Water | Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility

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<strong>Company:</strong>
<p>Digital Realty Trust Inc.</p>
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<strong>Year:</strong>
<p>2026 </p>
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<strong>Issue Area:</strong>
<p>Water </p>
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<strong>Focus Area:</strong>
<p>AI / Artificial Intelligence, Data Centers, Water Impacts </p>
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<strong>Status:</strong>
<p>Filed</p>
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<h2>Resolution Text</h2>
<p><strong>RESOLVED</strong>: Shareholders request that the Board of Directors annually disclose region-level<br>metrics on Digital Realty’s exposure to water-related risks and operational water intensity in<br>water-stressed areas, at reasonable expense and excluding proprietary information, to enable<br>investors to assess where the company’s portfolio is most vulnerable to or exposed to water<br>scarcity risks.</p>
<p><strong>WHEREAS</strong>: Water is a material operational and strategic risk for Digital Realty (“DLR”),<br>affecting business continuity, growth strategy, and long-term value creation. Approximately<br>32% of DLR’s water consumption is sourced from regions experiencing high or extremely<br>high-water stress, yet current reporting aggregates water risk, limiting investor insight into<br>operations in water-stressed areas where risks are most material. DLR reports improvements<br>in U.S. water usage effectiveness (WUE) and a global water use intensity (WUI) metric, but<br>both offer limited visibility into local water risks. Water risk is site-specific, and efficiency gains<br>in water-abundant regions do not offset vulnerabilities in drought-affected areas. Enhanced<br>regional disclosure would give investors clearer insight into water risk exposure across DLR’s<br>highest water-stressed regions.<br><br>Although DLR emphasizes only 25% of DLR’s operations use water-based cooling, this does<br>not capture the water demands of future AI growth or its acquisition strategy. As of Q3 2025,<br>AI accounted for 50% of bookings, and management expects “larger contiguous capacity<br>blocks” to come online in 2026–2027, increasing energy and water demand. In acquisitions,<br>DLR typically maintains existing cooling systems, which rely on water-based cooling. Without<br>region-level disclosure, investors cannot fully assess operational vulnerabilities from AI<br>growth and acquisitions in water-stressed regions.<br><br>Facilities in water-stressed regions face operational and regulatory risks, including potential<br>loss of social license to operate. According to Data Center Water, “In Q2 2025 alone, an<br>estimated $98 billion in projects were blocked or delayed…” due to community and<br>stakeholder pushback. Regulatory scrutiny is also rising. DLR is among operators being<br>investigated by senators over how their energy use contributes to rising electricity costs for<br>communities. In the EU, where approximately 36% of DLR’s data centers are located,<br>regulators are proposing a water-use cap on data centers to safeguard against shortages.1</p>
<p>Peers provide more detailed water risk disclosure. Equinix issues annual Customer Water<br>Reports detailing site-level WUE and total water withdrawal attributable to each customer.2, 3<br>CyrusOne reports annually the percentage of facilities in water-stressed regions that are net positive for water, offering investors measurable insight into risk management where scarcity<br>is greatest.<br><br>Annual, regional level disclosure in water-stressed areas would provide investors clear insight<br>into DLR’s operational exposure and management of water-related risks where water scarcity<br>is greatest. This transparency would enable investors to evaluate business resilience,<br>anticipate potential operational or regulatory impacts, and assess long-term value creation.</p>
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<p>1 https://go2.digitalrealty.com/rs/087-YZJ-646/images/Report_Digital_Realty_2024_Impact_Report.pdf<br>2 https://blog.equinix.com/blog/2024/09/19/how-data-centers-use-water-and-how-were-working-touse-<br>waterresponsibly/#:~:<br>text=As%20previously%20mentioned%2C%20balancing%20this,methods%20where%<br>20local%20conditions%20allow:<br>3<br>https://www.equinix.com/content/dam/eqxcorp/en_us/documents/resources/infopapers/ip_customer<br>_water_reports_en.pdf</p>

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<h3>Lead Filer</h3>
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<div class=”views-field views-field-nothing”><span class=”field-content”> Madison Krieger</span></div><div class=”views-field views-field-title views-field-field-shareholder”><span class=”field-content”>NorthStar Asset Management</span></div>
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<strong>Company:</strong>
<p>Hormel Foods Corp.</p>
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<strong>Year:</strong>
<p>2026 </p>
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<strong>Issue Area:</strong>
<p>Environment, Food Justice, Health, Water </p>
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<strong>Focus Area:</strong>
<p>Antibiotics, Garbage/Sewage/Sludge, Pollution </p>
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<strong>Status:</strong>
<p>Withdrawn – Dialogue/Tactical</p>
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<h2>Resolution Text</h2>
<p><strong>WHEREAS:</strong>  Use of waste lagoons in industrial livestock production contributes to adverse human and environmental health impacts, raising reputational, litigation, and long-term financial viability risks.</p>
<p>Waste lagoons are open pits, often as large as an acre, that hold wastewater containing urine, feces, and other waste materials from concentrated animal feeding operations. Problems with these lagoons are a source of material risk to Hormel’s business. Waste lagoons:</p>

