it a little time here. Hill says: How many are there who have rendered service to others that were neither reciprocated nor appreciated? I am sure that I have had such an experience, not once, but many times, and I am equally sure that I will have similar experiences in the future. I, however, will not discontinue rendering service to others merely because they neither reciprocate nor appreciate my efforts. This is quite interesting to me as I did at one point discontinue a service to someone to whom I passed work that I couldn’t do myself. I woke up one day though as I had received a complaint about them, following my recommendation, and I realised in that instant that my goodwill had never been reciprocated during that whole time. Whether I stopped my recommendations because it was never reciprocated or whether I stopped it because a complaint came back to me is not something I’ve considered but it was probably a bit of both. Napolean Hill’s reasoning is as follows: When I render service to another, or indulge in an act of kindness, I store away in my sub-conscious mind the effect of my efforts, which may be likened to the “charging” of an electric battery. By and by, if I indulge in a sufficient number of such acts I will have developed a positive, dynamic character that will attract to me people who harmonize with or resemble my own character. Those whom I attract will reciprocate the acts of kindness and the service that I have rendered others, thus the LAW OF COMPENSATION will have balanced the scales of justice for me, bringing back through one source the results of service which I rendered to an entirely different one. The LAW OF COMPENSATION incidentally was proposed by Ralph Waldo Emerson, in his essay, "Compensation," – He wrote that EACH PERSON IS COMPENSATED IN LIKE MANNER FOR THAT WHICH HE OR SHE HAS CONTRIBUTED. The Law of Compensation is another restatement of the Law of Sowing and Reaping. The Golder Rule. Nothing in the Golden Rule says that others will treat us as we have treated them. It only says that we must treat others in a way that we would want to be treated. Rosa Parks UNQUOTE Hill asks If someone should fail to reciprocate your kindness - what then? He answers that We have profited, nonetheless, because of the effect of our act on our own subconscious mind! This is, of course, an extension of Hill’s belief in the habit of AUTO SUGGESTION and it’s exactly what I was talking about in my episode on favours. DON’T DO A FAVOUR IN EXPECTATION OF RETURN OF THAT FAVOUR. Give it freely and in time your kindness will be repaid. If you need further proof that the GOLDEN RULE is worth your time and effort, consider how your hostile or unkind acts toward others bring back the effects of retaliation which is usually definite and immediate. THE LAW OF RETALIATION is more widely known as "An eye for an eye" This habit is a form of POSITIVE THOUGHT which develops in you a DYNAMIC PERSONALITY and feeds your SELF CONFIDENCE. It will help you to ATTRACT the forces you require to reach your DEFINITE CHIEF AIM. Summing Up It will hardly come as surprise to you that have stayed the course of all 6 episodes in which I delve into Napoleon Hill’s LAW OF SUCCESS that I am now about to recap on all of the lessons that have been presented. I’ll let the words of Mr Hill take you forward into this. You have now arrived at the point at which you should take inventory of yourself for the purpose of ascertaining what qualities you need - to give you a well-balanced and rounded out personality. Fifteen major factors entered into the building of this course. I ask you to ANALYZE YOURSELF CAREFULLY, with the assistance of one or more others if you feel that you need it, for the purpose of ascertaining in which of the fifteen factors of this course you are the weakest, and then CONCENTRATE YOUR EFFORTS UPON THOSE PARTICULAR LESSONS until you HAVE FULLY DEVELOPED THAT WHICH THEY REPRESENT. In the introduction Hill thanks ANDREW CARNEGIE, who suggested the writing of the course, and HENRY FORD, whose astounding achievements form the foundation for practically all of the Sixteen Lessons contained within. Finally he singles out EDWIN C. BARNES, a business associate of THOMAS EDISON, whose close personal friendship over a period of more than fifteen years served to help the author “carry on” in the face of a great variety of adversities and much temporary defeat