Social Responsibility
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Trump executive orders torch Biden’s DEI initiatives
The 47th president promptly axed federal diversity, equity and inclusion programs after repeatedly promising to do so on the campaign trail.
By Ryan Golden • Jan. 21, 2025 -
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‘Inappropriate’ micromanaging: Apple pushes back on anti-DEI proposal
In a proxy filing ahead of the annual 2025 shareholders meeting, a conservative think tank asked Apple to cut back on DEI.
By Caroline Colvin • Jan. 16, 2025 -
Explore the Trendline➔
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TrendlineTop 5 stories from ESG Dive
This year has shaped up to be a formative one for ESG, both on the regulatory and financial front, with the SEC’s climate disclosure rule and the battle over shareholder rights and proposal approvals.
By ESG Dive staff -
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Amazon to focus on inclusion, internal DEI memo indicates
The changes outlined in the memo are vague, but Amazon has taken its previously strong commitments to Black and LGBTQ+ people off of its policy page.
By Caroline Colvin • Jan. 15, 2025 -
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Meta joins chorus of DEI rollbacks, cutting roles and programs
The tech and social media giant ended a number of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives last week, including its supplier diversity program.
By Lamar Johnson • Jan. 13, 2025 -
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ESG tops in-house counsel litigation concerns
Organizations bringing lawsuits are finding more ways to tie company actions to impacts, a report finds.
By Robert Freedman • Jan. 13, 2025 -
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Deep Dive5 ESG trends sustainability professionals should monitor in 2025
Upcoming leadership changes in the White House and Congress are expected to create a more adversarial stance on ESG and climate issues in 2025.
By Lamar Johnson , Zoya Mirza • Jan. 9, 2025 -
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McDonald’s cools on DEI, shifts to ‘global inclusion’
The shift in strategy comes as a result of work done last year, McDonald’s said, including a “comprehensive Civil Rights Audit.”
By Caroline Colvin • Jan. 8, 2025 -
Did Costco just reset the narrative around DEI?
In contrast to a slew of companies, the warehouse retailer has forcefully rejected an anti-DEI shareholder proposal as bad for business.
By Daphne Howland • Jan. 3, 2025 -
Kate Tornone/ESG Dive
DOL kills apprenticeship rule aimed to increase DEI, raise labor standards
Lawmakers and business groups objected to the burden the rule might place on small businesses and expressed concerns regarding its diversity proposals.
By Kathryn Moody • Dec. 17, 2024 -
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E+S proposals grew over decade alongside anti-ESG submissions: report
“Investors show little to no interest in proposals that advocate a political viewpoint without demonstrable economic relevance,” proxy advisory firm ISS-Corporate said in an analysis.
By Suman Bhattacharyya • Dec. 13, 2024 -
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Appeals court rejects Nasdaq effort to boost director diversity
The Fifth Circuit found that the Securities Exchange Act doesn’t allow a stock exchange to require listed companies to report directors’ race and gender.
By Justin Bachman • Dec. 13, 2024 -
Courtesy of Target
Court blocks Target’s attempt to move, dismiss DEI-related shareholder suit
The lawsuit argued that Target’s “DEI/ESG mandates” had a “known risk of adverse customer reactions,” and should have therefore been disclosed in investor statements.
By Caroline Colvin • Dec. 12, 2024 -
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Shein launches independent advisory boards for ESG, corporate responsibility issues
The groups will work with the fast fashion company’s leaders on how to reach the commitments it laid out in its EvoluSHEIN plan.
By Laurel Deppen • Dec. 10, 2024 -
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Catona Climate, Compassionate Carbon team up to boost nature-based projects
The collaboration aims to restore and protect vast land areas across the Global South and remove millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
By Zoya Mirza • Dec. 9, 2024 -
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Q&AWhat’s driving governance support as E+S approval dips: Diligent Market Intelligence
“Investors are increasingly focused on good governance and are taking basic governance structures quite seriously,” Diligent’s Editor In Chief Joshua Black told ESG Dive.
By Lamar Johnson • Dec. 6, 2024 -
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DEI failures contributed to a drop in stock prices, Lululemon shareholder alleges
Lululemon’s DEI initiative was “misguided” and its structure raised ethical concerns, the shareholder said in a derivative action lawsuit filed on behalf of the company.
By Emilie Shumway • Dec. 6, 2024 -
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COP29COP29: What the conference offered climate activists, developing nations this year
A retrospective on what the annual climate summit offered the over 55,000 delegates and negotiators that descended onto Baku, Azerbaijan.
By Zoya Mirza • Dec. 6, 2024 -
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Racial diversity falling among new corporate directors: Conference Board
The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering recommending a rule requiring companies to disclose more about diversity on their boards.
By Jim Tyson • Dec. 4, 2024 -
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Anti-ESG firm Strive launches direct indexing product
The firm said the new option will allow clients greater customization on their investments, “without regard to ESG or DEI restraints.”
By Lamar Johnson • Dec. 3, 2024 -
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Q&AHomium’s new chief impact officer wants to build a homeownership asset class
Marcus Martin joined the sustainable homeownership financing firm earlier this month after spending the last four years leading the ESG practice for various divisions at U.S. Bank.
By Lamar Johnson • Nov. 27, 2024 -
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Walmart joins growing list of companies rolling back DEI policies
A cultural moment all but forced employers to pivot to DEI in 2020. If the retailer's decision demonstrates anything, it is how far the pendulum has swung since then.
By Ryan Golden • Nov. 27, 2024 -
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COP29COP29 concludes with $300B climate finance deal critics deem as a ‘failure’
The climate summit ended with a goal to collectively provide “at least” $1.3 trillion in financing by 2035 to support climate-imperiled countries — which experts say falls short of what is actually needed.
By Zoya Mirza • Nov. 25, 2024 -
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Investors urge Coca-Cola, Kraft Heinz, others to provide transparency on products’ health impact
Over 30 investors and asset managers asked top executives from leading food and beverage companies to annually disclose the “healthiness” of their products.
By Zoya Mirza • Nov. 21, 2024 -
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Starbucks appoints former Mars sustainability exec as CSO
Marika McCauley Sine, who previously served as Mars’ global vice president of sustainability and chief sustainability officer, will oversee the coffee chain’s net-zero transition.
By Zoya Mirza • Nov. 20, 2024 -
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Oil quartet including BP, Shell invest $500M in energy access, clean cooking
Equinor and Total Energies will join the companies to invest in energy and cooking solutions in Sub-Saharan Africa and South and Southeast Asia to help meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 7.
By Lamar Johnson • Nov. 20, 2024
