Earlier this summer, we posted a quick recap of the SEC’s progress with proxy access rule 14a-11. While 14a-11 was ultimately shot down, preexisting rule 14a-8 has recently gotten the spotlight. The previous 14a-8 allows shareholders to use the good ol’ fashion resolution process to submit proxy access bylaw changes. Simply, shareholders owning $2,000 worth of stock have the opportunity to submit a resolution to the company and have it appear on the proxy materials distributed to shareholders, thus giving them “proxy access.”

Understanding the legal jargon and submitting a shareholder proposal can be a little daunting and downright overwhelming, so here’s something to make it a little easier: the Model Proxy Access Proposal. The proposal was designed by the United States Proxy Exchange (USPX), a grassroots movement run and funded entirely by individual investors for the benefit of shareholders. Their model proposal is simply a template for shareholders to use to include director nominations on the company proxy ballot. Read more

Protestors are Occupying Wall Street with many beefs about the current system. Working outside the system, which many of the protestors believe to be rigged against them, and armed mainly with tents and sit-ins, they’ve successfully nudged the national discourse in the last weeks.

However, there are two tools they can use  to achieve their means from within: Read more

We thought it was important to do a follow-up post regarding golden parachutes after featuring them in a recent Corporate Governance Update and blog post that generated a lot of discussion among our users. Read more

Last week, our Environmental Update featured letters to management regarding the use of BPA in canned consumer products. While it may serve to preserve store bought foods, Bisphenol A (BPA) has been attributed to negative health effects, according to several recent studies. In particular, research has reportedly linked BPA to health hazards, such as chromosomal and reproductive abnormalities, impaired brain and neurological functions, cancer, cardiovascular system damage, adult-onset diabetes, early puberty, obesity and resistance to chemotherapy.

Do you think this issue is worth fighting for? Join other concerned consumers and sign the letters to Campbell’s and Coca-Cola Company. Ask them to discontinue the use of BPA in their canned products, and tell Coke and Campbell’s why this is important to you.

Earlier today, we sent out a Social Issues Update on factory farming and gestation crates. In addition, this newsletter reveals the newest feature on Moxy Vote—letters to management, allowing consumers and shareholders to voice their concerns about certain topics to companies. The most recent letters feature requests to Tyson and Hormel, asking them to end the use of gestation crates in the production of consumer meat.

So what exactly are gestation crates?

PETA estimates that nearly 6 million pigs in the U.S. are kept as breeding sows on factory farms; their sole job is to carry and breast feed piglets until they are old enough to eat solid food. The majority of these sows spend their life in a constant cycle of pregnancy, birthing and feeding piglets, all in the space of a 2 x 7 foot pen. These pens are also known as a “gestation crates.” Read more

This past Friday, the Center for Political Accountability (CPA) released a comprehensive report outlining political spending and disclosure at S&P 100 companies. The CPA worked with the Zicklin Center for Business Ethics Research at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School to develop seven indicators to assess companies on their political spending, transparency, oversight, and accountability.

The companies were graded on a scale of 100 points, based on these indicators. The four companies that received a perfect 100 point score were Colgate-Palmolive Co., Exelon Corp., IBM, and Merck & Co. Of those, both Colgate-Palmolive and IBM prohibit any kind of political spending.

Read more

Here’s something intriguing. Check out what these Cisco shareholders, led by Domini Social Investments, put on the ballot at their company:

Cisco sells its products, including Internet and surveillance technology, primarily through resellers, to government agencies and state-owned entities throughout the world. The U.S. State Department has documented how various governments, including several with which our Company does business, monitor, censor and jail Internet users, through manipulation of Internet technology.

So, what do these shareholders want? Read more

The Occupy Wall Street protests are growing and spreading. We see frustration over corporate behavior and resentment over the collusion between industry and government. We see people trying to express themselves to corporations, and so far, they’ve done this with protest signs, tents, and sites like Facebook and Twitter.

If you know us, or have seen our quirky video, you know this is our bailiwick. Our breadbox. This is what we do.  We don’t have opinions on what you should say to corporate America, but we’ll let anyone borrow our bullhorn.

The latest polls suggest that the theme of the protests is generally supported in the US, but we want to know what you think about Occupy Wall Street. Take the quick poll and leave a comment below. Read more

Last week we wrote a post about golden parachutes and how they can impact public companies and shareholders. Now we want to know what you think.

A few days ago, we wrote a post about how car companies are really amping up their sustainability efforts. But they’re not the only ones. Just last week, the airline industry made positive strives towards decreasing their carbon footprint with Virgin Atlantic’s announcement of a new low-carbon jet fuel for use on passenger planes.

Virgin Atlantic has been working with LanzaTech, a New Zealand-based energy company to create a sustainable, low emissions fuel made from the gaseous waste byproduct of industrial steel mills. The new technology uses a Swedish technique to capture, ferment, and convert waste gas, which would otherwise be burnt and released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. The new fuel will help cut down on greenhouse gas pollution from steel production, while creating fewer emissions for the airlines. Read more