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Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
The letter criticises IBM's disclosure of lobbying as insufficient and risky to shareholders. \"Dark money\" spending on trade associations and social welfare organisations poses unidentified dangers, he says, and urges IBM to include information on its lobbying in a shareholder annual report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
In advance of IBM's April 29 annual meeting of stockholders, Big Blue shareholder and activist investor John Chevedden filed a letter<\/a> this week through the Securities and Exchange Commission urging fellow investors to support a proposal that would urge IBM to \"improve\" its lobbying disclosure, both directly to the government and, allegedly, through \"dark money.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter criticises IBM's disclosure of lobbying as insufficient and risky to shareholders. \"Dark money\" spending on trade associations and social welfare organisations poses unidentified dangers, he says, and urges IBM to include information on its lobbying in a shareholder annual report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
An activist investor has asked IBM to report on its lobbying activities, which he claims involve the expenditure of \"dark money\" on groups that campaign against climate change reporting and bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In advance of IBM's April 29 annual meeting of stockholders, Big Blue shareholder and activist investor John Chevedden filed a letter<\/a> this week through the Securities and Exchange Commission urging fellow investors to support a proposal that would urge IBM to \"improve\" its lobbying disclosure, both directly to the government and, allegedly, through \"dark money.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter criticises IBM's disclosure of lobbying as insufficient and risky to shareholders. \"Dark money\" spending on trade associations and social welfare organisations poses unidentified dangers, he says, and urges IBM to include information on its lobbying in a shareholder annual report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Starbuck indicated that he's advocating for \"corporate neutrality\" alone. \"I don't want to make the Fortune 500 <\/a>right-wing companies,\" he stated. He indicated that he's attempting to avoid \"a situation where we have totally parallel economies,\" with blue brands and red brands, because \"it's going to hurt our economy, and it's going to hurt our country.\"<\/p>\n","post_title":"Robby Starbuck plans lobbying group to challenge corporate DEI policies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"robby-starbuck-plans-lobbying-group-to-challenge-corporate-dei-policies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7561","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7546,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content":"\n An activist investor has asked IBM to report on its lobbying activities, which he claims involve the expenditure of \"dark money\" on groups that campaign against climate change reporting and bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In advance of IBM's April 29 annual meeting of stockholders, Big Blue shareholder and activist investor John Chevedden filed a letter<\/a> this week through the Securities and Exchange Commission urging fellow investors to support a proposal that would urge IBM to \"improve\" its lobbying disclosure, both directly to the government and, allegedly, through \"dark money.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter criticises IBM's disclosure of lobbying as insufficient and risky to shareholders. \"Dark money\" spending on trade associations and social welfare organisations poses unidentified dangers, he says, and urges IBM to include information on its lobbying in a shareholder annual report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
They need to be careful with that,\" he said. \"If it's individuals doing nasty things, seizing schools, sure, go ahead\u2026 but you need to set precedent that you will be fine with down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated that he's advocating for \"corporate neutrality\" alone. \"I don't want to make the Fortune 500 <\/a>right-wing companies,\" he stated. He indicated that he's attempting to avoid \"a situation where we have totally parallel economies,\" with blue brands and red brands, because \"it's going to hurt our economy, and it's going to hurt our country.\"<\/p>\n","post_title":"Robby Starbuck plans lobbying group to challenge corporate DEI policies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"robby-starbuck-plans-lobbying-group-to-challenge-corporate-dei-policies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7561","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7546,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content":"\n An activist investor has asked IBM to report on its lobbying activities, which he claims involve the expenditure of \"dark money\" on groups that campaign against climate change reporting and bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In advance of IBM's April 29 annual meeting of stockholders, Big Blue shareholder and activist investor John Chevedden filed a letter<\/a> this week through the Securities and Exchange Commission urging fellow investors to support a proposal that would urge IBM to \"improve\" its lobbying disclosure, both directly to the government and, allegedly, through \"dark money.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter criticises IBM's disclosure of lobbying as insufficient and risky to shareholders. \"Dark money\" spending on trade associations and social welfare organisations poses unidentified dangers, he says, and urges IBM to include information on its lobbying in a shareholder annual report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Starbuck indicated he's counseled some agency leaders as they seek to meet a White House directive to name DEI \"worst offenders.\" But he indicated he wouldn't work for the administration, and cited a number of places where he differs with its policies, including expediting the bird flu vaccine (he ran against mandates regarding masking and the Covid-19 vaccine) and the administration's attack on free speech in the name of combating censorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They need to be careful with that,\" he said. \"If it's individuals doing nasty things, seizing schools, sure, go ahead\u2026 but you need to set precedent that you will be fine with down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated that he's advocating for \"corporate neutrality\" alone. \"I don't want to make the Fortune 500 <\/a>right-wing companies,\" he stated. He indicated that he's attempting to avoid \"a situation where we have totally parallel economies,\" with blue brands and red brands, because \"it's going to hurt our economy, and it's going to hurt our country.\"<\/p>\n","post_title":"Robby Starbuck plans lobbying group to challenge corporate DEI policies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"robby-starbuck-plans-lobbying-group-to-challenge-corporate-dei-policies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7561","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7546,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content":"\n An activist investor has asked IBM to report on its lobbying activities, which he claims involve the expenditure of \"dark money\" on groups that campaign against climate change reporting and bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In advance of IBM's April 29 annual meeting of stockholders, Big Blue shareholder and activist investor John Chevedden filed a letter<\/a> this week through the Securities and Exchange Commission urging fellow investors to support a proposal that would urge IBM to \"improve\" its lobbying disclosure, both directly to the government and, allegedly, through \"dark money.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter criticises IBM's disclosure of lobbying as insufficient and risky to shareholders. \"Dark money\" spending on trade associations and social welfare organisations poses unidentified dangers, he says, and urges IBM to include information on its lobbying in a shareholder annual report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
His advances often begin with a LinkedIn message to the CEO, and he said he treats seriously the non-disclosure contracts he signs with companies in order to permit honest discussions. How honest? \"I can't tell you how many times I've had [CEOs] say, 'No way, we're not going to do that\u2026 and then, 'Oh, crap, we're going to do that.'\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated he's counseled some agency leaders as they seek to meet a White House directive to name DEI \"worst offenders.\" But he indicated he wouldn't work for the administration, and cited a number of places where he differs with its policies, including expediting the bird flu vaccine (he ran against mandates regarding masking and the Covid-19 vaccine) and the administration's attack on free speech in the name of combating censorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They need to be careful with that,\" he said. \"If it's individuals doing nasty things, seizing schools, sure, go ahead\u2026 but you need to set precedent that you will be fine with down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated that he's advocating for \"corporate neutrality\" alone. \"I don't want to make the Fortune 500 <\/a>right-wing companies,\" he stated. He indicated that he's attempting to avoid \"a situation where we have totally parallel economies,\" with blue brands and red brands, because \"it's going to hurt our economy, and it's going to hurt our country.\"<\/p>\n","post_title":"Robby Starbuck plans lobbying group to challenge corporate DEI policies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"robby-starbuck-plans-lobbying-group-to-challenge-corporate-dei-policies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7561","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7546,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content":"\n An activist investor has asked IBM to report on its lobbying activities, which he claims involve the expenditure of \"dark money\" on groups that campaign against climate change reporting and bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In advance of IBM's April 29 annual meeting of stockholders, Big Blue shareholder and activist investor John Chevedden filed a letter<\/a> this week through the Securities and Exchange Commission urging fellow investors to support a proposal that would urge IBM to \"improve\" its lobbying disclosure, both directly to the government and, allegedly, through \"dark money.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter criticises IBM's disclosure of lobbying as insufficient and risky to shareholders. \"Dark money\" spending on trade associations and social welfare organisations poses unidentified dangers, he says, and urges IBM to include information on its lobbying in a shareholder annual report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