which he had met with. In summary then, THE LAW OF SUCCESS is as follows. LESSON 1 – The "MASTER MIND": is an invisible stronger third mind, developed through friendly alliance, in a spirit of harmony of purpose, between two or more minds. No two or more minds ever met without creating, out of the contact, another mind. This invisible creation is not always a "Master Mind." Though - That ONLY forms when two or more people work together in harmony of purpose and effort. LESSON 2 – A DEFINITE CHIEF AIM: You must do away forever with aimlessness and fix your heart and hand upon some definite, well-conceived purpose. In your struggle for success, you should keep constantly in mind the necessity of knowing what it is that you want - Know precisely what your definite purpose is - utilise the principle of organized effort in the attainment of that DEFINITE PURPOSE. If you don’t know where you are going, then you’re never going to get there. LESSON 3 - SELF CONFIDENCE: Believe that you are worthy of success and that you can attain it. Without truly understanding this - you will probably get nowhere with most of your goals. If you are not confident, then you cannot sell yourself in life. LESSON 4 - THE HABIT OF SAVING: Formation of the Habit of Saving not only conserves that which you earn, in a systematic manner, but it also places you in the way of greater opportunity and gives you the vision, the self-confidence, the imagination, the enthusiasm, the initiative and leadership to actually increase your earning capacity. Amongst other things if you are trying to develop a HABIT OF SAVING then you must learn to kill the habit of unnecessary spending. LESSON 5: INITIATIVE AND LEADERSHIP – Initiative is DOING THE RIGHT THING WITHOUT BEING TOLD. Leadership is essential for the attainment of Success, but Initiative is the very foundation upon which this necessary quality is built. LESSON 6 - IMAGINATION: You will never have a definite purpose in life, you will never have self-confidence, and you will never have initiative and leadership unless you first create these qualities in your imagination and see yourself in possession of them. LESSON 7 - ENTHUSIASM: A state of mind that inspires and arouses one to put action into the task at hand - it is contagious, and vitally affects not only the enthusiast, but all with whom he comes in contact. LESSON 8 – SELF CONTROL: When you take control over the thoughts you are thinking, then you can take control of your success. SELF-DISCIPLINE IS THE MOST ESSENTIAL FACTOR IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF PERSONAL POWER, because LACK OF IT works hardships on those who become its victims, and THOSE WHO DO NOT EXERCISE IT suffer the loss of a great power which they could use in the achievement of their DEFINITE CHIEF AIM. LESSON 9 – THE HABIT OF DOING MORE THAN PAID FOR: If you are going to whine about your work, then you are not going anywhere. Do the work you have in front of you, then ask what else you may do. By doing this, you make yourself valuable, and you will surely reach a point where you are being paid handsomely. Valuable employees are... valuable. This is also and especially true when you are working for yourself. LESSON 10 - PLEASING PERSONALITY: His advice is have one, and if you don’t have one, cultivate one. Mediocrity does not care if you are pleasant or not. Success DOES. LESSON 11 - ACCURATE THOUGHT: Separate facts from mere information. Then separate facts into two classes; the IMPORTANT and the UNIMPORTANT, or, the RELEVANT and the IRRELEVANT. All facts which will aid you to any extent whatsoever in the attainment of your definite chief aim are important and relevant; All that you cannot use are unimportant and irrelevant. LESSON 12 - CONCENTRATION: "Concentration is the act of focusing the mind upon a given desire until the ways and means for its realization have been worked out and successfully put into operation" LESSON 13 –COOPERATION: The implementation of cooperation between yourself and others who are going to help you get to your goal. Cooperation must also exist between your conscious and subconscious mind so that they may work harmoniously in your favour. LESSON 14 – FAILURE: Yes! Fail, and be happy that it is bringing you one step closer to success. Failure is inevitable, and it is a great step towards the right direction. Replace "failure" with "temporary defeat". LESSON 