<strong>Make Workers and Communities Sick</strong>. The noxious gases and pollutants released into the air[1] from waste lagoons, and especially from spraying their contents onto surrounding fields,[2] can cause asthma, cancer, lung inflammation, and other harms to workers and nearby communities.[3], [4] 

<p><strong>Cause Reputational, Litigation & Regulatory Risk</strong></p>
<p>Hormel discloses that “discharge of materials into the environment and the handling and disposition of wastes” is a material risk factor.[7] In 2015, Hormel received eight notices of environmental non-compliance and was fined $2,600,000 for a water-related violation.[8] </p>
<p>Our company notes that “maintaining and enhancing the perception of the reputation of the Company and its key brands is critical to business success.”[9] Yet, meat processing companies have faced intense public scrutiny[10] over harms from waste lagoons, by communities, consumers, and other stakeholders, calling on them to reduce, end, or mitigate controversial and harmful practices like use of waste lagoons.[11]</p>

<p>In 2022, Hormel was a lead sponsor of the Ecosystem Services Market Consortium’s (ESMC) pilot project focused on changing agricultural practices to improve water and air quality and report progress.[12] While Hormel agreed to work with ESMC to protect water quality, the Company has not disclosed whether it will extend ESMC practices to waste lagoons, or whether it will report publicly on progress, representing an important blind spot and a significant risk to investors and our Company.   </p>
<p>In a competitive marketplace that increasingly demands safe food and reduced harm to stakeholders and the environment, understanding, assessing, and reporting on progress in reducing waste lagoon impacts reduces risk for shareholders and our Company.  </p>
<p><strong>BE IT RESOLVED: </strong> Shareholders request that Hormel issue a report, at reasonable expense and omitting proprietary information, disclosing any steps the Company is taking to address environmental and human health harms from waste lagoons in its owned facilities and pork supply chain. </p>
<p>[1] https://www.undrr.org/understanding-disaster-risk/terminology/hips/tl0045#:~:text=Effluents%20from%20livestock%20industrial%20production,nearby%20streams%20and%20groundwater%20supplies </p>
<p>[2] https://environmentamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/AccidentsFactsheet-ManureLagoons-1.pdf </p>
<p>[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4517575/</p>
<p>[4] https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/citizen_engagement/Reports/2011_DEQ_Dairy%20Air%20Quality%20Task%20Force%20Appendix%20L%20Iowa%20CAFO%20study.pdf </p>
<p>[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1817674/ </p>
<p>[6] https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/problem#:~:text=Nitrogen%20and%20phosphorus%20are%20nutrients,in%20the%20air%20we%20breathe </p>
<p>[7] https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0000048465/000004846524000051/hrl-20241027.htm </p>
<p>[8] https://iasj.org/wp-content/uploads/Water-Impacts-of-Business-Operations_Hormel-Foods-Corp..html#:~:text=2017%20%E2%80%93%20Hormel%20Foods%20Corp.,order%20at%20a%20Minnesota%20facility. </p>
<p>[9] https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0000048465/000004846524000051/hrl-20241027.htm </p>
<p>[10] https://foodprint.org/issues/communities-organizing-against-big-pork/ </p>
<p>[11] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qYiDKkV5Dg </p>
<p>[12] https://www.hormelfoods.com/newsroom/press-releases/hormel-foods-to-invest-in-carbon-sequestration-air-and-water-quality/ </p>

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<h3>Lead Filer</h3>
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<div class=”views-field views-field-nothing”><span class=”field-content”> Cailin Dendas</span></div><div class=”views-field views-field-title views-field-field-shareholder”><span class=”field-content”>As You Sow</span></div>
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<strong>Company:</strong>
<p>Tyson Foods, Inc.</p>
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<strong>Year:</strong>
<p>2026 </p>
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<strong>Issue Area:</strong>
<p>Environment, Food Justice, Health, Water </p>
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<strong>Focus Area:</strong>
<p>Antibiotics, Garbage/Sewage/Sludge, Sustainable Agriculture </p>
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<strong>Status:</strong>
<p>Filed</p>
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<h2>Resolution Text</h2>
<p><strong>WHEREAS:</strong>  Use of waste lagoons in industrial livestock production contributes to adverse human and environmental health impacts, raising reputational, litigation, and long-term financial viability risks.   </p>
<p>Waste lagoons are open pits that hold wastewater containing urine, feces, and other waste materials from concentrated animal feeding operations. Problems with these lagoons are a source of material litigation, regulatory, and reputational risk to Tyson’s business. </p>
<p>Waste lagoons:</p>

