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Environmental groups vote against P&G CEO for inaction on deforestation

On September 19, 2022, Friends of the Earth, supported by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Rainforest Action Network, filed a notice of exempt-solicitation with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recommending that other Procter & Gamble (P&G) shareholders vote against current CEO Jon Moeller, who is also chairman of the board of directors, at P&G's annual meeting to be held on October 11, 2022. The groups also oppose the re-elections of Angela Braly (chair of the Governance and Public Responsibility Committee) and Patricia Woertz, another member of this committee. 

These requests are motivated by "the Company’s Failure to Mitigate ESG Risk Through Adoption and Implementation of an Adequate No-Deforestation and No-Degradation Commitment, and Failure of Adequate Board Leadership to Address ESG Risk". 

For several years, these environmental groups have criticized the company for using too much virgin wood pulp in its paper products and have called for a review of palm oil sourcing from tropical forests. The company has not responded to these demands. 

In 2020, a proposal filed by Green Century Capital Management asking P&G to publish a report on how it could strengthen its efforts to eliminate deforestation and degradation in its supply chain won the support of the majority of shareholders. Two years later, no improvements have been made. 

As chair of the Governance and Public Accountability Committee, Braly should oversee environmental concerns, including forestry issues. According to environmental groups, she has failed to mitigate the risks associated with P&G's forestry procurement. The same is true of Woertz, whose role on the same committee is questionable, according to the groups, given her three decades with Chevron. 

Sources: Securities and Exchange Commission, PX14A6G: Notice of exempt solicitation submitted by non-management, September 19, 2022, https://bit.ly/3QZPoyM;

Jessica DiNapoli, UPDATE 3-Environmental groups ask P&G investors to vote against CEO as board chair, Yahoo.com, September 19, 2022, https://yhoo.it/3Us7V9P