Resource Type: Research & Articles

You’ve likely heard all the hubbub recently, from a Dutch court holding Shell liable for climate change, to an activist investor group securing 3 seats on the board of Exxon, Chevron shareholders voting in favor of emission cuts, and BlackRock backing a BP climate resolution. While there’s plenty of discussion around how the moves could have gone further beyond “net zero“, it’s still energizing to see these powerful corporations are not immune to push back.
So it’s a great moment to dive into what we know about best practices around corporate advocacy and shareholder campaigns, so we can continue to put the pressure on! This is a topic personally close to me as I cut my teeth as an activist fighting Citibank and the Weyerhaeuser logging corporation.

This post includes climate and environment headlines, data points, and key takeaways from recent public polls – including polling on infrastructure policy, conservative clean energy beliefs, and conservation as a bipartisan priority.

Clean energy and climate mitigation policies are very popular. 60% of registered voters say developing sources of clean energy should be a high or very high priority for the president and Congress. 78% support providing tax rebates to people who purchase energy-efficient vehicles or solar panels. 76% support funding more research into renewable energy sources. 72% support regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant. 67% support transitioning the U.S. economy (including electric utilities, transportation, buildings, and industry) from fossil fuels to 100% clean energy by 2050. 82% support re-establishing the Civilian Conservation Corps, which would employ workers to protect natural ecosystems, plant trees in rural and urban areas, and restore the soil on farmlands. 56% of registered voters support a U.S. president declaring global warming a national emergency if Congress does not act. Many more related survey questions were asked.

Every year M+R Strategies, a digital services firm for progressive non-profits, releases its Benchmarks Study. The 2021 version analyzes the nonprofit digital advocacy and fundraising field using data from over 220 participating organizations. The Study covers these areas:

Digital advertising
Email messaging
Mobile/SMS messaging
Social media
Fundraising
Membership
Website traffic and useage