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How far does ocean health depend on shareholder democracy?

Written September 26, 2026 by claude-opus-5 · method 1.6

Pivotal

Owners voting their values can deliver most of this outcome.

For seven of eight obstacles to ocean health, shareholder democracy is necessary or pivotal, and for two it is very nearly the whole of the lever.

Ocean health depends on shareholder democracy because the two obstacles where the lever reaches furthest are made almost entirely of decisions taken inside publicly traded companies. Plastic reaches the sea as resin, pellets and packaging that listed petrochemical producers make and listed retailers and brands specify. Commercial deep-sea mining has one frontrunner, and its shares trade on Nasdaq.

For five further obstacles the vote is necessary without being sufficient. Ocean warming and acidification are the same carbon seen twice, and more than half of the rise in ocean acidity between 1880 and 2015 is tied to the products of 88 producers led by Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, Shell and ConocoPhillips; their owners can direct what those companies sell, and governments, power systems and households still have to move. Overfishing is what fishing companies catch and what listed retailers and processors agree to buy, inside quotas that states and regional bodies set. Nutrient runoff happens on millions of farms that sell into listed processors and buy from listed suppliers. Ocean noise is emitted by commercial ships and seismic surveys under a voluntary international regime, with quieter technology already on the shelf.

One obstacle sits mostly outside reach. Coastal habitat is cleared by private developers, state industrial projects and local authorities, and while the aquaculture and mineral sands strands run through listed companies, the documents read do not put corporate conduct on the critical path for the global loss.

The record of votes already taken is what the rating rests on. Majorities at ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66 in 2021 showed owners can carry an emissions target at a fossil fuel company; plastics proposals came within eight million shares at Amazon in 2022 and within two million at Phillips 66 the same year; and heavy defeats at Chevron, Westlake and Tyson show how much of this is still unvoted. Where the lever reaches, it reaches through the ballot, which is why shareholder democracy is pivotal for ocean health rather than incidental to it.

No person has reviewed this report. Every claim was checked against the page it cites. If we got something wrong, tell us. How we score dependency.

What stands in the way, scored

Eight obstacles, ranked by how far each depends on shareholder democracy and within that by severity as the sources rank it. The stressor list is the World Ocean Assessment's.

Ordered by how far each depends on shareholder democracy, and within that by severity as the analyst ranked it, drawing on Overall summary, third World Ocean Assessment.

1. Marine plastic pollutionPivotal

Companies involved: Westlake Corporation (shareholders vote here); Dow Inc. (shareholders vote here); Exxon Mobil Corporation (shareholders vote here); Phillips 66 (shareholders vote here); Amazon.com, Inc. (shareholders vote here); The Kroger Co. (shareholders vote here); The Home Depot, Inc. (shareholders vote here); Restaurant Brands International Inc. (shareholders vote here)

The documents read for this report do not establish whether the petrochemical and packaging industries lobby against ocean-plastic policy, so the rating here rests on the first of the method's two questions. What they do record is governments moving the other way, with single-use packaging taxes in several US states and an EU ban on ten single-use products commonly found in ocean pollution.

The World Ocean Assessment records plastic leakage into the ocean continuing to rise and microplastics affecting all marine ecosystems, with evidence of impact on more than 4,000 species.

What reaches the sea as plastic is decided inside companies, in what resin they make, what packaging they specify and what they sell their goods in, so this obstacle is corporate conduct rather than a consequence of it. Plastic pellets, the feedstock for nearly every plastic product, are made by petrochemical companies and are the second largest direct source of microplastic in the ocean by weight. Without a shift away from the throwaway system, the flow of plastic into the ocean is projected to nearly triple by 2040, from about 11 million metric tons a year in 2016 to roughly 29 million. Every actor in that chain that matters at scale is publicly traded: Westlake, Dow, ExxonMobil and Phillips 66 make the resin, and Amazon, Kroger, Home Depot and Restaurant Brands International wrap goods in it. Nine major brands have already cut a cumulative million tons of virgin plastic after investor engagement, which shows the level is a choice and not a constraint, and that is why owners voting their shares can decide this obstacle.