<strong>Make Workers and Communities Sick. </strong>The noxious gases and pollutants released into the air[1] from waste lagoons, and especially from spraying their contents onto surrounding fields,[2] can cause asthma, cancer, lung inflammation, and other harms to workers and nearby communities.[3], [4] 

<p><strong>Contaminate Drinking Water. </strong>Waste lagoons often overflow or leak into groundwater, releasing pollution into nearby drinking wells. Ingesting water contaminated by waste lagoons can cause cancer, endocrine disruption, blue-baby syndrome, and antibiotic resistance.[5] </p>
<p>Waste lagoon pollution also drains into surrounding rivers, lakes, and wetlands, creating algal blooms that can cause fish fatalities and harm local economies.[6] Such harms are worsened by climate change, which increases heavy precipitation, superstorms, and hurricane frequency, making waste lagoon overflows more likely. <strong> Cause Reputational, Litigation, & Regulatory Risk.</strong>[7]<strong> </strong>Tyson has also been under intense public scrutiny and has been sued for different types of wastewater pollution, creating significant reputational damage and costly litigation. In 2019, a Tyson facility spilled 220,000 gallons of wastewater into the Black Warrior River, releasing high levels of E.Coli, killing nearly 200,000 fish and creating unusable drinking water for at least six cities.[8] Tyson agreed to pay $3,025,000 to affected communities.[9] Tyson has acknowledged material risk related to “environmental liabilities, such as costs related to the disposal of wastes.”[10]</p>

<p>Tyson reports that it is developing “Contextual Water Plans at 11… high-risk locations” to improve water quality.[11] In the company’s Water Position Statement, it declares that, by the end of 2020, it seeks to have “reduced the water quality impacts associated with key agricultural commodities” and will “set contextual targets to respond to issues in the surrounding watersheds for its priority facilities.”[12] To date, Tyson has not publicly identified all its high-priority facilities, reported targets, stated whether waste lagoons are included, or reported progress toward goals. </p>
<p>In a competitive marketplace that increasingly demands safe food and reduced harm to stakeholders and the environment, understanding, assessing, and reporting on progress in reducing waste lagoon impacts reduces risk for shareholders and our Company.</p>
<p><strong>BE IT RESOLVED: </strong> Shareholders request that Tyson issue a report, at reasonable expense and omitting proprietary information, disclosing any steps the Company is taking to address environmental and human health harms from waste lagoons in its owned facilities and its pork supply chain.</p>
<p>[1] https://www.undrr.org/understanding-disaster-risk/terminology/hips/tl0045#:~:text=Effluents%20from%20livestock%20industrial%20production,nearby%20streams%20and%20groundwater%20supplies </p>
<p>[2] https://environmentamerica.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/AccidentsFactsheet-ManureLagoons-1.pdf </p>
<p>[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4517575/</p>
<p>[4] https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/citizen_engagement/Reports/2011_DEQ_Dairy%20Air%20Quality%20Task%20Force%20Appendix%20L%20Iowa%20CAFO%20study.pdf </p>
<p>[5] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1817674/ </p>
<p>[6] https://www.epa.gov/nutrientpollution/problem#:~:text=Nitrogen%20and%20phosphorus%20are%20nutrients,in%20the%20air%20we%20breathe </p>
<p>[7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qYiDKkV5Dg </p>
<p>[8] https://www.environmentandsociety.org/arcadia/tyson-kills-mulberry-fork </p>
<p>[9] https://www.wvtm13.com/article/tyson-farms-alabama-settle-lawsuit-over-wastewater-spill-in-black-warrior-rivers-mulberry-fork/37284282 </p>
<p>[10] https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0000100493/000010049324000119/tsn-20240928.htm </p>
<p>[11] https://www.tysonπfoods.com/sites/default/files/2023-10/Tyson%20Foods%20Sustainability%20Report%20FY2022%20%281%29.pdf, pg. 12</p>
<p>[12] https://www.tysonfoods.com/sites/default/files/2023-04/Water_Position_Statement.pdf </p>