he states \u2014 and far-right celebrities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His advances often begin with a LinkedIn message to the CEO, and he said he treats seriously the non-disclosure contracts he signs with companies in order to permit honest discussions. How honest? \"I can't tell you how many times I've had [CEOs] say, 'No way, we're not going to do that\u2026 and then, 'Oh, crap, we're going to do that.'\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated he's counseled some agency leaders as they seek to meet a White House directive to name DEI \"worst offenders.\" But he indicated he wouldn't work for the administration, and cited a number of places where he differs with its policies, including expediting the bird flu vaccine (he ran against mandates regarding masking and the Covid-19 vaccine) and the administration's attack on free speech in the name of combating censorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They need to be careful with that,\" he said. \"If it's individuals doing nasty things, seizing schools, sure, go ahead\u2026 but you need to set precedent that you will be fine with down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated that he's advocating for \"corporate neutrality\" alone. \"I don't want to make the Fortune 500 <\/a>right-wing companies,\" he stated. He indicated that he's attempting to avoid \"a situation where we have totally parallel economies,\" with blue brands and red brands, because \"it's going to hurt our economy, and it's going to hurt our country.\"<\/p>\n","post_title":"Robby Starbuck plans lobbying group to challenge corporate DEI policies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"robby-starbuck-plans-lobbying-group-to-challenge-corporate-dei-policies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7561","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7546,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content":"\n An activist investor has asked IBM to report on its lobbying activities, which he claims involve the expenditure of \"dark money\" on groups that campaign against climate change reporting and bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In advance of IBM's April 29 annual meeting of stockholders, Big Blue shareholder and activist investor John Chevedden filed a letter<\/a> this week through the Securities and Exchange Commission urging fellow investors to support a proposal that would urge IBM to \"improve\" its lobbying disclosure, both directly to the government and, allegedly, through \"dark money.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter criticises IBM's disclosure of lobbying as insufficient and risky to shareholders. \"Dark money\" spending on trade associations and social welfare organisations poses unidentified dangers, he says, and urges IBM to include information on its lobbying in a shareholder annual report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
\"I get along well with Elon,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n he states \u2014 and far-right celebrities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His advances often begin with a LinkedIn message to the CEO, and he said he treats seriously the non-disclosure contracts he signs with companies in order to permit honest discussions. How honest? \"I can't tell you how many times I've had [CEOs] say, 'No way, we're not going to do that\u2026 and then, 'Oh, crap, we're going to do that.'\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated he's counseled some agency leaders as they seek to meet a White House directive to name DEI \"worst offenders.\" But he indicated he wouldn't work for the administration, and cited a number of places where he differs with its policies, including expediting the bird flu vaccine (he ran against mandates regarding masking and the Covid-19 vaccine) and the administration's attack on free speech in the name of combating censorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They need to be careful with that,\" he said. \"If it's individuals doing nasty things, seizing schools, sure, go ahead\u2026 but you need to set precedent that you will be fine with down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated that he's advocating for \"corporate neutrality\" alone. \"I don't want to make the Fortune 500 <\/a>right-wing companies,\" he stated. He indicated that he's attempting to avoid \"a situation where we have totally parallel economies,\" with blue brands and red brands, because \"it's going to hurt our economy, and it's going to hurt our country.\"<\/p>\n","post_title":"Robby Starbuck plans lobbying group to challenge corporate DEI policies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"robby-starbuck-plans-lobbying-group-to-challenge-corporate-dei-policies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7561","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7546,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content":"\n An activist investor has asked IBM to report on its lobbying activities, which he claims involve the expenditure of \"dark money\" on groups that campaign against climate change reporting and bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In advance of IBM's April 29 annual meeting of stockholders, Big Blue shareholder and activist investor John Chevedden filed a letter<\/a> this week through the Securities and Exchange Commission urging fellow investors to support a proposal that would urge IBM to \"improve\" its lobbying disclosure, both directly to the government and, allegedly, through \"dark money.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter criticises IBM's disclosure of lobbying as insufficient and risky to shareholders. \"Dark money\" spending on trade associations and social welfare organisations poses unidentified dangers, he says, and urges IBM to include information on its lobbying in a shareholder annual report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
\"I get along well with Elon,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n he states \u2014 and far-right celebrities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His advances often begin with a LinkedIn message to the CEO, and he said he treats seriously the non-disclosure contracts he signs with companies in order to permit honest discussions. How honest? \"I can't tell you how many times I've had [CEOs] say, 'No way, we're not going to do that\u2026 and then, 'Oh, crap, we're going to do that.'\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated he's counseled some agency leaders as they seek to meet a White House directive to name DEI \"worst offenders.\" But he indicated he wouldn't work for the administration, and cited a number of places where he differs with its policies, including expediting the bird flu vaccine (he ran against mandates regarding masking and the Covid-19 vaccine) and the administration's attack on free speech in the name of combating censorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They need to be careful with that,\" he said. \"If it's individuals doing nasty things, seizing schools, sure, go ahead\u2026 but you need to set precedent that you will be fine with down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated that he's advocating for \"corporate neutrality\" alone. \"I don't want to make the Fortune 500 <\/a>right-wing companies,\" he stated. He indicated that he's attempting to avoid \"a situation where we have totally parallel economies,\" with blue brands and red brands, because \"it's going to hurt our economy, and it's going to hurt our country.\"<\/p>\n","post_title":"Robby Starbuck plans lobbying group to challenge corporate DEI policies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"robby-starbuck-plans-lobbying-group-to-challenge-corporate-dei-policies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7561","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7546,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content":"\n An activist investor has asked IBM to report on its lobbying activities, which he claims involve the expenditure of \"dark money\" on groups that campaign against climate change reporting and bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In advance of IBM's April 29 annual meeting of stockholders, Big Blue shareholder and activist investor John Chevedden filed a letter<\/a> this week through the Securities and Exchange Commission urging fellow investors to support a proposal that would urge IBM to \"improve\" its lobbying disclosure, both directly to the government and, allegedly, through \"dark money.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter criticises IBM's disclosure of lobbying as insufficient and risky to shareholders. \"Dark money\" spending on trade associations and social welfare organisations poses unidentified dangers, he says, and urges IBM to include information on its lobbying in a shareholder annual report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
In an extensive interview on his Tennessee farm, Starbuck looked back at his campaign, which started around X last year and has subsequently pushed huge overhauls in at least more than a dozen firms with a total market capitalization of over $2 trillion. His efforts are precise and his reach has been propagated by individuals such as Elon Musk<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I get along well with Elon,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n he states \u2014 and far-right celebrities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His advances often begin with a LinkedIn message to the CEO, and he said he treats seriously the non-disclosure contracts he signs with companies in order to permit honest discussions. How honest? \"I can't tell you how many times I've had [CEOs] say, 'No way, we're not going to do that\u2026 and then, 'Oh, crap, we're going to do that.'\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated he's counseled some agency leaders as they seek to meet a White House directive to name DEI \"worst offenders.\" But he indicated he wouldn't work for the administration, and cited a number of places where he differs with its policies, including expediting the bird flu vaccine (he ran against mandates regarding masking and the Covid-19 vaccine) and the administration's attack on free speech in the name of combating censorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They need to be careful with that,\" he said. \"If it's individuals doing nasty things, seizing schools, sure, go ahead\u2026 but you need to set precedent that you will be fine with down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated that he's advocating for \"corporate neutrality\" alone. \"I don't want to make the Fortune 500 <\/a>right-wing companies,\" he stated. He indicated that he's attempting to avoid \"a situation where we have totally parallel economies,\" with blue brands and red brands, because \"it's going to hurt our economy, and it's going to hurt our country.