15 –TOLERANCE: Don't practice prejudice or racism. It is IGNORANCE, and it is a barrier to success. Just see the best in people and situations, and focus only on your goal and the good for all. And finally LESSON 16 – THE GOLDEN RULE: “Do unto others as you wish them to do unto you,” and to avail yourself fully of the benefits of this great Universal Law you must also “think of others as you wish them to think of you.” As the law upon which the Golden Rule is based begins affecting you, either for good or evil, the moment you release a thought. Call To Action Your call to action today is not only CONSIDER THE GOLDEN RULE but to take up this challenge which Hill lays out: Analyze yourself carefully, with the assistance of one or more other persons if you feel that you need it, for the purpose of ascertaining in which of the fifteen factors detailed in this course you are the weakest, and then concentrate your efforts upon those particular lessons until you have fully developed that which they represent. I will make my breakdown of the 16 lessons I just went through available through the official website as a PDF download, so go there as a starting point. Also on today’s show notes, I’ll be giving the download links to all of the versions of the text that are available in the public domain, plus an audio download of his 1954 film which encapsulates this and YouTube links to boot. PDF KINDLE OTHER READERS AUDIO VIEW 1954 FILM Ending So that is the end of this 6 episode mini-series. I hope that you have found it beneficial and I hope too that it leads you towards the success which you seek in life. This has been a helluva undertaking for me which has shoved me beyond a few of my own deadlines, but I realised once I have started that to not properly cover it all would have been a disservice to you. Thanks too to all of you that have sponsored these episodes and to all of the international listeners in Australia, Hong Kong, the US, Canada and Germany as I get a helluva a lot of downloads in those places. Wherever you are in the world I hope that these lessons have been useful and lead you towards success. Next week, I will be responding to listeners questions, in a special MAILBAG episode, but for now, bearing in mind all that we have learned from Napoleon Hill over the last six episodes let me end with a quote from Thomas Sowell who said – “It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” Now - take control of your own destiny, keep on shootin’, join me next time on Film Pro Productivity. Insert of Napoleon Hill's voice. • The music you can hear right now is Adventures by A Himitsu • You can view the show notes for this episode on the official website filmproproductivity.com • You can follow my personal account on Twitter and Instagram @fight_director or follow the show on Twitter @filmproprodpod or on Facebook @Filmproproductivity • Please support the show by subscribing, spreading the word and leaving an AWESOME review. References: https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-Law-of-Success-by-Napoleon-Hill-A-Quick-Overview Thanks: A Himitsu Music: Adventures by A Himitsu https://www.soundcloud.com/a-himitsu Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b... Music released by Argofox https://www.youtu.be/8BXNwnxaVQE Music provided by Audio Library https://www.youtu.be/MkNeIUgNPQ8 ––– • Contact the artist: x.jonaz@gmail.com https://www.facebook.com/ahimitsuhttps://www.twitter.com/ahimitsu1 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgFwu-j5-xNJml2FtTrrB3A When people get used to preferential treatment, equal treatment seems like discrimination. Thomas Sowell UNQUOTE
English Reading Comprehension series: As You Sow, So Shall You Reap. Moral: Evil Begets Evil. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/dee64/message
Bubba & Tiny descend into the Winden Caves to review Dark the German Netflix show from Germany! We talk the next 3 episodes of season 1: Episode 6 "Sic Mundus Creatus Est", Episode 7 "Crossroads" and Episode 8 "As You Sow, so You Shall Reap." Tiny is watching #darknetflix for the 1st time, while Bubba is rewatching Jonas get stopped while Helge gets rocked! At 24:53, Bubba goes deeper into the caves for full Season 1 spoilers with Tiny! https://twitter.com/DoublePHQ https://www.facebook.com/doublephq/
The post As You Sow – Shareholder Advocacy appeared first on Impact Financial Planners.
