global warming

Former Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott Belittled at Goldman Sachs Annual Meeting

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Mon, 05/10/2010 - 20:06

Lee Scott photo At the Goldman Sachs annual meeting on Friday, former Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott was elected to the Goldman board of directors. Several Left-wing activists rose to sing his praises. I added this comment at the end of my remarks about our shareholder proposal asking for a report on the science behind Goldman’s embrace of global warming:

Mr. Blankfein, I hope you will reach out to experts on with diverse viewpoints. Sorry to say, your new director, Lee Scott, can be of no help. He claimed that carbon dioxide causes hurricanes, something he must have picked up from Al Gore. He also took a company founded by Sam Walton, one of the greatest entrepreneurs of all time, and transformed it into a cowed giant, almost an appendage of the state, now supporting ObamaCare and cap and trade.

Goldman Sachs Ripped on Embrace of Global Warming

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Thu, 05/06/2010 - 15:26

Goldman Sachs logo My remarks at Goldman Sachs annual meeting today:

I regret that management opposes our resolution asking for a report on the science behind Goldman’s public positions on global warming. In 2005, Goldman Sachs established its “Environmental Policy Framework,” which stated:

“Goldman Sachs acknowledges the scientific consensus, led by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), that climate change is a reality and that human activities are largely responsible for increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere.”

PepsiCo’s Lobbying for Cap and Trade Hit at Annual Meeting

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Tue, 05/04/2010 - 23:38

Nooyi photo NLPC is the sponsor of a shareholder proposal that asks PepsiCo to report on its lobbying priorities. Here are my remarks today at the PepsiCo annual meeting in Plano, Texas:

I regret that PepsiCo opposes this resolution asking for a report on the company’s lobbying priorities. I would think that management would welcome the opportunity to explain its priorities.

PepsiCo is a member of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership a coalition of corporations and environmental groups. USCAP’s mission is to “quickly enact strong national legislation to require significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.” The House of Representatives has obliged in the form of the Waxman-Markey bill. According to the Heritage Foundation, this bill would destroy over 1.1 million jobs, hike electricity rates 90 percent, and reduce the U.S. gross domestic product by nearly $10 trillion over the next 25 years.

PepsiCo’s Lobbying for Cap and Trade to be Hit at Annual Meeting

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Tue, 05/04/2010 - 09:42

PepsiCo logo NLPC is sponsoring a PepsiCo shareholder proposal asking for a report on the company’s lobbying priorities. At the PepsiCo annual tomorrow in Plano, Texas, I will argue that the company’s lobbying priorities are seriously out of whack.

I will cite PepsiCo’s membership in U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), a coalition of corporations and environmental groups. USCAP’s mission is to “quickly enact strong national legislation to require significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.” The House of Representatives has obliged in the form of the Waxman-Markey bill that would destroy over 1.1 million jobs, hike electricity rates 90 percent, and reduce the U.S. gross domestic product by nearly $10 trillion over the next 25 years.

SEC Rules Wal-Mart Cannot Exclude NLPC Shareholder Proposal on ObamaCare, Cap and Trade

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Mon, 04/05/2010 - 10:10

Mike Duke The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will not allow Wal-Mart to exclude from consideration an NLPC-sponsored shareholder proposal asking for a report on the company’s lobbying priorities. Wal-Mart suddenly finds itself on the opposite side of public opinion on ObamaCare and cap and trade, after having embraced both last year.

On January 9, Wal-Mart sought to preclude a shareholder discussion of these issues by asking the SEC if it could exclude our resolution on the grounds that it “does not focus on, or implicate, a significant social policy.” Oh, really?

SEC: Pepsi Must Allow NLPC Proposal on Lobbying Priorities Like Cap and Trade

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Mon, 03/08/2010 - 21:18

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ruled that PepsiCo may not exclude a shareholder proposal filed by NLPC that asks the company for a report on its lobbying priorities. PepsiCo is a member of the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), a coalition of corporations and environmental groups that lobbies for the disastrous cap and trade legislation.

Our resolution will appear in PepsiCo’s proxy materials, and I will speak in its support at the company’s annual meeting this spring.

By trying to preclude a shareholder discussion of this and other issues, PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi seems unwilling to publicly defend the company's controversial public policy positions, which is exactly the point of our resolution. Maybe the company should change its positions on cap and trade, and other issues where it sides with anti-business activists.

BP, ConocoPhillips and Caterpillar Quit Cap-and-Trade Lobby Group; PepsiCo Should Do The Same

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Wed, 02/17/2010 - 11:14

Nooyi photo Although they never should have been a part of it in the first place, three major companies have exited the U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), a coalition of corporations and environmental groups. USCAP’s mission is to “quickly enact strong national legislation to require significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.” The House has obliged and the result, the Waxman-Markey bill, is too strong for both the Senate and the American people.

Instead of taking a principled stand against massive government intervention in the energy economy, corporate executives argued that global warming legislation was coming anyway, so it was better to be inside the room when it was negotiated. This was the same argument made by pharmaceutical companies when they threw their support behind Barack Obama’s health care plan.

Wal-Mart Tries to Stop Shareholder Discussion of ObamaCare, Cap and Trade

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Tue, 02/16/2010 - 09:50

Suddenly at odds with public opinion on Barack Obama’s proposals on health care and global warming, Wal-Mart is seeking to exclude from its proxy our shareholder proposal that asks for a report on the company’s lobbying priorities. As we noted in the supporting statement, Wal-Mart favors these proposals that will dramatically raise the cost of living for its customers, at the same time it has taken a lower profile on issues like tort reform that would benefit its customers, not to mention the company and its shareholders.

As we documented in our Special Report titled Wal-Mart Embraces Controversial Causes: Bid to Appease Liberal Interest Groups Will Likely Fail, Hurt Business, the company’s management has steered the company to the political Left under the guidance of Edelman public relations firm. With the public now turning against the very ideas that Edelman counseled Wal-Mart to embrace, it is no surprise that the company would seek to limit our ability to communicate with other shareholders.

Goldman Sachs Challenged on Global Warming in Wake of ‘Climategate’

Submitted by Peter Flaherty on Mon, 12/07/2009 - 23:20

Goldman Sachs logo NLPC has filed a shareholder proposal asking Goldman Sachs to report on the science behind its embrace of global warming in the wake of the ‘Climategate’ scandal.

Goldman’s ‘climate policy’ is more than corporate public relations. In 2007, Goldman participated in the buyout of energy firm TXU. The transaction resulted in the cancelation of 8 of 11 planned coal-fired power plants after pressure from environmental activists.

It might make wealthy financiers in New York City feel good about themselves to scotch electric generation in the name of environmentalism, but it has negative consequences for ordinary people. Electricity is a basic need, like food and medical care. Cancelling plants while parts of the country face regular power shortages, and raising the cost of electricity for consumers, is positively immoral.