NLPC reached an agreement last month with Deere & Company to withdraw its shareholder proposal that asked for diversity, equity and inclusion considerations to be eliminated from its board member selection process, which the company did.
However, we are still weighing in on Proposal 04, found on Page 88 of the company’s 2026 proxy statement, which requests for the board of directors to evaluate and issue a report on “the [financial] Return on Investment of Emission Reduction Goals.” The proposal is sponsored by the National Center for Public Policy Research.
NLPC circulated an advisory report to our fellow Deere shareholders late last month in support of NCPPR’s resolution, ahead of the company’s annual meeting on February 25. An excerpt from the report:
Deere & Company has committed itself to aggressive greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets, including a 50% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions and a 30% reduction in Scope 3 emissions by 2030. While the Company characterizes these “Leap Ambitions” as a revolution in agriculture and construction technology, it has failed to provide shareholders with a transparent, rigorous financial accounting of the Return on Investment (ROI) for these initiatives.
As the global cost of the “Net Zero” transition is estimated to reach $9.2 trillion annually, Deere’s silence on the specific costs and projected returns of its electrification and renewable fuel programs is a breach of fiduciary transparency. Furthermore, the Company faces significant litigation and reputational risks as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other regulators increasingly target “greenwashing”—the practice of making material environmental claims without sufficient financial or scientific substantiation.
Shareholders deserve to know if Deere is sacrificing its core competitive advantage—reliable, high-energy-density diesel machinery—for politically fashionable but economically unproven “green” alternatives.
In 2024 NLPC sponsored a shareholder proposal at Deere regarding a similar topic, which sought a “Customer and Company Sustainability Congruency Report.” Our proposal contended that the company’s business focus — delivering heavy machinery for the agriculture, forestry and mining industries — could not be reconciled with the climate alarmism-driven greenhouse gas emissions reduction agenda.
Deere still has not explained how its emissions reductions pursuits align with the energy-demanding industries it serves. That’s because they don’t.
NCPPR seeks to have management and the board of directors answer for that, so NLPC supports their initiative in asking shareholders to vote for Proposal 04.