Where do you find green bonds? New report highly critical of most ESG indexes. Though passive ESG ETFs can be attractive from an annual cost perspective, check what’s in them and see if their holdings agree with your values. There's a strong argument that active management for ESG investing is best. And much more here Transcript & Links 29 March 2019 In this edition, I’m going to cover several recent items that I believe are most important for News to Profit By listeners. Our first story, Why ESG Is Too Nuanced for Index Investing, Frances E. Tuite, ThinkAdvisor. The writer says, that, "Active management brings deeper analysis and nimbler choices into building socially responsible portfolios." Frances makes some good points why active management of funds – rather than just sitting on a group of stocks indefinitely – can be preferable. Among the points are, and I quote, 1) “Active managers combine valuation, fundamental analysis and ESG factors into their stock selection. A passive or index strategy does not encompass individual stock selection; rather, stocks are added based on a positive or negative screen without regard to valuation or fundamental research.” 2) “An active manager may create a select and concentrated portfolio (40 or 50 names) while passive funds may hold a large diversified portfolio (in some cases over 1,000 positions) that due to liquidity needs, out of necessity, can include stocks with low ESG ratings.“ Frances says that the new Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF includes Facebook and Amazon which both now have low ESG scores by some analysts. Amazon for the treatment of their workforce and Facebook for its data issues. So, though passive ESG ETFs can be attractive from an annual cost perspective, check what’s in them and see if their holdings agree with your values. Go to this podcasts’ blog page at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts to find out where to get reliable sustainable and ethical fund information for where you live. Americans at https://charts.ussif.org/mfpc/ Canadians can check out funds at https://www.riacanada.ca/ri-marketplace/investment-options/ . UK investors at http://www.yourethicalmoney.org/investments/ . For Australians and New Zealanders https://www.responsiblereturns.com.au/ . ------------------------------------------------------------- The second story, What Are Green Bonds and How ‘Green’ Is Green? By Lyubov Pronina, Bloomberg Businessweek A quick quote reads, “Because investors face the challenge of judging whether a note is truly green, regulators are working on standards to help guard against greenwashing, or misleading claims about just how good a friend to the environment an issuer is." Green bonds go to existing or new projects that have beneficial environmental or climate impacts. $580 billion of them were sold in 2018. There’s been a real problem of creating standards for them. For instance, how can you ascertain exactly what’s green? So, now the standards are coming together. Issuers in over 50 countries have sold green bonds and include institutions like the World Bank and the EU’s European Investment Bank. For a long time, ethical investors had difficulty in creating a fixed income or bond portfolio. Now, with the advent of green bonds ethical and sustainable fixed income investing is becoming a lot easier! Look into it if you haven’t already done so and get some quality green bonds in your portfolio. To get started, one good source for green bond investing is The Climate Bonds Initiative which lists most of the green bonds out there. ------------------------------------------------------------- Our third item is, The Blind Spot in Corporate Sustainability Rankings: Climate Policy Leadership, by the Environmental Defense Fund. Here’s a quote that gives the gist of the study, “The authors reviewed eight rankings by evaluating the methodologies that these systems have published online and that are available to the public. They assessed whether companies’ policy engagement activities were considered in the rankings, and how, if considered, they were tabulated as part of the companies’ overall rankings or scores...” And, “Most corporate sustainability rankings do little to encourage companies to engage in climate policy, as they neither recognize support for nor penalize opposition to climate policy." The Environmental Defense Fund has done a brilliant job in analyzing which sustainability screened stock indexes only include companies who are also screened for their environmental advocacy. The reason for such screening allows investors to better determine which companies are truly on board with combating climate change. Of the eight major indexes only two were recommended. They are Corporate Knights' Global 100 and InfluenceMap. So that’s who to go to if you really want to invest only in the most serious companies about climate change—but who also offer the potential of decent returns. ------------------------------------------------------------- My fourth item of news, is, Ethical Funds Have Never Been Cheaper As Vanguard Spurs Fee