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<strong>Company:</strong>
<p>Yum! Brands, Inc.</p>
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<strong>Year:</strong>
<p>2025 </p>
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<strong>Issue Area:</strong>
<p>Water </p>
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<strong>Focus Area:</strong>
<p>Water </p>
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<strong>Status:</strong>
<p>Filed</p>
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<h2>Resolution Text</h2>
<p>Manage Supply Chain Water Quality Risks</p>
<p>WHEREAS: Agriculture, including protein production, is the primary driver of freshwater degradation globally. Eutrophication, caused by excessive nutrient loading often from manure and fertilizer-related runoff, leads to fish die-offs, human health impacts and declining water quality.[1]</p>
<p>Quick-service restaurants have significant vulnerability to the pervasive threats to water quality driven by their protein supply chain. YUM! Brands’ top commodities are proteins, including chicken, cheese, beef and pork products, exposing the Company to significant water risk if not properly managed.[2] The Company’s water risk assessment identifies that there are water quality risks in the supply chain, yet YUM!’s disclosures do not discuss the goals or efforts to mitigate these risks within its agricultural supply chain.</p>
<p>Due to significant water quality-related risks stemming from agricultural supply chains, companies are increasingly setting targets related to water quality. For example, Cargill, a major beef, chicken and poultry supplier,[3] has a water quality target for its operations and supply chain, confirming that Yum! could support their protein suppliers to develop and implement similar targets and strategies. Investors are also increasingly asking companies to address risks related to water quality in alignment with the Corporate Expectations for Valuing Water.[4]</p>
<p>Given YUM!’s extensive protein supply chain exposes the Company to significant water quality-related risks and the Company provides limited disclosure on efforts to mitigate water pollution, investors cannot be assured that YUM! is effectively managing water quality-related risks across its supply chain. Since Yum! has conducted a water risk assessment inclusive of its supply chain, the Company has the information necessary to set a water quality target and implement actions to reduce risks.</p>
<p>RESOLVED: Shareholders request YUM! Brands issue a report, prepared at reasonable expense and omitting proprietary information, assessing the Company’s options for establishing targets and implementing actions to reduce water quality-related risks. The assessment could consider, at the board’s discretion, the feasibility of setting time-bound, science-based, or contextual targets to measurably reduce water quality-related risks in the supply chain.</p>
<p>SUPPORTING STATEMENT: Proponents defer to management on the precise content but believe meaningful disclosure should align with frameworks such as CDP and include:</p>

An assessment of YUM’s impacts and dependencies on freshwater systems, including the percentage of key agricultural products sourced from regions with high water quality risk.
YUM’s plans to meet the allowable level of basin-wide nutrient load as per the established regulatory guidelines or thresholds, and those recognized by commonly accepted frameworks, such as Science Based Targets Network. 
YUM’s plans to develop a supply chain water quality-related target to mitigate water quality risk.
Disclose progress towards establishing a water quality-related target and specific actions being taken to address water quality in the supply chain. 

<p>[1] https://www.unep.org/explore-topics/water/what-we-do/protecting-and-restoring-freshwater-ecosystem-</p>
<p>health</p>
<p>[2] https://www.ceres.org/resources/reports/global-assessment-private-sector-impacts-water</p>
<p>[3] https://www.globaldata.com/companies/top-companies-by-sector/agriculture-forestry/global-agricultural-products-companies-by-revenue/#:~:text=Cargill%20Inc%2C%20BASF%20SE%2C%20Archer,Foods%20Plc%20($17%2C807%20million).</p>
<p>[4] https://assets.ceres.org/sites/default/files/Ceres%20Corporate%20Expectations%20for%20Valuing%20Water%202022.pdf</p>

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<div class=”views-field views-field-nothing”><span class=”field-content”> Chris Richardson</span></div><div class=”views-field views-field-title views-field-field-shareholder”><span class=”field-content”>Mercy Investment Services</span></div>
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Resolution Details

Company:

American Water Works Company, Inc.

Year:

2024

Issue Area:

Health, Inclusiveness, Water

Focus Area:

Environmental Justice, Human Right to Water, Racial Justice

Status:

Filed

Resolution Text

RESOLVED: Shareholders urge the board of directors to commission an independent, third-party environmental justice assessment (within reasonable time and cost) which assesses the racial impacts of American Water Works’ (“AWK”) operations and produces recommendations for improving them above and beyond legal and regulatory matters. Input from stakeholders, including civil rights organizations and affected community members, should be considered in determining the specific matters for assessment. A report on the assessment, prepared at reasonable cost and omitting confidential information, should be published on the company’s website.

SUPPORTING STATEMENT: Proponents suggest that the assessment and report consider

Disparate environmental and health impacts from its operations;
How governance and management responsibilities of environmental justice issues are allocated within the company;
Quantitative and qualitative metrics on how environmental justice impacts inform business decisions; and
How AWK intends to improve its policies and practices in the future.

Environmental racism is a systemic risk that exacerbates the climate crisis and racial inequities.[1]

AWK reports it has “long considered the impacts and implications of decisions on overburdened communities, adopting environmental justice practices,” but has not disclosed information on such impacts or practices.[2]

Some parties believe assessments are not warranted if there are no controversies. While we believe that it is in AWK’s best interests to conduct an environmental justice assessment regardless of and to avoid controversies, it appears there are at least two unresolved controversies involving AWK.