\"<\/p>\n","post_title":"Robby Starbuck plans lobbying group to challenge corporate DEI policies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"robby-starbuck-plans-lobbying-group-to-challenge-corporate-dei-policies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7561","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7546,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content":"\n An activist investor has asked IBM to report on its lobbying activities, which he claims involve the expenditure of \"dark money\" on groups that campaign against climate change reporting and bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In advance of IBM's April 29 annual meeting of stockholders, Big Blue shareholder and activist investor John Chevedden filed a letter<\/a> this week through the Securities and Exchange Commission urging fellow investors to support a proposal that would urge IBM to \"improve\" its lobbying disclosure, both directly to the government and, allegedly, through \"dark money.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter criticises IBM's disclosure of lobbying as insufficient and risky to shareholders. \"Dark money\" spending on trade associations and social welfare organisations poses unidentified dangers, he says, and urges IBM to include information on its lobbying in a shareholder annual report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Starbuck said he has gotten a \u201cblank check\u201d offer from at least one big Republican donor. \u201cThe catch is: they want the ability to kill stories\u201d \u2014 Starbuck said he considers himself a journalist \u2014 \u201cand pick targets. And I just don\u2019t work that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an extensive interview on his Tennessee farm, Starbuck looked back at his campaign, which started around X last year and has subsequently pushed huge overhauls in at least more than a dozen firms with a total market capitalization of over $2 trillion. His efforts are precise and his reach has been propagated by individuals such as Elon Musk<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I get along well with Elon,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n he states \u2014 and far-right celebrities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His advances often begin with a LinkedIn message to the CEO, and he said he treats seriously the non-disclosure contracts he signs with companies in order to permit honest discussions. How honest? \"I can't tell you how many times I've had [CEOs] say, 'No way, we're not going to do that\u2026 and then, 'Oh, crap, we're going to do that.'\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated he's counseled some agency leaders as they seek to meet a White House directive to name DEI \"worst offenders.\" But he indicated he wouldn't work for the administration, and cited a number of places where he differs with its policies, including expediting the bird flu vaccine (he ran against mandates regarding masking and the Covid-19 vaccine) and the administration's attack on free speech in the name of combating censorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They need to be careful with that,\" he said. \"If it's individuals doing nasty things, seizing schools, sure, go ahead\u2026 but you need to set precedent that you will be fine with down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated that he's advocating for \"corporate neutrality\" alone. \"I don't want to make the Fortune 500 <\/a>right-wing companies,\" he stated. He indicated that he's attempting to avoid \"a situation where we have totally parallel economies,\" with blue brands and red brands, because \"it's going to hurt our economy, and it's going to hurt our country.\"<\/p>\n","post_title":"Robby Starbuck plans lobbying group to challenge corporate DEI policies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"robby-starbuck-plans-lobbying-group-to-challenge-corporate-dei-policies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7561","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7546,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content":"\n An activist investor has asked IBM to report on its lobbying activities, which he claims involve the expenditure of \"dark money\" on groups that campaign against climate change reporting and bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In advance of IBM's April 29 annual meeting of stockholders, Big Blue shareholder and activist investor John Chevedden filed a letter<\/a> this week through the Securities and Exchange Commission urging fellow investors to support a proposal that would urge IBM to \"improve\" its lobbying disclosure, both directly to the government and, allegedly, through \"dark money.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter criticises IBM's disclosure of lobbying as insufficient and risky to shareholders. \"Dark money\" spending on trade associations and social welfare organisations poses unidentified dangers, he says, and urges IBM to include information on its lobbying in a shareholder annual report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Robby Starbuck, labeled a boardroom boogeyman for pushing companies like Walmart, Lowe\u2019s, and Harley-Davidson to drop their DEI initiatives, informed Semafor about his intention to establish a lobbying group \u201cto make sure this never occurs again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck said he has gotten a \u201cblank check\u201d offer from at least one big Republican donor. \u201cThe catch is: they want the ability to kill stories\u201d \u2014 Starbuck said he considers himself a journalist \u2014 \u201cand pick targets. And I just don\u2019t work that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an extensive interview on his Tennessee farm, Starbuck looked back at his campaign, which started around X last year and has subsequently pushed huge overhauls in at least more than a dozen firms with a total market capitalization of over $2 trillion. His efforts are precise and his reach has been propagated by individuals such as Elon Musk<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I get along well with Elon,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n he states \u2014 and far-right celebrities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His advances often begin with a LinkedIn message to the CEO, and he said he treats seriously the non-disclosure contracts he signs with companies in order to permit honest discussions. How honest? \"I can't tell you how many times I've had [CEOs] say, 'No way, we're not going to do that\u2026 and then, 'Oh, crap, we're going to do that.'\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated he's counseled some agency leaders as they seek to meet a White House directive to name DEI \"worst offenders.\" But he indicated he wouldn't work for the administration, and cited a number of places where he differs with its policies, including expediting the bird flu vaccine (he ran against mandates regarding masking and the Covid-19 vaccine) and the administration's attack on free speech in the name of combating censorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They need to be careful with that,\" he said. \"If it's individuals doing nasty things, seizing schools, sure, go ahead\u2026 but you need to set precedent that you will be fine with down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated that he's advocating for \"corporate neutrality\" alone. \"I don't want to make the Fortune 500 <\/a>right-wing companies,\" he stated. He indicated that he's attempting to avoid \"a situation where we have totally parallel economies,\" with blue brands and red brands, because \"it's going to hurt our economy, and it's going to hurt our country.\"<\/p>\n","post_title":"Robby Starbuck plans lobbying group to challenge corporate DEI policies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"robby-starbuck-plans-lobbying-group-to-challenge-corporate-dei-policies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7561","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7546,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content":"\n An activist investor has asked IBM to report on its lobbying activities, which he claims involve the expenditure of \"dark money\" on groups that campaign against climate change reporting and bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In advance of IBM's April 29 annual meeting of stockholders, Big Blue shareholder and activist investor John Chevedden filed a letter<\/a> this week through the Securities and Exchange Commission urging fellow investors to support a proposal that would urge IBM to \"improve\" its lobbying disclosure, both directly to the government and, allegedly, through \"dark money.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter criticises IBM's disclosure of lobbying as insufficient and risky to shareholders. \"Dark money\" spending on trade associations and social welfare organisations poses unidentified dangers, he says, and urges IBM to include information on its lobbying in a shareholder annual report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Corporate America\u2019s strongest opponent is initiating a lobbying group focused on \u201clong-term corporate oversight\u201d of diversity policies in companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Robby Starbuck, labeled a boardroom boogeyman for pushing companies like Walmart, Lowe\u2019s, and Harley-Davidson to drop their DEI initiatives, informed Semafor about his intention to establish a lobbying group \u201cto make sure this never occurs again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck said he has gotten a \u201cblank check\u201d offer from at least one big Republican donor. \u201cThe catch is: they want the ability to kill stories\u201d \u2014 Starbuck said he considers himself a journalist \u2014 \u201cand pick targets. And I just don\u2019t work that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an extensive interview on his Tennessee farm, Starbuck looked back at his campaign, which started around X last year and has subsequently pushed huge overhauls in at least more than a dozen firms with a total market capitalization of over $2 trillion. His efforts are precise and his reach has been propagated by individuals such as Elon Musk<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I get along well with Elon,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n he states \u2014 and far-right celebrities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His advances often begin with a LinkedIn message to the CEO, and he said he treats seriously the non-disclosure contracts he signs with companies in order to permit honest discussions. How honest? \"I can't tell you how many times I've had [CEOs] say, 'No way, we're not going to do that\u2026 and then, 'Oh, crap, we're going to do that.'\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated he's counseled some agency leaders as they seek to meet a White House directive to name DEI \"worst offenders.\" But he indicated he wouldn't work for the administration, and cited a number of places where he differs with its policies, including expediting the bird flu vaccine (he ran against mandates regarding masking and the Covid-19 vaccine) and the administration's attack on free speech in the name of combating censorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They need to be careful with that,\" he said. \"If it's individuals doing nasty things, seizing schools, sure, go ahead\u2026 but you need to set precedent that you will be fine with down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated that he's advocating for \"corporate neutrality\" alone. \"I don't want to make the Fortune 500 <\/a>right-wing companies,\" he stated. He indicated that he's attempting to avoid \"a situation where we have totally parallel economies,\" with blue brands and red brands, because \"it's going to hurt our economy, and it's going to hurt our country.\"<\/p>\n","post_title":"Robby Starbuck plans lobbying group to challenge corporate DEI policies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"robby-starbuck-plans-lobbying-group-to-challenge-corporate-dei-policies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7561","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7546,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content":"\n An activist investor has asked IBM to report on its lobbying activities, which he claims involve the expenditure of \"dark money\" on groups that campaign against climate change reporting and bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In advance of IBM's April 29 annual meeting of stockholders, Big Blue shareholder and activist investor John Chevedden filed a letter<\/a> this week through the Securities and Exchange Commission urging fellow investors to support a proposal that would urge IBM to \"improve\" its lobbying disclosure, both directly to the government and, allegedly, through \"dark money.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter criticises IBM's disclosure of lobbying as insufficient and risky to shareholders. \"Dark money\" spending on trade associations and social welfare organisations poses unidentified dangers, he says, and urges IBM to include information on its lobbying in a shareholder annual report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