War, by Bloomberg News Quoting the article, "The price war has come to socially conscious investing. BlackRock (BLK), Vanguard Group and Deutsche Bank's (DB) DWS Group have slashed fees for exchange traded funds that track companies performing well on environmental, social and governance criteria." Incidentally, an insightful write up on Vanguard's new Global ESG Select Stock fund by Morningstar's great Jon Hale, Ph.D. is worthy of a read. Get the link on this podcasts page at investingforthesoul.com/podcasts. Also, in my podcast of March 15, I mentioned how annual fund fees for ESG ETFs were now often comparable to those of conventional funds. This article goes into some depth about that. However, I absolutely maintain that if you truly want a portfolio that reflects your deep beliefs and values, the only way to do that is to buy individual stocks. I make that simple with my 1-hour DIY Ethical-Sustainable Investing Pays Tutorial. See the link on my website investingforthesoul.com. ------------------------------------------------------------- A fifth news story I want to cover is, How to Evaluate Funds that Invest in Women, by Debbie Carlson, US News Here’s an interesting quote, "Because data around gender was so thin, Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow, a California-based nonprofit shareholder advocacy group focused on ESG, says his group worked with Equileap to compile more information about corporate gender policies, including policies like training, career development, safety at work, human rights and other issues... His group recently created a gender-equality funds tool that analyzes mutual funds and ETFs, taking into account these different gender attributes and giving each fund a score." There are now some good ETFs that are gender focused and I covered them in my March 15 podcast in a commentary concerning an article, Who runs the world? The global status of women in leadership. ------------------------------------------------------------- Now my next, sixth story is quite revealing, Large fund firms' support for combating climate change is all talk, as proxy voting record shows bottom performance, by Eric Rosenbaum, CNBC. Here’s a great quote! “A data analysis released by Ceres in early March shows that when BlackRock and Vanguard are measured on their up-or-down votes on climate change resolutions at stockholder annual meetings, they have among the worst voting records in the fund industry." So, the voting data would appear irrefutable that the largest American fund companies don't 'walk their talk. Senior managers of some of these huge fund companies, including Blackrock’s CEO, Larry Fink, have been loudly espousing their love for ESG. I hope it’s just a simple case that views of the funds senior managers on ESG hadn't yet filtered down to the managers making the proxy decisions who are likely engaged with other concerns. I expect that the 2019 and 2020 proxy seasons will show much-improved results. I suggest if you’re concerned about how your fund company stacks up on ESG and climate change related stockholder voting, see the Ceres report. Again, the link is on my podcast page for this show. ------------------------------------------------------------- And now the seventh and final story I want to cover, is, Investors Lose a Major Justification for Holding Tobacco Stocks, by Lisa Pham, Bloomberg. Here’s an insightful quote from it, "In recent years, a flurry of European pension funds and insurers have begun divesting their holdings, putting pressure on the share prices. BAT had its worst year on record last year, slumping 50 percent, as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration toughened its stance toward the tobacco industry. Philip Morris slumped 37 percent." Some of you might think it unsurprising that tobacco stocks are down. However, until recently most investors would’ve have told you that tobacco stocks are great as they’ve demonstrated terrific returns for decades! Well, I've been arguing for many years now that the days were numbered for big tobacco. In July 2010, I wrote an editorial on my Investing for the Soul site, Sin or Ethical Investing: Which Pays Best? There, I said, "Over the next five to ten years I suspect that ethical stock portfolios could outperform both the sin and conventional variety." And it looks like I’ll be proven right. ------------------------------------------------------------- So, there we have it for this podcast! Just a reminder, to download the transcript of this podcast and get all the links and additional information mentioned here, please go to investingforthesoul.com/podcasts and look for this edition. And remember, I’m here to help you grow in your investment success—and investing in opportunities that reflect your personal values! Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about this podcast or anything else investment related. A big thank you for listening—and please click the share buttons to share this podcast with your friends and family. Come again! Bye for now! © 2019 Ron Robins, Investing for the Soul. All rights reserved.