Cahokia Heights, Illinois: Despite AWK satisfying regulatory requirements in 2023, residents continue to report drinking water that is “brown, foul-smelling, cloudy, [or with] visible particles” and do not use it out of fear of contamination.[3] The city formed from a merger in 2020 which included Centreville, a city with a 93 percent Black population previously established as one of the poorest cities in the country. Described as a “textbook example of environmental racism” by the Illinois governor, Cahokia Heights’ ongoing issues reflect decades of disinvestment.[4]
Marina, California: AWK’s proposed desalination plant is still being appealed and has been characterized as having significant environmental justice concerns by the California Coastal Commission.[5] Marina, where a third of the residents are low-income and many speak limited English, already contains a landfill, sewage plant, and sand mine.[6]

Environmental justice is a priority for legislators. In 2020, New Jersey, where AWK operates, enacted a landmark environmental justice bill that requires impacts on overburdened communities to be a deciding factor in industrial permitting decisions, including water services.[7] California, Pennsylvania, and Illinois have similarly adopted environmental justice legislation that could potentially affect AWK.[8] Moreover, the current administration has made environmental justice a priority through its Justice40 plan.

We are concerned that a “business as usual” approach could not only perpetuate racial injustice but could pose regulatory and reputational risk to the company.

[1] https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2020/09/22/climate-change-environmental-justice/

[2] https://s26.q4cdn.com/750150140/files/doc_downloads/esg_docs/2023/2021-2022-Sustainability-Report.pdf

[3] https://www.bnd.com/news/local/article281094103.html

[4] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/raw-sewage-polluted-black-community-now-residents-are-fighting-back-n1277292

[5] https://www.montereyherald.com/2022/12/03/desalination-cal-am-faces-tough-road-ahead-to-meet-coastal-commission-conditions/, https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2022-11-18/desalination-project-wins-approval-despite-equity-concerns

[6] https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-09-15/cal-am-desalination-coastal-commission-marina-california

[7] https://dep.nj.gov/ej/law/

[8] https://www.ncsl.org/environment-and-natural-resources/state-and-federal-environmental-justice-efforts

Resolution Details

Company:

Exxon Mobil Corporation

Year:

2024

Issue Area:

Environment, Water

Focus Area:

Plastics Pollution, Pollution

Status:

Challenged

Resolution Text

WHEREAS: Plastic, with a lifecycle social cost at least ten times its market price, threatens the world’s oceans, wildlife, and public health.1 Concern about the growing scale and impact of global plastic pollution has elevated the issue to crisis levels.2 Of particular concern are single-use plastics (SUPs), which make up the bulk of the 24-34 million metric tons of plastic ending up in waterways annually.3 Without drastic action, this amount could triple by 2040.4

A shift from virgin plastic production is critical to reducing plastic pollution.5 The Environmental Protection Agency’s draft strategy to prevent plastic pollution calls for voluntary reduction in production.6 A robust pathway addressing plastic pollution is presented in the widely respected Breaking the Plastic Wave report, which found that plastic leakage into the ocean can be reduced 80 percent under its System Change Scenario (SCS), but requires a significant absolute reduction of virginSUPs.

In response to the plastic pollution crisis and the necessity of reducing plastic production, countries and major packaging brands are beginning to drive reductions in plastic use.8 This will affect the plastic production supply chain. BP has recognized the potential disruption global SUP reductions could have on the oil industry, finding a global SUP ban by 2040 would reduce oil demand growth by 60 percent.9

The Company faces growing risk from continued investment in virgin plastic production infrastructure. Several implications of the SCS, including a one-third absolute demand reduction of mostly of virgin SUPs and immediate reductions in new investment in virgin production, are at odds with Exxon Mobil’s planned investments. The Company has been identified as the largest global producer of SUP-bound polymers (11.5 million metric tons in 2021).10 It has committed to increased use of recycled polymers but uses pyrolysis oil to generate plastic feedstock, a controversial process cited as inefficient and greenhouse gas-intensive with toxic byproducts and emissions, which may increase financial and reputational risk.11

Exxon’s efforts to reduce plastic waste fail to address the potential for regulatory restrictions or a significant disruption in demand for virgin plastic, which could result in stranded assets.12

RESOLVED: Shareholders request that ExxonMobil issue a report, at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, addressing whether and how a significant reduction in virgin plastic demand, as set forth inBreaking the Plastic Wave’s System Change Scenario, would affect the Company’s financial position and the assumptions underlying its financial statements.

SUPPORTING STATEMENT: Proponents recommend that, at Board discretion, the report include:

Quantification of its polymer production for SUP markets;
A summary of existing and planned investments that may be materially impacted by the SCS; and
Disclosure of key metrics for chemical recycling processes, including inputs, outputs/yield, energy use, carbon and waste emissions, and any related measures taken to ensure safe operations.

