Today, BlackRock released its 2020-2021 stewardship report. The report details BlackRock’s engagement and proxy voting record during Sandy Boss’s first year as Global Head of Investment Stewardship. In response, members of the BlackRock’s Big Problem network issued the following statements: Casey Harrell, Senior Strategist with the Sunrise Project: “It’s clear that change is happening […]
Tokyo – Today, BlackRock was noticeably silent after 23% of shareholders issued a major climate warning to Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) by voting in favor of a resolution filed by Kiko Network and three individual shareholders affiliated with Market Forces, Rainforest Action Network, and 350.org Japan (“co-filers”). The resolution called on the bank to […]
Today, BlackRock stepped outside its pattern by releasing multiple bulletins on proxy votes it made earlier in the season. It made public its votes at BP (May 12th), Shell (May 18th), ExxonMobil (May 26th), Chevron (May 26th), Total (May 28th). Collectively the voting bulletins reveal an improved but mixed record for BlackRock’s climate votes this […]
A wide range of climate activists and green investors celebrated the news Wednesday afternoon that shareholders revolted against management to elect *at least* two outsider candidates to the board of ExxonMobil (votes for two additional seats are still being counted as of this release). The new members are from the Engine No. 1 slate, which […]
As exclusive Reuters reporting details how BlackRock plans to vote at tomorrow’s ExxonMobil Annual General Meeting, activists from coast to coast spent the afternoon demonstrating outside of BlackRock’s offices, calling out its addictions to fossil fuels and pushing the giant asset manager to reverse course on climate change. Reuters’ Svea Herbst-Bayliss reports that BlackRock is […]
This morning, Royal Dutch Shell (commonly known as Shell) shareholders voted on competing climate action resolutions — one an inadequate and misleading management-backed measure that would not achieve its stated goals (Resolution 20), and one brought about by the green shareholders group Follow This, which would have the company set and publish targets that are […]
This morning, the oil giant BP (formerly known as British Petroleum) held its annual general meeting (AGM), and shareholders voted on a climate action resolution brought about by the green shareholders group Follow This. The resolution, which would have the company set and publish targets that are consistent with the goals of the Paris Climate […]
In response to the re-election of Duke Energy board chair Lynn Good and Independent Director Michael Browning, the BlackRock’s Big Problem campaign released the following statements: “As the two largest shareholders of Duke Energy, BlackRock and Vanguard should be transparent about how they voted today on Lynn Good and Michael Browning,” said Roberta Giordano, Finance […]
“As it stands, BlackRock already failed the first major test of this proxy season when it voted in support of the chairman of Wells Fargo, the world’s top banker of fracking,” said Ben Cushing, financial advocacy campaign manager at the Sierra Club. “Now it has failed the second test at Barclays. While BlackRock is making […]
Upon news that BlackRock and Vanguard voted in favor of Wells Fargo Chairman Charles H. Noski, coalition members of BlackRock’s Big Problem released the following statements: “Wells Fargo has fallen significantly behind the curve when it comes to meeting the moment on climate action, and today it falls even further,” said Ben Cushing, campaign manager […]
In response to Paul Bodnar being named the new Global Head of Sustainable Investing at BlackRock, Casey Harrell, Senior Strategist of The Sunrise Project, issued the following statement on behalf of the BlackRock’s Big Problem network: “It is an encouraging sign that BlackRock would hire someone of Paul’s caliber to lead the company’s implementation of […]
After the announcement that BlackRock and Vanguard have signed onto the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, Casey Harrell, Senior Strategist with the Sunrise Project and key partner in the BlackRock’s Big Problem Network, said: “It is an important milestone that BlackRock and Vanguard have been moved to commit to reach net zero emissions by 2050 […]
The full text and full list of signatories of the letter are below. Eloy Terena, Legal Coordinator of the Association of Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples (APIB), and one of the letter’s signers said: “BlackRock’s investments have an impact on our lives and our communities, and the company’s leadership, therefore, has a responsibility for our future. If […]
Today, BlackRock released a memo on its approach to engagement on “natural capital” as well as an updated memo on its 2021 stewardship priorities. The new commentary marked the first time any of the big three asset managers – BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street – acknowledged the interconnectedness of climate change, ecosystem protection, and Indigenous […]
Today, BlackRock released CEO Larry Fink’s annual letter to CEOs as well as a letter to its clients. The letters spelled out the next steps the world’s largest asset manager will be taking to address the climate crisis. With close to $9 trillion in assets under management, BlackRock has expansive power and responsibility to push […]
The scientific consensus is that the threat of catastrophic climate change requires bold and immediate action to reduce emissions across the planet. Major asset managers like BlackRock have a key role to play. Their immense power as shareholders and managers of vast capital influences how companies emit and wean themselves from fossil fuels. While […]
In the middle of the night on Dec. 10th, BlackRock published a new report outlining its guiding expectations for company engagement in 2021. The announcement, similar to most news from BlackRock, has gained some attention across financial media, including from the Financial Times, Bloomberg, and Reuters. We dug into the details to pull out what […]
In response to statements from BlackRock CEO Larry Fink welcoming the move by the UK to make the disclosure of climate-related financial risk mandatory, Moira Birss, Climate Finance Director at Amazon watch, core partner of the BlackRock’s Big Problem campaign, and Co-Coordinator of the Stop the Money Pipeline Policy Team, said: “Larry Fink is right: […]
The European Commission did not properly consider conflicts of interest when it granted a contract to BlackRock to advise on the EU’s new sustainable finance agenda for banks, according to an opinion by the European Ombudsman published today. The conflict arises from the fact that BlackRock is the world’s largest investor in fossil fuels and […]
(October 14, 2020) In what The Financial Times called an “investor rebellion,” this week Procter & Gamble shareholders, including BlackRock, voted overwhelmingly to require the world’s largest consumer goods company to step up transparency efforts to address the deforestation and forest degradation caused by its use of palm kernel oil and forest pulp in products […]