The interviews: U.S. EPA Chief Andrew Wheeler, Citigroup Global Head of HR Sara Wechter, Arjuna Capital Managing Partner Natasha Lamb, Center for Political Accountability President Bruce Freed, ACCF VP of Policy Tim Doyle, As You Sow President Danielle Fugere. The backstory: Shareholders filed proposals on nearly 400 environmental, social and sustainability issues at U.S. companies through mid-February. The top topics were climate change, gender diversity and corporate political spending. In the second episode of ESG Insider, an S&P Global podcast, we talk to the activist shareholders behind some of these proposals. We hear from one of the world's largest banks about how it engaged with an activist investor on the gender pay gap. And some skeptics of the ESG movement weigh in with their misgivings about the corporate focus on sustainability. "At some point it comes down to: is the company taking the action that shareholders think is necessary? And if not, the resolution process is a way to focus a company's attention on the issue," said Danielle Fugere, president and chief counsel of As You Sow, which is at the forefront of efforts to get companies to set targets to lower their greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement on climate change. The episode features an exclusive interview with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler, who shares his views on the ESG movement. Also in episode 2, Arjuna Capital LLC Managing Partner Natasha Lamb reveals how her wealth management firm convinced Citigroup Inc. to disclose new — and unflattering — gender pay gap data, even as other banks push back. And Citigroup Global Head of Human Resources Sara Wechter explains why the bank is OK with admitting it has some progress to make in that area. "In order for us to really make a difference, we have to become as comfortable as we possibly can be with the numbers, even if they are uncomfortable," Wechter said. Other podcast guests include Center for Political Accountability President and Co-founder Bruce Freed, and Tim Doyle of the American Council For Capital Formation, which is a member of the Main Street Investors Coalition that is pushing back on the ESG movement. (Photo: AP)
After watching Warren Buffett apologize for taking a $20 billion write-down for Berkshire Hathaway's investment ni Kraft Heinz, David Trainer of New Constructs said the problem highlights trouble ahead for value investors, who he says have been looking at the wrong metrics and following the pack, which has them headed for trouble. Also on the show, Brandon Thurber of Regions Asset Management said that the market is going through a 'pro-risk on environment for equities, at least for now.' while Rosanna Landis Weaver of As You Sow discussed her group's list of the 100 Most Overpaid CEOs for 2019, with Rob Lutts of Cabot Wealth Management in for the Market Call.
Topic timecodes: 5:30 - Cyberpunk 2077's target release date: CDPR's official stance is still "when it's ready", but here's why we think it's coming in 2019 54:20 - The Outer Worlds release date leak 1:04:48 - As You Sow lists Activision and EA on their 2019 list of the 100 companies with overpaid CEOs 1:22:21 - Anthem is boring & nobody is buying it Check out The Mad Queen's channel for excellent Cyberpunk 2077 content ► https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0G5rpOFcY6pOdtKsCE0p2A Subscribe on YouTube to catch the podcast live ► https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMWKb-id2icjihQdTL0btuw?sub_confirmation=1 JOIN THE LEAGUE! - Join our Discord community ► https://discord.gg/WDQJTJw - Join the support team ► https://www.patreon.com/TheTripleSLeague CYBERPUNK 2077 STUFF ► https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBV81U7BXltVLiT_edqOAhs2Kturywc3R FALLOUT 76 STUFF ► https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBV81U7BXltUSAM5mIa0RjngrX5F0y0Jw Augmented Reality is a video game news, gaming fan & nerd info podcast. Each week, we take a critical and humorous look at the latest in gaming news, technology and nerdy pop culture stuff. See our full video library (game guides, comedy, reviews & more) on YouTube! Podcast theme music: Hellcat (NCS Release - https://youtu.be/JSY6vBPunpY) by Desmeon (http://www.youtube.com/iamdesmeon)
The post As You Sow – Shareholder Advocacy appeared first on AIO Financial Advisors Fee Only Fiduciary.
The post As You Sow – Shareholder Advocacy appeared first on Fee Only Fiduciary Financial Planners, Retirement Planning, Socially Responsible Investing, Tucson & US.