1 https://wwfint.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_pctsee_report_english.pdf,p.15

2 https://www.unep.org/resources/pollution-solution-global-assessment-marine-litter-and-plastic-pollution

3 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32019L0904&from=EN#page=8;https://www.minderoo.org/plastic-waste-makers-index/

4 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/plastic-trash-in-seas-will-nearly-triple-by-2040-if-nothing-done

5 https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/01/call-for-global-treaty-to-end-production-of-virgin-plastic-by-2040

6 https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2023-04/Draft_National_Strategy_to_Prevent_Plastic_Pollution.pdf,p.17

7 https://www.pewtrusts.org/-/media/assets/2020/07/breakingtheplasticwave_report.pdf

8 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/bold-single-use-plastic-ban-kicks-europes-plastic-purge-into-high-gear;https://www.businessforplasticstreaty.org/

9 https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/business-sites/en/global/corporate/pdfs/energy-economics/energy-outlook/bp-energy-outlook-2019.pdf#page=18

10 https://cdn.minderoo.org/content/uploads/2023/02/04205527/Plastic-Waste-Makers-Index-2023.pdf

11 https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2022/11/is-chemical-recycling-greenwashing;https://theintercept.com/2023/09/28/braven-plastic-recycling-toxic-waste/

12 https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottcarpenter/2020/09/05/why-the-oil-industrys-400-billion-bet-on-plastics-could-backfire/?sh=6e099bd843fe

Resolution Details

Company:

Monster Beverage Corp

Year:

2024

Issue Area:

Climate Change, Water

Focus Area:

Human Right to Water, Water

Status:

Filed

Resolution Text

WHEREAS: Consumption of freshwater surpasses the rate at which it can be naturally replenished in many regions, creating water shortage risks for companies, communities, and ecosystems. Compounded by climate change, the World Resources Institute predicts the world will be unable to meet 56 percent of global water demand by 2030.[1]

Companies without a plan to adapt could be exposed to risks including increased input costs, price volatility, shifting production zones, stranded assets, government targets, and loss of social license to operate. Barclays warns that the consumer staple sector, including agriculture, food, and beverage companies, faces a potential $200 billion impact from water scarcity risks. Monster acknowledges the financial materiality of water stress, noting that weather impacts on key commodities and water availability, quality, or pricing could adversely impact its business results.[2]

Monster’s operations and supply chain are reliant on high water risk regions. For example, the company’s operations rely on water from the Colorado River Basin (CRB) which may compromise long-term profitability. The CRB is experiencing chronic and severe water shortages, States are implementing water use reduction regulations, impacting agricultural production, and federal regulators are developing new water use guidelines to take effect in 2026. In the CRB, over 80 percent of water is consumed by agriculture and industry, calling into question Monster’s value chain resilience and increasing the likelihood of brand repercussions.[3]

CDP predicts the financial impacts of water risks are five times greater than the costs of addressing them.[4] Although Monster conducted a water risk assessment of its operations, it has not analyzed its supply chain or disclosed a measurable strategy to mitigate water risks.

Given Monster’s dependence on freshwater, water shortages pose a financial risk to the company. For investors to feel confident in the Company’s water risk management, Monster should align with best practices such as those outlined by the Corporate Expectations for Valuing Water and set quantitative, timebound targets to reduce water use across its operations and supply chain, especially in water-stressed areas.[5] Peers including PepsiCo have established such targets.[6]

RESOLVED: Shareholders request that Monster issue a report assessing the feasibility and practicality of establishing time-bound, quantitative goals to reduce operational and supply chain water usage to mitigate water risks related to global water scarcity in high-risk areas. The report should be prepared at reasonable expense and omit proprietary information.

SUPPORTING STATEMENT: In the report, proponents recommend Monster consider, at management’s discretion:

Discussing how the targets could be established to help ensure implementation mitigates supply chain water risks, including reputational risks;
Disclosing the percentage of key agricultural products sourced from water-stressed regions, including the CRB;
Explaining how the company works with suppliers in high-risk watersheds to implement agricultural practices that reduce water risk such as soil health practices;
Describing how the company provides technical, educational, or financial support to agricultural suppliers to strengthen water stewardship practices and reduce risk.

[1] https://www.ft.com/content/80122ded-4158-45f9-915c-a52b5fb2d088

[2] https://investors.monsterbevcorp.com/static-files/1fd24065-a24a-4d3e-99e2-8a495155d947

[3] https://feedingourselvesthirsty.ceres.org/regional-analysis/colorado-river

[4] https://www.cdp.net/en/articles/media/cost-of-water-risks-to-business-five-times-higher-than-cost-of-taking-action

[5] https://www.ceres.org/sites/default/files/Ceres%20Corporate%20Expectations%20for%20Valuing%20Water%202022.pdf

[6] https://www.pepsico.com/docs/default-source/sustainability-and-esg-topics/2023-cdp-water-submission.pdf?sfvrsn=b43cdc79_6

Resolution Details

Company:

Exxon Mobil Corporation

Year:

2023

Issue Area:

Environment, Water

Focus Area:

Plastics Pollution, Pollution

Status:

Vote

Vote Percentage:

25.30%

Exxon Mobil Corporation Impact of Reduced Plastics Demand on Financial Assumptions – Proxy Memo