\"We ought not to have hypocrisy as an institution that is all about being honest.\"<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","post_title":"Harvard faces pressure to drop fossil fuel-linked lobbying firm","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"harvard-faces-pressure-to-drop-fossil-fuel-linked-lobbying-firm","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 18:44:07","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 18:44:07","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7554","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7561,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-17 20:30:02","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-17 20:30:02","post_content":"\n Corporate America\u2019s strongest opponent is initiating a lobbying group focused on \u201clong-term corporate oversight\u201d of diversity policies in companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Robby Starbuck, labeled a boardroom boogeyman for pushing companies like Walmart, Lowe\u2019s, and Harley-Davidson to drop their DEI initiatives, informed Semafor about his intention to establish a lobbying group \u201cto make sure this never occurs again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck said he has gotten a \u201cblank check\u201d offer from at least one big Republican donor. \u201cThe catch is: they want the ability to kill stories\u201d \u2014 Starbuck said he considers himself a journalist \u2014 \u201cand pick targets. And I just don\u2019t work that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an extensive interview on his Tennessee farm, Starbuck looked back at his campaign, which started around X last year and has subsequently pushed huge overhauls in at least more than a dozen firms with a total market capitalization of over $2 trillion. His efforts are precise and his reach has been propagated by individuals such as Elon Musk<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I get along well with Elon,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n he states \u2014 and far-right celebrities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His advances often begin with a LinkedIn message to the CEO, and he said he treats seriously the non-disclosure contracts he signs with companies in order to permit honest discussions. How honest? \"I can't tell you how many times I've had [CEOs] say, 'No way, we're not going to do that\u2026 and then, 'Oh, crap, we're going to do that.'\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated he's counseled some agency leaders as they seek to meet a White House directive to name DEI \"worst offenders.\" But he indicated he wouldn't work for the administration, and cited a number of places where he differs with its policies, including expediting the bird flu vaccine (he ran against mandates regarding masking and the Covid-19 vaccine) and the administration's attack on free speech in the name of combating censorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They need to be careful with that,\" he said. \"If it's individuals doing nasty things, seizing schools, sure, go ahead\u2026 but you need to set precedent that you will be fine with down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated that he's advocating for \"corporate neutrality\" alone. \"I don't want to make the Fortune 500 <\/a>right-wing companies,\" he stated. He indicated that he's attempting to avoid \"a situation where we have totally parallel economies,\" with blue brands and red brands, because \"it's going to hurt our economy, and it's going to hurt our country.\"<\/p>\n","post_title":"Robby Starbuck plans lobbying group to challenge corporate DEI policies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"robby-starbuck-plans-lobbying-group-to-challenge-corporate-dei-policies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7561","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7546,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content":"\n An activist investor has asked IBM to report on its lobbying activities, which he claims involve the expenditure of \"dark money\" on groups that campaign against climate change reporting and bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In advance of IBM's April 29 annual meeting of stockholders, Big Blue shareholder and activist investor John Chevedden filed a letter<\/a> this week through the Securities and Exchange Commission urging fellow investors to support a proposal that would urge IBM to \"improve\" its lobbying disclosure, both directly to the government and, allegedly, through \"dark money.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter criticises IBM's disclosure of lobbying as insufficient and risky to shareholders. \"Dark money\" spending on trade associations and social welfare organisations poses unidentified dangers, he says, and urges IBM to include information on its lobbying in a shareholder annual report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
\"We ought not to have hypocrisy as an institution that is all about being honest.\"<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","post_title":"Harvard faces pressure to drop fossil fuel-linked lobbying firm","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"harvard-faces-pressure-to-drop-fossil-fuel-linked-lobbying-firm","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 18:44:07","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 18:44:07","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7554","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7561,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-17 20:30:02","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-17 20:30:02","post_content":"\n Corporate America\u2019s strongest opponent is initiating a lobbying group focused on \u201clong-term corporate oversight\u201d of diversity policies in companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Robby Starbuck, labeled a boardroom boogeyman for pushing companies like Walmart, Lowe\u2019s, and Harley-Davidson to drop their DEI initiatives, informed Semafor about his intention to establish a lobbying group \u201cto make sure this never occurs again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck said he has gotten a \u201cblank check\u201d offer from at least one big Republican donor. \u201cThe catch is: they want the ability to kill stories\u201d \u2014 Starbuck said he considers himself a journalist \u2014 \u201cand pick targets. And I just don\u2019t work that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an extensive interview on his Tennessee farm, Starbuck looked back at his campaign, which started around X last year and has subsequently pushed huge overhauls in at least more than a dozen firms with a total market capitalization of over $2 trillion. His efforts are precise and his reach has been propagated by individuals such as Elon Musk<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I get along well with Elon,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n he states \u2014 and far-right celebrities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His advances often begin with a LinkedIn message to the CEO, and he said he treats seriously the non-disclosure contracts he signs with companies in order to permit honest discussions. How honest? \"I can't tell you how many times I've had [CEOs] say, 'No way, we're not going to do that\u2026 and then, 'Oh, crap, we're going to do that.'\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated he's counseled some agency leaders as they seek to meet a White House directive to name DEI \"worst offenders.\" But he indicated he wouldn't work for the administration, and cited a number of places where he differs with its policies, including expediting the bird flu vaccine (he ran against mandates regarding masking and the Covid-19 vaccine) and the administration's attack on free speech in the name of combating censorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They need to be careful with that,\" he said. \"If it's individuals doing nasty things, seizing schools, sure, go ahead\u2026 but you need to set precedent that you will be fine with down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated that he's advocating for \"corporate neutrality\" alone. \"I don't want to make the Fortune 500 <\/a>right-wing companies,\" he stated. He indicated that he's attempting to avoid \"a situation where we have totally parallel economies,\" with blue brands and red brands, because \"it's going to hurt our economy, and it's going to hurt our country.\"<\/p>\n","post_title":"Robby Starbuck plans lobbying group to challenge corporate DEI policies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"robby-starbuck-plans-lobbying-group-to-challenge-corporate-dei-policies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7561","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7546,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content":"\n An activist investor has asked IBM to report on its lobbying activities, which he claims involve the expenditure of \"dark money\" on groups that campaign against climate change reporting and bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In advance of IBM's April 29 annual meeting of stockholders, Big Blue shareholder and activist investor John Chevedden filed a letter<\/a> this week through the Securities and Exchange Commission urging fellow investors to support a proposal that would urge IBM to \"improve\" its lobbying disclosure, both directly to the government and, allegedly, through \"dark money.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter criticises IBM's disclosure of lobbying as insufficient and risky to shareholders. \"Dark money\" spending on trade associations and social welfare organisations poses unidentified dangers, he says, and urges IBM to include information on its lobbying in a shareholder annual report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
