Amount will continue to grow as more people pledge to move money out of the asset manager
MALVERN, PA – Hundreds of individuals, organizations, and other institutions have now moved over $55 million of their investments out of Vanguard because of its ongoing inaction on climate change. This money moving effort is part of “Never Vanguard,” a pledge to not invest or work with Vanguard until it makes a meaningful course correction on its investment and engagement practices with the world’s biggest polluters.
Vanguard is the largest investor in coal, oil, and gas, with $444 billion in fossil fuels. It also ranks near the bottom of major asset managers in terms of voting for sustainability-related shareholder resolutions.
“People around the world have made it clear that they will not accept Vanguard’s reckless disregard for our shared planet,” said Brett Heinz, Global Policy Coordinator for Economic and Climate Justice at the American Friends Service Committee. “The American Friends Service Committee is proud to stand with others in demanding that Vanguard bring an end to their destructive environmental practices, recognizing that the long-term health of both our ecosystems and our economies relies on turning away from fossil fuels.”
In joining the Vanguard S.O.S. campaign, of which Never Vanguard is part, the American Friends Service Committee vowed to avoid financial ties with Vanguard and is calling on others to join the Never Vanguard pledge as long as Vanguard continues financing fossil fuels without accountability for their human and environmental costs.
The international Vanguard S.O.S. campaign formed as an alliance of groups concerned about the role that Vanguard plays in driving climate change, including Earth Quaker Action Team, the Sierra Club, Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action, Amazon Watch, GreenFaith, Stop the Money Pipeline, and others. In the short term, as first steps toward their overall campaign demands, campaigners are calling on Vanguard to 1) meet with representatives of the Vanguard S.O.S. campaign, 2) adopt a comprehensive Indigenous rights policy, and 3) create a fossil fuel-free target date fund.
“We call on Vanguard to make it possible for customers to save for retirement in ways that don’t jeopardize the future,” said Elizabeth Piersol Schmidt, Co-Clerk of the board at Earth Quaker Action Team. “Now is the time for Vanguard leadership to do what they can – for their customers, and for all of us.”
According to a 2021 report, Vanguard could lose at least $3 trillion by 2050 if it fails to take sufficient action on climate change. The world stands to lose close to 10% of total economic value also by mid-century if climate change stays on the currently-anticipated trajectory, and if the Paris Agreement 2050 net-zero emissions targets are not met.
Contact: Eve Gutman, eve@eqat.org
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