23.XOM_.1+ExxonMobil+Petrochemical+Proxy+Memo_WEB.pdf

Resolution Text

WHEREAS: Plastic, with a lifecycle social cost at least ten times higher than its market price, actively threatens the world’s oceans, wildlife, and public health.[1] Concern about the growing scale and impact of global plastic pollution has elevated the issue to crisis levels.[2] Of particular concern are single-use plastics (SUPs)[3] which make up the largest component of the 11 million metric tons of plastic ending up in waterways annually.[4] Without drastic action, this amount could triple by 2040.[5]

In response to the plastic pollution crisis, countries and major packaging brands are beginning to drive reductions in virgin plastic use.[6],[7]

Several studies demonstrate that a significant absolute reduction in virgin plastic demand is critical to curbing the flow of plastic into oceans.[8] One of the most robust reduction pathways is presented in the widely-respected report, Breaking the Plastic Wave, which found that plastic leakage into the ocean can be feasibly reduced by 80% under its System Change Scenario (SCS), which is based on a significant absolute reduction of virgin SUPs.[9],[10]

BP has recognized the potential disruption that global SUP reductions could have on the oil industry in its 2019 Outlook, where it found a global SUP ban by 2040 would reduce oil demand growth by 60%.[11]

The future under the SCS – one built on recycled plastics and circular business models – looks drastically different than today’s linear take-make-waste production model. Several implications of the SCS, including a one-third absolute demand reduction (mostly of virgin SUPs) and immediate reduction of new investment in virgin production, are at odds with Exxon’s planned investments.[12]

Exxon was recently identified as the largest global producer of SUP-bound polymers (5.9 million metric tons in 2019, an estimated 50% of its total polymer production) and exposed for lobbying against plastic pollution laws.[13],[14] While Exxon states it is acting to “address plastic waste,” it fails to meaningfully address the potential for regulatory restrictions and/or significant disruption in demand for virgin plastic, both of which could result in stranded assets.[15],[16]

BE IT RESOLVED: Shareholders request the Board issue an audited report addressing, at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, whether and how a significant reduction in virgin plastic demand, as set forth in Breaking the Plastic Wave’s System Change Scenario for reducing ocean plastic pollution, would affect the Company’s financial position and assumptions underlying its financial statements.

SUPPORTING STATEMENT: Proponents recommend that, at Board discretion, the report include:

Quantification (in tons and/or as a percentage of the total) of the Company’s polymer production for SUP markets;
A summary or list of the Company’s existing and planned investments that may be materially impacted by the SCS;
Plans or goals to shift Exxon’s business model from virgin to recycled plastics and use of recycling technologies that are cost-effective, process and energy efficient, and environmentally sound.

[1] https://wwfint.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/wwf_pctsee_report_english.pdf

[2] https://www.unep.org/resources/pollution-solution-global-assessment-marine-litter-and-plastic-pollution

[3] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32019L0904&from=EN#page=8

[4] https://www.minderoo.org/plastic-waste-makers-index/findings/executive-summary/

[5] https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/plastic-trash-in-seas-will-nearly-triple-by-2040-if-nothing-done

[6] https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/bold-single-use-plastic-ban-kicks-europes-plastic-purge-into-high-gear

[7] https://www.unilever.com/news/press-releases/2019/unilever-announces-ambitious-new-commitments-for-a-waste-free-world.html

[8] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/jul/01/call-for-global-treaty-to-end-production-of-virgin-plastic-by-2040

[9] https://www.pewtrusts.org/-/media/assets/2020/07/breakingtheplasticwave_report.pdf

[10] https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.aba9475

[11] https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/business-sites/en/global/corporate/pdfs/energy-economics/energy-outlook/bp-energy-outlook-2019.pdf#page=18

[12] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-13/exxon-sabic-greenlight-new-texas-plant-to-process-shale-output?sref=TtrRgti9

[13] https://www.minderoo.org/plastic-waste-makers-index/data/flows/#/sankey/global/10

[14] https://gizmodo.com/we-now-know-how-exxon-secretly-fights-crackdowns-on-pla-1847220288

[15] https://corporate.exxonmobil.com/Sustainability/Sustainability-Report/Environment/Plastic-waste-management#Addressingplasticwaste

[16] https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottcarpenter/2020/09/05/why-the-oil-industrys-400-billion-bet-on-plastics-could-backfire/?sh=6e099bd843fe

Resolution Details

Company:

Kraft Heinz Company

Year:

2023

Issue Area:

Climate Change, Water

Focus Area:

Water

Status:

Vote

Vote Percentage:

7.80%

Kraft Heinz Water Risk Assessment – Proxy Memo

Proxy Memo
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1637459/000121465923003579/o36231px14a6…

Resolution Text

WHEREAS: According to the 2021 IPCC report, climate change is intensifying the water cycle, resulting in more intense droughts globally.[1] Climate change related water scarcity poses material risk to our company, including lowered production capacity and disruption of supply chains.