he continued. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"We ought not to have hypocrisy as an institution that is all about being honest.\"<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","post_title":"Harvard faces pressure to drop fossil fuel-linked lobbying firm","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"harvard-faces-pressure-to-drop-fossil-fuel-linked-lobbying-firm","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 18:44:07","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 18:44:07","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7554","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7561,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-17 20:30:02","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-17 20:30:02","post_content":"\n Corporate America\u2019s strongest opponent is initiating a lobbying group focused on \u201clong-term corporate oversight\u201d of diversity policies in companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Robby Starbuck, labeled a boardroom boogeyman for pushing companies like Walmart, Lowe\u2019s, and Harley-Davidson to drop their DEI initiatives, informed Semafor about his intention to establish a lobbying group \u201cto make sure this never occurs again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck said he has gotten a \u201cblank check\u201d offer from at least one big Republican donor. \u201cThe catch is: they want the ability to kill stories\u201d \u2014 Starbuck said he considers himself a journalist \u2014 \u201cand pick targets. And I just don\u2019t work that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an extensive interview on his Tennessee farm, Starbuck looked back at his campaign, which started around X last year and has subsequently pushed huge overhauls in at least more than a dozen firms with a total market capitalization of over $2 trillion. His efforts are precise and his reach has been propagated by individuals such as Elon Musk<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I get along well with Elon,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n he states \u2014 and far-right celebrities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His advances often begin with a LinkedIn message to the CEO, and he said he treats seriously the non-disclosure contracts he signs with companies in order to permit honest discussions. How honest? \"I can't tell you how many times I've had [CEOs] say, 'No way, we're not going to do that\u2026 and then, 'Oh, crap, we're going to do that.'\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated he's counseled some agency leaders as they seek to meet a White House directive to name DEI \"worst offenders.\" But he indicated he wouldn't work for the administration, and cited a number of places where he differs with its policies, including expediting the bird flu vaccine (he ran against mandates regarding masking and the Covid-19 vaccine) and the administration's attack on free speech in the name of combating censorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They need to be careful with that,\" he said. \"If it's individuals doing nasty things, seizing schools, sure, go ahead\u2026 but you need to set precedent that you will be fine with down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated that he's advocating for \"corporate neutrality\" alone. \"I don't want to make the Fortune 500 <\/a>right-wing companies,\" he stated. He indicated that he's attempting to avoid \"a situation where we have totally parallel economies,\" with blue brands and red brands, because \"it's going to hurt our economy, and it's going to hurt our country.\"<\/p>\n","post_title":"Robby Starbuck plans lobbying group to challenge corporate DEI policies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"robby-starbuck-plans-lobbying-group-to-challenge-corporate-dei-policies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7561","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7546,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content":"\n An activist investor has asked IBM to report on its lobbying activities, which he claims involve the expenditure of \"dark money\" on groups that campaign against climate change reporting and bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In advance of IBM's April 29 annual meeting of stockholders, Big Blue shareholder and activist investor John Chevedden filed a letter<\/a> this week through the Securities and Exchange Commission urging fellow investors to support a proposal that would urge IBM to \"improve\" its lobbying disclosure, both directly to the government and, allegedly, through \"dark money.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter criticises IBM's disclosure of lobbying as insufficient and risky to shareholders. \"Dark money\" spending on trade associations and social welfare organisations poses unidentified dangers, he says, and urges IBM to include information on its lobbying in a shareholder annual report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
\"They're an example for not just the United States, but the world,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n he continued. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"We ought not to have hypocrisy as an institution that is all about being honest.\"<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","post_title":"Harvard faces pressure to drop fossil fuel-linked lobbying firm","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"harvard-faces-pressure-to-drop-fossil-fuel-linked-lobbying-firm","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 18:44:07","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 18:44:07","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7554","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7561,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-17 20:30:02","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-17 20:30:02","post_content":"\n Corporate America\u2019s strongest opponent is initiating a lobbying group focused on \u201clong-term corporate oversight\u201d of diversity policies in companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Robby Starbuck, labeled a boardroom boogeyman for pushing companies like Walmart, Lowe\u2019s, and Harley-Davidson to drop their DEI initiatives, informed Semafor about his intention to establish a lobbying group \u201cto make sure this never occurs again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck said he has gotten a \u201cblank check\u201d offer from at least one big Republican donor. \u201cThe catch is: they want the ability to kill stories\u201d \u2014 Starbuck said he considers himself a journalist \u2014 \u201cand pick targets. And I just don\u2019t work that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an extensive interview on his Tennessee farm, Starbuck looked back at his campaign, which started around X last year and has subsequently pushed huge overhauls in at least more than a dozen firms with a total market capitalization of over $2 trillion. His efforts are precise and his reach has been propagated by individuals such as Elon Musk<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I get along well with Elon,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n he states \u2014 and far-right celebrities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His advances often begin with a LinkedIn message to the CEO, and he said he treats seriously the non-disclosure contracts he signs with companies in order to permit honest discussions. How honest? \"I can't tell you how many times I've had [CEOs] say, 'No way, we're not going to do that\u2026 and then, 'Oh, crap, we're going to do that.'\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated he's counseled some agency leaders as they seek to meet a White House directive to name DEI \"worst offenders.\" But he indicated he wouldn't work for the administration, and cited a number of places where he differs with its policies, including expediting the bird flu vaccine (he ran against mandates regarding masking and the Covid-19 vaccine) and the administration's attack on free speech in the name of combating censorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They need to be careful with that,\" he said. \"If it's individuals doing nasty things, seizing schools, sure, go ahead\u2026 but you need to set precedent that you will be fine with down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated that he's advocating for \"corporate neutrality\" alone. \"I don't want to make the Fortune 500 <\/a>right-wing companies,\" he stated. He indicated that he's attempting to avoid \"a situation where we have totally parallel economies,\" with blue brands and red brands, because \"it's going to hurt our economy, and it's going to hurt our country.\"<\/p>\n","post_title":"Robby Starbuck plans lobbying group to challenge corporate DEI policies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"robby-starbuck-plans-lobbying-group-to-challenge-corporate-dei-policies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7561","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7546,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content":"\n An activist investor has asked IBM to report on its lobbying activities, which he claims involve the expenditure of \"dark money\" on groups that campaign against climate change reporting and bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In advance of IBM's April 29 annual meeting of stockholders, Big Blue shareholder and activist investor John Chevedden filed a letter<\/a> this week through the Securities and Exchange Commission urging fellow investors to support a proposal that would urge IBM to \"improve\" its lobbying disclosure, both directly to the government and, allegedly, through \"dark money.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter criticises IBM's disclosure of lobbying as insufficient and risky to shareholders. \"Dark money\" spending on trade associations and social welfare organisations poses unidentified dangers, he says, and urges IBM to include information on its lobbying in a shareholder annual report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
