Shining a light on political expenditures
The massive influx of undisclosed and unaccountable funds into the U.S. political system has had a corrosive effect on our democracy, making transparency imperative. Our internal research revealed that two of the largest global technology companies were paying members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)—a lobbying and model legislation organization aggressively fighting state-level climate initiatives—despite having the strongest renewable energy procurement practices in the country.
As a result, we filed shareholder resolutions with both companies urging greater transparency around their corporate memberships and contributions to lobbying organizations. After this issue was brought to light, both companies severed all ties with ALEC. Despite this success, we know that much more progress must be made, so we continue to work with other companies in our portfolio to encourage increased transparency.