The post As You Sow – Shareholder Advocacy appeared first on Fee Only Fiduciary Financial Planners, Retirement Planning, Socially Responsible Investing, Tucson & US.
We are joined by Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and CEO of As You Sow, Andy Behar. Mayor Hancock tells us how he and Denver are pushing to become more sustainable, as well as how other cities can fight climate change. Andy Behar shows us how to make climate-conscious financial decisions and how to hold corporations […] The post S1 Ep 15: Cities Tackling Climate w/ Mayor Michael Hancock & Andy Behar appeared first on Hip Hop Caucus.
A veteran leader in the environmental movement, Carl Pope is the former Executive Director and Chairman of the Sierra Club. He's now the principal adviser at Inside Straight Strategies, looking for the underlying economics that link sustainability and economic development. He serves as a Senior Climate Adviser to former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He was a founder of the Blue-Green Alliance and America Votes. He has served on the Boards of Ceres, the California League of Conservation Voters, As You Sow, the National Clean Air Coalition, and California Common Cause. He is currently a member of the US-India Track II Climate Diplomacy project of the Aspen Institute. He writes regularly for Bloomberg View and the Huffington Post. Mr. Pope is also the author of three books: Sahib, An American Misadventure in India; Hazardous Waste in America; and co-author along with Paul Rauber of Strategic Ignorance: Why the Bush Administration Is Recklessly Destroying a Century of Environmental Progress, which the New York Review of Books called "a splendidly fierce book." In this episode, the topics discussed include: The clean energy revolution . The new reality: climate change can be solved with opportunity, no sacrifice necessary. Carbon emissions and food systems: shipping, storage, waste. The overuse of the word efficiency: legacy, creative, and innovative maybe better words. Cities and their role in solving climate change - they are a source and a solution to the problem. In lights of the U.S. pullout from the Paris Agreement, why should there be hope? The role of corporations in climate change. Corporate alignment with NGOs. Branding and labeling of sustainability initiatives. The current pace of commitment made by the U.S. for the Paris Agreement. The importance of employee engagement to a company’s innovation. NOTES Carl Pope Health co-benefits from air pollution and mitigation costs of the Paris Agreement: a modelling study Climate of Hope: How Cities, Businesses, and Citizens Can Save the Planet GLOBAL CLIMATE ACTION SUMMIT ABOUT PHILIP BEERE Philip is host of Corporate Sustainability; the podcast that explores companies and people who inspire innovation, improvement, and sustainable business practices through purpose-driven missions and initiatives. Philip is a longtime marketer, who consults companies on how to use stories and narrative to help build their brands. He says sustainability stories are one of the most powerful ways companies can manage their reputations. Connect with him by clicking here.
Carl Pope is the former executive director and chairman of the Sierra Club and a veteran leader in the environmental movement. He is now a senior climate advisor to former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and the principal advisor at Inside Straight Strategies, where he focuses on the links between sustainability and economic development. A graduate of Harvard College, he is the author of three books, including Climate of Hope: How Cities, Businesses, and Citizens Can Save the Planet, which he co-authored with Michael Bloomberg. He was a founder of the BlueGreen Alliance and America Votes, and he served on the boards of the California League of Conservation Voters, Public Voice, the National Clean Air Coalition, California Common Cause, and Zero Population Growth. He is currently serving on the advisory board of America India Foundation and on the board of directors of Ceres and As You Sow. He writes regularly for Bloomberg View and Huffington Post.