\"They're an example for not just the United States, but the world,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n he continued. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"We ought not to have hypocrisy as an institution that is all about being honest.\"<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","post_title":"Harvard faces pressure to drop fossil fuel-linked lobbying firm","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"harvard-faces-pressure-to-drop-fossil-fuel-linked-lobbying-firm","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 18:44:07","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 18:44:07","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7554","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7561,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-17 20:30:02","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-17 20:30:02","post_content":"\n Corporate America\u2019s strongest opponent is initiating a lobbying group focused on \u201clong-term corporate oversight\u201d of diversity policies in companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Robby Starbuck, labeled a boardroom boogeyman for pushing companies like Walmart, Lowe\u2019s, and Harley-Davidson to drop their DEI initiatives, informed Semafor about his intention to establish a lobbying group \u201cto make sure this never occurs again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck said he has gotten a \u201cblank check\u201d offer from at least one big Republican donor. \u201cThe catch is: they want the ability to kill stories\u201d \u2014 Starbuck said he considers himself a journalist \u2014 \u201cand pick targets. And I just don\u2019t work that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an extensive interview on his Tennessee farm, Starbuck looked back at his campaign, which started around X last year and has subsequently pushed huge overhauls in at least more than a dozen firms with a total market capitalization of over $2 trillion. His efforts are precise and his reach has been propagated by individuals such as Elon Musk<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I get along well with Elon,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n he states \u2014 and far-right celebrities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His advances often begin with a LinkedIn message to the CEO, and he said he treats seriously the non-disclosure contracts he signs with companies in order to permit honest discussions. How honest? \"I can't tell you how many times I've had [CEOs] say, 'No way, we're not going to do that\u2026 and then, 'Oh, crap, we're going to do that.'\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated he's counseled some agency leaders as they seek to meet a White House directive to name DEI \"worst offenders.\" But he indicated he wouldn't work for the administration, and cited a number of places where he differs with its policies, including expediting the bird flu vaccine (he ran against mandates regarding masking and the Covid-19 vaccine) and the administration's attack on free speech in the name of combating censorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They need to be careful with that,\" he said. \"If it's individuals doing nasty things, seizing schools, sure, go ahead\u2026 but you need to set precedent that you will be fine with down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated that he's advocating for \"corporate neutrality\" alone. \"I don't want to make the Fortune 500 <\/a>right-wing companies,\" he stated. He indicated that he's attempting to avoid \"a situation where we have totally parallel economies,\" with blue brands and red brands, because \"it's going to hurt our economy, and it's going to hurt our country.\"<\/p>\n","post_title":"Robby Starbuck plans lobbying group to challenge corporate DEI policies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"robby-starbuck-plans-lobbying-group-to-challenge-corporate-dei-policies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7561","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7546,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content":"\n An activist investor has asked IBM to report on its lobbying activities, which he claims involve the expenditure of \"dark money\" on groups that campaign against climate change reporting and bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In advance of IBM's April 29 annual meeting of stockholders, Big Blue shareholder and activist investor John Chevedden filed a letter<\/a> this week through the Securities and Exchange Commission urging fellow investors to support a proposal that would urge IBM to \"improve\" its lobbying disclosure, both directly to the government and, allegedly, through \"dark money.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter criticises IBM's disclosure of lobbying as insufficient and risky to shareholders. \"Dark money\" spending on trade associations and social welfare organisations poses unidentified dangers, he says, and urges IBM to include information on its lobbying in a shareholder annual report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Cochrane said <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"They're an example for not just the United States, but the world,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n he continued. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"We ought not to have hypocrisy as an institution that is all about being honest.\"<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","post_title":"Harvard faces pressure to drop fossil fuel-linked lobbying firm","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"harvard-faces-pressure-to-drop-fossil-fuel-linked-lobbying-firm","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 18:44:07","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 18:44:07","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7554","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7561,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-17 20:30:02","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-17 20:30:02","post_content":"\n Corporate America\u2019s strongest opponent is initiating a lobbying group focused on \u201clong-term corporate oversight\u201d of diversity policies in companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Robby Starbuck, labeled a boardroom boogeyman for pushing companies like Walmart, Lowe\u2019s, and Harley-Davidson to drop their DEI initiatives, informed Semafor about his intention to establish a lobbying group \u201cto make sure this never occurs again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck said he has gotten a \u201cblank check\u201d offer from at least one big Republican donor. \u201cThe catch is: they want the ability to kill stories\u201d \u2014 Starbuck said he considers himself a journalist \u2014 \u201cand pick targets. And I just don\u2019t work that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an extensive interview on his Tennessee farm, Starbuck looked back at his campaign, which started around X last year and has subsequently pushed huge overhauls in at least more than a dozen firms with a total market capitalization of over $2 trillion. His efforts are precise and his reach has been propagated by individuals such as Elon Musk<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I get along well with Elon,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n he states \u2014 and far-right celebrities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His advances often begin with a LinkedIn message to the CEO, and he said he treats seriously the non-disclosure contracts he signs with companies in order to permit honest discussions. How honest? \"I can't tell you how many times I've had [CEOs] say, 'No way, we're not going to do that\u2026 and then, 'Oh, crap, we're going to do that.'\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated he's counseled some agency leaders as they seek to meet a White House directive to name DEI \"worst offenders.\" But he indicated he wouldn't work for the administration, and cited a number of places where he differs with its policies, including expediting the bird flu vaccine (he ran against mandates regarding masking and the Covid-19 vaccine) and the administration's attack on free speech in the name of combating censorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They need to be careful with that,\" he said. \"If it's individuals doing nasty things, seizing schools, sure, go ahead\u2026 but you need to set precedent that you will be fine with down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated that he's advocating for \"corporate neutrality\" alone. \"I don't want to make the Fortune 500 <\/a>right-wing companies,\" he stated. He indicated that he's attempting to avoid \"a situation where we have totally parallel economies,\" with blue brands and red brands, because \"it's going to hurt our economy, and it's going to hurt our country.\"<\/p>\n","post_title":"Robby Starbuck plans lobbying group to challenge corporate DEI policies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"robby-starbuck-plans-lobbying-group-to-challenge-corporate-dei-policies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7561","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7546,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content":"\n An activist investor has asked IBM to report on its lobbying activities, which he claims involve the expenditure of \"dark money\" on groups that campaign against climate change reporting and bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In advance of IBM's April 29 annual meeting of stockholders, Big Blue shareholder and activist investor John Chevedden filed a letter<\/a> this week through the Securities and Exchange Commission urging fellow investors to support a proposal that would urge IBM to \"improve\" its lobbying disclosure, both directly to the government and, allegedly, through \"dark money.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter criticises IBM's disclosure of lobbying as insufficient and risky to shareholders. \"Dark money\" spending on trade associations and social welfare organisations poses unidentified dangers, he says, and urges IBM to include information on its lobbying in a shareholder annual report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
\"When you've got an institution like Harvard, say one thing and do another, I think that sends a double standard to the public and to other institutions, corporations or even academic institutions broadly in the United States,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Cochrane said <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"They're an example for not just the United States, but the world,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n he continued. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"We ought not to have hypocrisy as an institution that is all about being honest.