Shareholders Put Squeeze On Charmin, Push P&G To Improve On Deforestation Issues (mediapost.com)

Procter & Gamble shareholders overwhelmingly approved a proposal urging the company to issue a report that increases its efforts to eliminate deforestation, with the implication that more needs to be done.

The vote was pegged a major victory for environmentalists concerned about P&G’s policies. Because of the company’s size and stature worldwide, it could send a loud statement to other consumer packaged goods manufacturers that paying attention to environmental issues is becoming a real factor with the public and Wall Street.

The shareholder proposal, sponsored by the environmentally sensitive Green Century Equity Fund, passed Tuesday with over two-thirds of investors’ votes — -and over the recommendation to vote against it from P&G’s board.

BlackRock Inc., which Bloomberg says is the company’s second largest investor, owning 6.6% of P&G’s shares, also supported the proposal.

The Natural Resources Defense Council and others criticize P&G for destroying boreal virgin forests in Canada harvested to make for Charmin toilet tissue, while also disrupting indigenous populations living there. In Malaysia, where P&G gets palm oil used in Olay and other products, the company has been linked to suppliers that use forced labor.

“It is rare that investors ignore the advice of corporate leadership in such an overwhelming fashion” said NRDC’s Shelly Vinyard, the manager of the organization’s campaign to defend the world’s boreal forests. “But by siding with concerned citizens, environmental and human rights organizations, the biggest asset managers are sending a strong message that P&G must do more.”

The company’s advice for shareholders to reject the measure pointed to a lengthy list of efforts toward sustainability.

“Given the Company’s significant existing efforts, comprehensive policies, and extensive voluntary reporting on our work toward responsible forestry and palm oil in our supply chain, the Board of Directors believes that the proponent’s proposal would not substantially add to the Company’s reporting or to our progress,” it said in its recommendation to reject the proposal. P&Gt has boasted that Charmin carries the Forest Stewardship Seal, certifying it’s grown and harvested in an ecologically sensitive manner.
more of the story at source: https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/356846/shareholders-put-squeeze-on-charmin-push-pg-to-i.html

Related Posts

Worzalla Associates Team Up for Highway Clean-Up Effort (whattheythink.com)

A group of volunteers from Worzalla, an employee-owned book printer specializing in printing high-quality children’s books, cookbooks, and hard-cover best sellers, assembled to clean up a stretch of County Highway HH on Saturday, May 22, 2021. Volunteers cleaned up 2 miles of the highway and cleared many bags of trash and debris. Worzalla recently adopted the section of County Highway HH from R to Burbank as part of the Portage County Adopt-A-Highway program. This program allows businesses and organizations to claim a section of highway in their community in an effort to reduce litter, enhance the environment and beauty of area roadsides, and educate the public to properly dispose of litter. “Since Worzalla has such deep roots in the Portage County community, we thought it fitting to lend our support in beautifying our community through the Adopt-A-Highway program,” said Brianne Petruzalek, Vice President of Human Resources. “We appreciate the associates and their family members who came together to organize and participate in this volunteer opportunity.”

Power Hungry: The Increasing Environmental Burden of Electronic Communications

Electronic communication is often presented as a “green” alternative to paper. Emails, cloud storage, or online bill payment and account management offer quick, cheap, and efficient options to paper-based communication and record-keeping, but the high environmental costs of the ever-expanding digital infrastructure are becoming harder to ignore, with its rising energy consumption and significant use of resources like rare-earth minerals and water. It’s essential to explore the overlooked environmental consequences of electronic communication and to understand the true sustainability of digital solutions versus paper-based alternatives. The push for digital communications, data storage, and other trends have led to enormous server farms that run 24/7, consuming staggering amounts of electricity. For example, a report in The Times (UK) revealed that the water consumption required for ChatGPT is four times higher than previously estimated. Additionally, tech giants like Google and Amazon seek new energy sources, including nuclear, to power their data centers. These centers are critical to electronic communication and data storage and now account for a significant portion of global electricity consumption.

Tackling Recycling Challenges With Sustainable Mailers

There’s no question that consumer recycling can improve in the U.S. Currently, only about 32 percent of waste gets recycled. With the imminent effects of climate change on everyone’s minds, corporations and consumers alike need to take bold, sustainable action. However, the role consumers play in the bigger picture is not always easy to understand. That’s why when companies can make their products simply and definitively recyclable, consumers can more easily take action. Recycling standards vary greatly, so consumers have to grapple with different state, city, and community regulations to properly recycle their waste. That’s why there’s a need for common definitions and recycling practices, so consumers are encouraged to recycle instead of becoming dissuaded by a myriad of rules that change and can be difficult to understand.
Back To Top
×Close search
Search