BOSTON – Green Century Capital Management° and Amazon shareholder Sara Sackner, with support from shareholder advocacy organization As You Sow, have jointly filed a shareholder resolution with Amazon.com, Inc.* (Amazon) urging the company to reduce its use of plastic packaging across its operations, including Whole Foods Market. Green Century is PIRG and Environment America’s affiliated mutual fund company. This is the second year in a row Green Century has filed a shareholder resolution targeting plastics at Whole Foods.
“Grocery stores like Whole Foods have a major part to play in the fight against plastic pollution,” said Elizabeth DiSanto, oceans associate with Environment America. “They’re responsible for wrapping our food in single-use plastic– producing waste that ends up polluting waterways, littering beaches and harming ocean life like whales, sea turtles, and dolphins.”
Over 28% of all U.S. garbage is packaging, amounting to 82 million tons of material that is typically thrown out after a product is purchased or used. Environment America, PIRG and coalition partners have campaigned to get Whole Foods to eliminate single-use plastic. The coalition has collected nearly 80,000 petition signatures from consumers in support.
When it comes to grocery stores, Whole Foods Market has been a leader on sustainability in the past. It became the first United States grocer to phase out plastic bags at checkout counters in 2008. Whole Foods has taken small steps since then to reduce plastics, including offering paper straws, paper grocery bags, smaller plastic produce bags and eliminating polystyrene foam from their stores.
However, Whole Foods has continued to lag behind competitors in terms of reducing their use of plastic. For the second year in a row, it received an “F” from As You Sow for failing to have a comprehensive plan to tackle plastic waste compared to competing chains.
“When shopping at Whole Foods, the prevalence of plastic packaging is clear. It has become nearly impossible to shop without purchasing plastic,” said Juliana Clejan, PIRG’s Zero Waste campaign associate. “So much of this plastic packaging is unnecessary and it’s time for Whole Foods to take action to eliminate single-use plastics.”
Thirty-five percent of Amazon shareholders voted in support of last year’s resolution calling on the company to move away from plastic. This past Thanksgiving, Environment America and PIRG also led a social media “week of action” calling on Whole Foods to eliminate single-use plastic packaging. Participants emphasized that they only intend to shop at stores that are actively trying to move away from plastic packaging and urged Whole Foods to do everything they can to help protect our planet.
“Nothing we use for a few minutes should last for hundreds of years,” said DiSanto. “We need to stop the problem at its source and get grocery stores like Whole Foods to commit to reducing their use of plastic.”
About Green Century Capital Management
°Green Century Capital Management, Inc. (Green Century) is the investment advisor to the Green Century Funds (The Funds). The Green Century Funds are the first family of fossil fuel free, responsible, and diversified mutual funds in the United States. Green Century Capital Management hosts an award-winning and in-house shareholder advocacy program and is the only mutual fund company in the U.S. wholly owned by environmental and public health nonprofit organizations.
*As of December 31, 2021, Whole Foods Market, Inc. compromised 0.13%, 0.00%, and 0.00% and Amazon.com, Inc. comprised 0.00%, 0.00%, and 0.00% of the Green Century Balanced Fund, the Green Century Equity Fund, and the Green Century International Index Fund respectively. As of the same date, other securities mentioned were not held in the portfolios of any of the Green Century Funds. References to specific securities, which will change due to ongoing management of the Funds, should not be construed as a recommendation by the Funds, their administrator, or their distributor.
The percentage in favor was calculated by (i) dividing the number of votes in support of the proposal by (ii) the sum of the number of votes voted in support of and against the proposal. Abstentions and broker non-votes were not included in the calculation.
You should carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. To obtain a Prospectus that contains this and other information about the Funds please click here, email info@greencentury.com, or call 1-800-934-7336. Please read the Prospectus carefully before investing.
Stocks will fluctuate in response to factors that may affect a single company, industry, sector, country, region or the market as a whole and may perform worse than the market. Foreign securities are subject to additional risks such as currency fluctuations, regional economic and political conditions, differences in accounting methods, and other unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers. Bonds are subject to a variety of risks including interest rate, credit, and inflation risk. A sustainable investment strategy which incorporates environmental, social and governance criteria may result in lower or higher returns than an investment strategy that does not include such criteria.
This information has been prepared from sources believed reliable. The views expressed are as the date of this writing and are those of the Advisor to the Funds.
The Green Century Funds are distributed by UMB Distribution Services, LLC. 235 W Galena Street, Milwaukee, WI 53212. 1/22