\"<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","post_title":"Harvard faces pressure to drop fossil fuel-linked lobbying firm","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"harvard-faces-pressure-to-drop-fossil-fuel-linked-lobbying-firm","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 18:44:07","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 18:44:07","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7554","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7561,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-17 20:30:02","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-17 20:30:02","post_content":"\n Corporate America\u2019s strongest opponent is initiating a lobbying group focused on \u201clong-term corporate oversight\u201d of diversity policies in companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Robby Starbuck, labeled a boardroom boogeyman for pushing companies like Walmart, Lowe\u2019s, and Harley-Davidson to drop their DEI initiatives, informed Semafor about his intention to establish a lobbying group \u201cto make sure this never occurs again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck said he has gotten a \u201cblank check\u201d offer from at least one big Republican donor. \u201cThe catch is: they want the ability to kill stories\u201d \u2014 Starbuck said he considers himself a journalist \u2014 \u201cand pick targets. And I just don\u2019t work that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an extensive interview on his Tennessee farm, Starbuck looked back at his campaign, which started around X last year and has subsequently pushed huge overhauls in at least more than a dozen firms with a total market capitalization of over $2 trillion. His efforts are precise and his reach has been propagated by individuals such as Elon Musk<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I get along well with Elon,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n he states \u2014 and far-right celebrities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His advances often begin with a LinkedIn message to the CEO, and he said he treats seriously the non-disclosure contracts he signs with companies in order to permit honest discussions. How honest? \"I can't tell you how many times I've had [CEOs] say, 'No way, we're not going to do that\u2026 and then, 'Oh, crap, we're going to do that.'\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated he's counseled some agency leaders as they seek to meet a White House directive to name DEI \"worst offenders.\" But he indicated he wouldn't work for the administration, and cited a number of places where he differs with its policies, including expediting the bird flu vaccine (he ran against mandates regarding masking and the Covid-19 vaccine) and the administration's attack on free speech in the name of combating censorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They need to be careful with that,\" he said. \"If it's individuals doing nasty things, seizing schools, sure, go ahead\u2026 but you need to set precedent that you will be fine with down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated that he's advocating for \"corporate neutrality\" alone. \"I don't want to make the Fortune 500 <\/a>right-wing companies,\" he stated. He indicated that he's attempting to avoid \"a situation where we have totally parallel economies,\" with blue brands and red brands, because \"it's going to hurt our economy, and it's going to hurt our country.\"<\/p>\n","post_title":"Robby Starbuck plans lobbying group to challenge corporate DEI policies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"robby-starbuck-plans-lobbying-group-to-challenge-corporate-dei-policies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7561","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7546,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content":"\n An activist investor has asked IBM to report on its lobbying activities, which he claims involve the expenditure of \"dark money\" on groups that campaign against climate change reporting and bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In advance of IBM's April 29 annual meeting of stockholders, Big Blue shareholder and activist investor John Chevedden filed a letter<\/a> this week through the Securities and Exchange Commission urging fellow investors to support a proposal that would urge IBM to \"improve\" its lobbying disclosure, both directly to the government and, allegedly, through \"dark money.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter criticises IBM's disclosure of lobbying as insufficient and risky to shareholders. \"Dark money\" spending on trade associations and social welfare organisations poses unidentified dangers, he says, and urges IBM to include information on its lobbying in a shareholder annual report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
\"When you've got an institution like Harvard, say one thing and do another, I think that sends a double standard to the public and to other institutions, corporations or even academic institutions broadly in the United States,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Cochrane said <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"They're an example for not just the United States, but the world,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n he continued. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"We ought not to have hypocrisy as an institution that is all about being honest.\"<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","post_title":"Harvard faces pressure to drop fossil fuel-linked lobbying firm","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"harvard-faces-pressure-to-drop-fossil-fuel-linked-lobbying-firm","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 18:44:07","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 18:44:07","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7554","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7561,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-17 20:30:02","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-17 20:30:02","post_content":"\n Corporate America\u2019s strongest opponent is initiating a lobbying group focused on \u201clong-term corporate oversight\u201d of diversity policies in companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Robby Starbuck, labeled a boardroom boogeyman for pushing companies like Walmart, Lowe\u2019s, and Harley-Davidson to drop their DEI initiatives, informed Semafor about his intention to establish a lobbying group \u201cto make sure this never occurs again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck said he has gotten a \u201cblank check\u201d offer from at least one big Republican donor. \u201cThe catch is: they want the ability to kill stories\u201d \u2014 Starbuck said he considers himself a journalist \u2014 \u201cand pick targets. And I just don\u2019t work that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an extensive interview on his Tennessee farm, Starbuck looked back at his campaign, which started around X last year and has subsequently pushed huge overhauls in at least more than a dozen firms with a total market capitalization of over $2 trillion. His efforts are precise and his reach has been propagated by individuals such as Elon Musk<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I get along well with Elon,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n he states \u2014 and far-right celebrities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His advances often begin with a LinkedIn message to the CEO, and he said he treats seriously the non-disclosure contracts he signs with companies in order to permit honest discussions. How honest? \"I can't tell you how many times I've had [CEOs] say, 'No way, we're not going to do that\u2026 and then, 'Oh, crap, we're going to do that.'\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated he's counseled some agency leaders as they seek to meet a White House directive to name DEI \"worst offenders.\" But he indicated he wouldn't work for the administration, and cited a number of places where he differs with its policies, including expediting the bird flu vaccine (he ran against mandates regarding masking and the Covid-19 vaccine) and the administration's attack on free speech in the name of combating censorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They need to be careful with that,\" he said. \"If it's individuals doing nasty things, seizing schools, sure, go ahead\u2026 but you need to set precedent that you will be fine with down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated that he's advocating for \"corporate neutrality\" alone. \"I don't want to make the Fortune 500 <\/a>right-wing companies,\" he stated. He indicated that he's attempting to avoid \"a situation where we have totally parallel economies,\" with blue brands and red brands, because \"it's going to hurt our economy, and it's going to hurt our country.\"<\/p>\n","post_title":"Robby Starbuck plans lobbying group to challenge corporate DEI policies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"robby-starbuck-plans-lobbying-group-to-challenge-corporate-dei-policies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7561","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7546,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content":"\n An activist investor has asked IBM to report on its lobbying activities, which he claims involve the expenditure of \"dark money\" on groups that campaign against climate change reporting and bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In advance of IBM's April 29 annual meeting of stockholders, Big Blue shareholder and activist investor John Chevedden filed a letter<\/a> this week through the Securities and Exchange Commission urging fellow investors to support a proposal that would urge IBM to \"improve\" its lobbying disclosure, both directly to the government and, allegedly, through \"dark money.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter criticises IBM's disclosure of lobbying as insufficient and risky to shareholders. \"Dark money\" spending on trade associations and social welfare organisations poses unidentified dangers, he says, and urges IBM to include information on its lobbying in a shareholder annual report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
Cole A. Cochrane '27, Policy Director of the Harvard Undergraduate Clean Energy Group, added that he wishes Harvard would sever its ties with Tremont Strategies to make a statement regarding their top \"interests, priorities, and principles.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"When you've got an institution like Harvard, say one thing and do another, I think that sends a double standard to the public and to other institutions, corporations or even academic institutions broadly in the United States,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Cochrane said <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"They're an example for not just the United States, but the world,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n he continued. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"We ought not to have hypocrisy as an institution that is all about being honest.