What is nano technology and how does it relate to food? Tune in to a scientific episode of Straight, No Chaser and find out about how things like nano silver in food packaging can potentially be harmful if it gets in our food. The FDA’s existing regulations do not require nano technology to be tested for in food, and Katy speaks with Michael Passoff, Senior Strategist on Environmental Health Issues for As You Sow & Dr. Jennifer Sass of the Natural Resources Defense Council to learn more about nano particles and how they relate our food safety. This episode was sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery. “The FDA’s existing regulations do not require nano technology to be tested for in food” – Michael Passoff on Straight, No Chaser, 12/11/11
What is nano technology and how does it relate to food? Tune in to a scientific episode of Straight, No Chaser and find out about how things like nano silver in food packaging can potentially be harmful if it gets in our food. The FDA’s existing regulations do not require nano technology to be tested for in food, and Katy speaks with Michael Passoff, Senior Strategist on Environmental Health Issues for As You Sow & Dr. Jennifer Sass of the Natural Resources Defense Council to learn more about nano particles and how they relate our food safety. This episode was sponsored by Cain Vineyard & Winery. “The FDA’s existing regulations do not require nano technology to be tested for in food” – Michael Passoff on Straight, No Chaser, 12/11/11
If you've ever stepped into a nail salon, you know the smell of a chemical cocktail that hits you like an invisible wall. While consumers may tolerate it during a short visit, the nail salon workers find themselves stewing in a toxic bubble for years. On this edition, we take a look at the health impacts of chemical exposure, the shoddy regulation of cosmetics, and the movement towards greener nail salons. Featuring: Alisha Nga Tran, Patient Leadership Council facilitator, Asian Health Services; Dr. Thu Quach, Epidemiologist, Cancer Prevention Institute of California; My Tong, translator, health advocate at Asian Health Services; Lam Le, former nail salon worker and cancer survivor; Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, CEO, Green For All; Jamie Silberberger, Director of Programs and Policy at Women's Voices for the Earth; Uyen Nguyen, Owner, Isabella Nail Salon; Sarah Vuong, employee at Isabella Nail Salon; Jill Adams, client, Isabella Nail Salon; David Chiu, President of San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Thanks to all of our supporters, to As You Sow's Environmental Enforcement Fund and to Spot.us for helping to crowd fund this story. For More Information: Asian Health Services http://www.asianhealthservices.org/ Oakland, CA California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative http://www.cahealthynailsalons.org/ Oakland, CA National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum http://napawf.org/ Washington, DC National Healthy Nail Salon Alliance http://nailsalonalliance.org/ Washington, D.C. Women's Voices for the Earth http://www.womensvoices.org/ Missoula, MT The post Making Contact – The Toxic Truth about Nail Salons (encore) appeared first on KPFA.
As You Sow chief strategist for the environment and fracking Michael Passoff says shareholders are demanding that the energy-industry self-regulate in order to minimize risk.
If you've ever stepped into a nail salon, you know the smell of a chemical cocktail that hits you like an invisible wall. While consumers may tolerate it during a short visit, the nail salon workers find themselves stewing in a toxic bubble for years. On this edition, we take a look at the health impacts of chemical exposure, the shoddy regulation of cosmetics, and the movement towards greener nail salons. Featuring: Alisha Nga Tran, Patient Leadership Council facilitator, Asian Health Services; Dr. Thu Quach, Epidemiologist, Cancer Prevention Institute of California; My Tong, translator, health advocate at Asian Health Services; Lam Le, former nail salon worker and cancer survivor; Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins, CEO, Green For All; Jamie Silberberger, Director of Programs and Policy at Women's Voices for the Earth; Uyen Nguyen, Owner, Isabella Nail Salon; Sarah Vuong, employee at Isabella Nail Salon; Jill Adams, client, Isabella Nail Salon; David Chiu, President of San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Thanks to all of our supporters, to As You Sow's Environmental Enforcement Fund and to Spot.us for helping to crowd fund this story. Contributing Producer: Momo Chang Producer/Online Editor/Host: Pauline Bartolone Producer/Host: Andrew Stelzer Producer: Kyung Jin Lee Executive Director: Lisa Rudman Associate Director: Khanh Pham Production Interns: Shaunnah Ray and Courtney Supple Organizational Volunteers: Dan Turner, Ron Rucker, Alton Byrd & Alfonso Hooker The post Making Contact – “The Toxic Truth About Nail Salons” appeared first on KPFA.
© 2020-2025 Ivy Podcast Discovery LLC
