Vanguard Supports a Measly 2% of Environmental and Social Shareholder Resolutions
As one of the largest shareholders in Exxon, Chevron, Marathon, and so many more major polluters, Vanguard has significant power to influence big corporations to do better on climate and environmental justice. Yet, time and time again, Vanguard squanders that opportunity, actively choosing to steer its ship towards climate chaos.
So far this year, Vanguard has had the opportunity to vote on over 350 environmental and social shareholder resolutions on behalf of its customers. And this week, Vanguard admitted that it has supported only 2% of those resolutions.
2% of resolutions asking the biggest corporations to set greenhouse gas emissions targets, disclose how they lobby on climate policy, and take responsibility for providing loans for fossil fuel expansion. Vanguard’s voting was worse than fellow asset manager, BlackRock, and even worse than its own voting last year!
As the world’s second largest asset manager, Vanguard must do so much better. We need Vanguard to use its influence as a shareholder to push the companies it invests in to do better on climate, and exit its investments in fossil fuel companies that refuse to transition their businesses to be in alignment with a livable future.
Vanguard’s ongoing failure to attend to climate risk is why we’re ending our complicity in Vanguard until it changes course. On Tuesday, September 19, we’re joining Elders Action Network and The Shalom Center at Vanguard’s headquarters in Malvern, PA for a demonstration of the growing tide of people moving their money out of Vanguard or pledging to not work with the asset manager until it deals with its climate problem and invests for a livable future.
Top photo by Laran Kaplan