\"<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","post_title":"Harvard faces pressure to drop fossil fuel-linked lobbying firm","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"harvard-faces-pressure-to-drop-fossil-fuel-linked-lobbying-firm","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 18:44:07","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 18:44:07","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7554","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7561,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-17 20:30:02","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-17 20:30:02","post_content":"\n Corporate America\u2019s strongest opponent is initiating a lobbying group focused on \u201clong-term corporate oversight\u201d of diversity policies in companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Robby Starbuck, labeled a boardroom boogeyman for pushing companies like Walmart, Lowe\u2019s, and Harley-Davidson to drop their DEI initiatives, informed Semafor about his intention to establish a lobbying group \u201cto make sure this never occurs again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck said he has gotten a \u201cblank check\u201d offer from at least one big Republican donor. \u201cThe catch is: they want the ability to kill stories\u201d \u2014 Starbuck said he considers himself a journalist \u2014 \u201cand pick targets. And I just don\u2019t work that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an extensive interview on his Tennessee farm, Starbuck looked back at his campaign, which started around X last year and has subsequently pushed huge overhauls in at least more than a dozen firms with a total market capitalization of over $2 trillion. His efforts are precise and his reach has been propagated by individuals such as Elon Musk<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I get along well with Elon,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n he states \u2014 and far-right celebrities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His advances often begin with a LinkedIn message to the CEO, and he said he treats seriously the non-disclosure contracts he signs with companies in order to permit honest discussions. How honest? \"I can't tell you how many times I've had [CEOs] say, 'No way, we're not going to do that\u2026 and then, 'Oh, crap, we're going to do that.'\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated he's counseled some agency leaders as they seek to meet a White House directive to name DEI \"worst offenders.\" But he indicated he wouldn't work for the administration, and cited a number of places where he differs with its policies, including expediting the bird flu vaccine (he ran against mandates regarding masking and the Covid-19 vaccine) and the administration's attack on free speech in the name of combating censorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They need to be careful with that,\" he said. \"If it's individuals doing nasty things, seizing schools, sure, go ahead\u2026 but you need to set precedent that you will be fine with down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated that he's advocating for \"corporate neutrality\" alone. \"I don't want to make the Fortune 500 <\/a>right-wing companies,\" he stated. He indicated that he's attempting to avoid \"a situation where we have totally parallel economies,\" with blue brands and red brands, because \"it's going to hurt our economy, and it's going to hurt our country.\"<\/p>\n","post_title":"Robby Starbuck plans lobbying group to challenge corporate DEI policies","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"robby-starbuck-plans-lobbying-group-to-challenge-corporate-dei-policies","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 20:35:48","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7561","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7546,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content":"\n An activist investor has asked IBM to report on its lobbying activities, which he claims involve the expenditure of \"dark money\" on groups that campaign against climate change reporting and bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In advance of IBM's April 29 annual meeting of stockholders, Big Blue shareholder and activist investor John Chevedden filed a letter<\/a> this week through the Securities and Exchange Commission urging fellow investors to support a proposal that would urge IBM to \"improve\" its lobbying disclosure, both directly to the government and, allegedly, through \"dark money.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n The letter criticises IBM's disclosure of lobbying as insufficient and risky to shareholders. \"Dark money\" spending on trade associations and social welfare organisations poses unidentified dangers, he says, and urges IBM to include information on its lobbying in a shareholder annual report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For instance, IBM belongs to the Business Roundtable that has been in opposition to the Securities and Exchange Commission's rules requiring disclosure of climate risk. IBM also belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, which is said to be a \"central actor\" in discouraging climate legislation for two decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Internationally, IBM claims it wishes to reduce the risk of climate change. In its 2023 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, it reported that IBM had been \"committed for decades to addressing climate change through the company's energy conservation and climate protection programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Requirements over spending on business associations imply companies can donate limitless sums to independent groups who then spend<\/a> millions engaging in lobbying as well as frequent, not-yet-disclosed grassroots efforts, the letter maintains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden states, \"IBM stockholders are a victim of a trade association blind spot, because IBM does not disclose its trade association payments, nor the percentage of these payments spent on lobbying<\/a>. IBM's memberships in 13 trade associations, such as the Business Roundtable and US Chamber of Commerce, have collectively spent more than $2.3 billion in federal lobbying since 1998. But stockholders have no way of knowing how much of IBM's payments to each is spent on lobbying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In lobbying to US Federal Government, IBM invested $78.2 million between 2010 and 2024, and $22.2 million between 2021 and 2024, the letter adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yet lobbying on a state level is less transparent. Chevedden's letter states that 98 percent of the S&P 500 did not report state-specific lobbying figures to stockholders, a 2023 study found. In California alone, where it is required to disclose, IBM spent $1.28 million between 2010 and 2024 on lobbying, it states. \"IBM's existing lobbying disclosures are insufficient to safeguard stockholder interests,\" the letter asserts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chevedden has spent decades agitating the US corporate titans such as General Motors, eBay, and Google on their governance. While critics say such efforts are a waste of time, his proposals have passed shareholder approval at Netflix and Texas Instruments, reports say.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Shareholder says IBM\u2019s lobbying lacks transparency & oversight","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"shareholder-says-ibms-lobbying-lacks-transparency-oversight","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-14 19:46:21","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7546","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"next":false,"prev":true,"total_page":44},"paged":1,"column_class":"jeg_col_2o3","class":"epic_block_3"};
F Minus has effectively pushed universities to sever their relationships with lobbying companies previously. They pushed John Hopkins University out of its relationship with a \"coal lobbyist,\" Browning reports. But he acknowledged Harvard might be reluctant to switch lobbying companies since the I-90 project is still in planning stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cole A. Cochrane '27, Policy Director of the Harvard Undergraduate Clean Energy Group, added that he wishes Harvard would sever its ties with Tremont Strategies to make a statement regarding their top \"interests, priorities, and principles.\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"When you've got an institution like Harvard, say one thing and do another, I think that sends a double standard to the public and to other institutions, corporations or even academic institutions broadly in the United States,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Cochrane said <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"They're an example for not just the United States, but the world,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n he continued. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \"We ought not to have hypocrisy as an institution that is all about being honest.\"<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","post_title":"Harvard faces pressure to drop fossil fuel-linked lobbying firm","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"harvard-faces-pressure-to-drop-fossil-fuel-linked-lobbying-firm","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-04-18 18:44:07","post_modified_gmt":"2025-04-18 18:44:07","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/dctransparency.com\/?p=7554","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":7561,"post_author":"7","post_date":"2025-04-17 20:30:02","post_date_gmt":"2025-04-17 20:30:02","post_content":"\n Corporate America\u2019s strongest opponent is initiating a lobbying group focused on \u201clong-term corporate oversight\u201d of diversity policies in companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Robby Starbuck, labeled a boardroom boogeyman for pushing companies like Walmart, Lowe\u2019s, and Harley-Davidson to drop their DEI initiatives, informed Semafor about his intention to establish a lobbying group \u201cto make sure this never occurs again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck said he has gotten a \u201cblank check\u201d offer from at least one big Republican donor. \u201cThe catch is: they want the ability to kill stories\u201d \u2014 Starbuck said he considers himself a journalist \u2014 \u201cand pick targets. And I just don\u2019t work that way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In an extensive interview on his Tennessee farm, Starbuck looked back at his campaign, which started around X last year and has subsequently pushed huge overhauls in at least more than a dozen firms with a total market capitalization of over $2 trillion. His efforts are precise and his reach has been propagated by individuals such as Elon Musk<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \"I get along well with Elon,\" <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n he states \u2014 and far-right celebrities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His advances often begin with a LinkedIn message to the CEO, and he said he treats seriously the non-disclosure contracts he signs with companies in order to permit honest discussions. How honest? \"I can't tell you how many times I've had [CEOs] say, 'No way, we're not going to do that\u2026 and then, 'Oh, crap, we're going to do that.'\"<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starbuck indicated he's counseled some agency leaders as they seek to meet a White House directive to name DEI \"worst offenders.\" But he indicated he wouldn't work for the administration, and cited a number of places where he differs with its policies, including expediting the bird flu vaccine (he ran against mandates regarding masking and the Covid-19 vaccine) and the administration's attack on free speech in the name of combating censorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They need to be careful with that,\" he said. \"If it's individuals doing nasty things, seizing schools, sure, go ahead\u2026 but you need to set precedent that you will be fine with down the road.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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