For companies in the food sectors, the vast majority of their water footprint comes from agricultural supply chains.[2][3] While Kraft Heinz has conducted water risk assessments on its annual water withdrawals for its manufacturing operations, it neglects to provide the same disclosure for water use in its agricultural related ingredient production – the most water intensive function of its business.

It is likely that some portion of Kraft Heinz source ingredients are supplied by growers in water vulnerable locations. Given the Company has acknowledged 19 elevated water stress areas out of 79 within their own operations, these risks are likely to be extended within the supply chain. Because Kraft Heinz either does not assess supply chain water risk, or does not disclose such risk to investors, the company’s water related risk remains in question.

To identify water risk and reduce costs, many peer companies – including Conagra Brands, Unilever, General Mills and Campbells have conducted water risk assessments for both operations and supply chains. By doing so, these companies have laid a foundation to mitigate future business risks associated with water and take the proper steps to future goal setting.

Kraft Heinz acknowledges that “having access to sufficient amounts of quality fresh water…is critical to our business.” With water being a “vital component” to growing and as a direct ingredient in many products, conducting a water risk assessment is imperative to mitigating future water concerns.

Without a full value chain water risk assessment, and disclosure of quantitative performance metrics and best practices for water management in areas of water stress, investors cannot gauge whether Kraft Heinz adequately manages its water risk.

RESOLVED: Considering the growing pressure on water supplies posed by climate change, shareholders request that Kraft Heinz conduct and report to shareholders, using quantitative indicators where appropriate, an assessment to identify the water risk exposure of its supply chain, and its responsive policies and practices to reduce this risk and prepare for water supply uncertainties associated with climate change.

SUPPORTING STATEMENT:
Proponents request the report disclose, at management’s discretion:

Identification of water assessment tools used by Kraft Heinz or its suppliers to assess supply chain water related risk
Results of water risk assessments across its agricultural supply chain, including identifying the regions of at-risk ingredient production and supply chains
Any additional monitoring of supply chain water resources
Water scarcity planning and responsive actions
A description of how water management is integrated into governance mechanisms
A description of water-related engagement with value chain partners

[1] https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-working-group-i/

[2] https://www.ceres.org/resources/reports/global-assessment-private-sector-impacts-water

[3] https://www.ceres.org/resources/reports/global-investor-engagement-meat-sourcing-2022

Resolution Details

Company:

Essential Utilities (formerly Aqua America)

Year:

2023

Issue Area:

Health, Water

Focus Area:

Chemicals/Toxins

Status:

Withdrawn for Agreement

Resolution Text

WHEREAS: A 2017 study[1] indicated that costs associated with chemical exposures worldwide likely exceed 10 percent of global GDP, or 11 trillion dollars. A growing body of literature links chemical exposure to many human health problems, from cancer, to developmental disabilities, to reproductive harm.

Poly and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of chemicals that has been under particular scrutiny in recent years. After significant controversy and class-action lawsuits, two PFAS chemicals have been phased out of production (PFOA and PFOS,) but remain in the environment. Many other chemicals in the same class remain in use today. PFAS exposure has been linked to hormone disruption, liver and kidney disease, cancer, and other human health harms.

According to the EPA, “Certain technologies have been found to remove PFAS from drinking water, especially Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), which are the most studied of these chemicals.” [2]

Toxic chemical impacts present systemic portfolio risks to investors. With the EPA poised to announce a PFAS National Drinking Regulation[3], Essential/Aqua must position itself to achieve levels compliant with EPA regulations, should they be lower than the company currently requires.

In Horsham, PA, the municipal Water and Sewer Authority has aggressively worked to mitigate high concentrations of PFAS and other toxic chemicals emanating from two military bases in the area. Through extensive treatment programs, the have achieved non-detectible levels of PFAS chemicals in most wells.[4]

“Current peer-reviewed scientific studies have shown that exposure to certain levels of PFAS may lead to:

Reproductive effects such as decreased fertility or increased high blood pressure in pregnant women.
Developmental effects or delays in children, including low birth weight, accelerated puberty, bone variations, or behavioral changes.
Increased risk of some cancers, including prostate, kidney, and testicular cancers.
Reduced ability of the body’s immune system to fight infections, including reduced vaccine response.
Interference with the body’s natural hormones.
Increased cholesterol levels and/or risk of obesity.” [5]

BE IT RESOLVED: Shareholders request that Essential Utilities, at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, report to shareholders on PFAS levels at all Essential water sources along with the potential public health and/or environmental impacts of toxic materials in the water it provides to the public.

SUPPORTING STATEMENT: In the report, shareholders seek information, at board and management discretion regarding:

existing chemical management practices;
any metrics by which chemical risk is currently being, or will be, measured and disclosed;

[1] Calculation of the disease burden associated with environmental chemical exposures: application of toxicological information in health economic estimation Environmental Health

Enhanced Water Risk Disclosure

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