Confirmed for this obstacle (27)

Microplastics affect all marine ecosystems, with evidence of impact on more than 4,000 species. source
Without a shift to a circular plastics system, plastic waste entering the ocean is projected to nearly triple by 2040, from about 11 million metric tons a year in 2016 to roughly 29 million metric tons. source
Plastic pellets are estimated to be the second largest direct source of microplastic pollution to the ocean by weight. source
Plastic pellets, the feedstock for nearly every plastic product, are produced by petrochemical companies and shipped to manufacturing plants. source
Nine major global brands have committed to cut their use of virgin plastic by more than a cumulative one million tons after engagement by As You Sow. source
Packaging is the largest single use category of plastic, at a quarter of all plastic produced. source
As You Sow filed the exempt solicitation urging Amazon shareholders to vote for Item 22, a report on packaging materials, at the annual meeting of 24 May 2023. filing
The Amazon proposal asked the board to report on how the company could cut its plastics use in line with the one-third reduction finding of the Breaking the Plastic Wave report, to reduce ocean plastic pollution. filing
The Amazon packaging proposal drew 35 percent of shares voted in 2021 and 48.9 percent of overall investors in 2022. filing
At Amazon's 2022 annual meeting the packaging materials proposal was not approved, with 181,296,823 votes for and 189,313,134 against. filing
At Amazon's 2023 annual meeting the packaging materials proposal was not approved, with 2,345,678,911 votes for and 4,921,660,303 against. filing
As You Sow filed the exempt solicitation urging Restaurant Brands International shareholders to vote for Item 10, a report on reducing plastics use, at the annual meeting of 6 June 2024. filing
At Restaurant Brands International's 2024 annual meeting the plastic use proposal drew 106,012,435 votes for and 282,584,573 against. filing
As You Sow filed the exempt solicitation urging Westlake shareholders to vote for Proposal 3 on single-use plastics at the annual meeting of 9 May 2024. filing
At Westlake's 2024 annual meeting the proposal for a report on reducing ocean plastic pollution drew 8,342,046 votes for and 117,336,415 against. filing
As You Sow filed the exempt solicitation urging ExxonMobil shareholders to vote for Item 9 on single-use plastics at the annual meeting of 25 May 2022. filing
At ExxonMobil's 2022 annual meeting the report on plastic production drew 940,949,583 votes for, 36.5 percent, and 1,639,139,896 against. filing
At Dow's 2024 annual meeting the single-use plastics report drew 73 percent of the votes cast against it. filing
As You Sow filed the exempt solicitation urging Phillips 66 shareholders to vote for Proposal 6, a report on shifting to recycled plastics, in 2022. filing
At Phillips 66's 2022 annual meeting the proposal for a report on shifting to recycled polymers for single-use plastics drew 161,725,428 votes for and 159,340,137 against, and was not approved because abstentions counted against it. filing
As You Sow filed the exempt solicitation urging Home Depot shareholders to vote for Item 6, a report on packaging policies for plastics, at the annual meeting of 22 May 2025. filing
At Home Depot's 2025 annual meeting the report on packaging policies for plastics drew 119,464,565 votes for and 582,449,456 against. filing
As You Sow filed the exempt solicitation urging Kroger shareholders to vote for Item 5, a report on reducing the use of plastic packaging, in 2022. filing
At Kroger's 2022 annual meeting the recyclability of packaging proposal drew 219,182,583 votes for and 352,044,944 against. filing
What reaches the ocean as plastic is decided inside companies, in what resin they make, what packaging they specify and what they sell it in, so this obstacle is corporate conduct rather than a consequence of it.
As You Sow founded and manages the Plastic Solutions Investor Alliance, more than 50 institutional investors from four countries with a combined 2.6 trillion dollars under management. source
As You Sow filed the exempt solicitation urging Dow shareholders to vote for Item 5 on single-use plastics at the annual meeting of 11 April 2024. filing

Shareholder advocacy on record

2023: As You Sow at Amazon.com, Inc. Asked the company to Report on how the company could cut its plastics use in line with the one-third reduction finding of the Breaking the Plastic Wave report, to reduce ocean plastic pollution. 2,345,678,911 for and 4,921,660,303 against of votes cast; not approved. we found no documented change in the documents read. Source
2022: As You Sow at Amazon.com, Inc. Asked the company to Report on packaging materials. 181,296,823 for and 189,313,134 against of votes cast; not approved by a margin of under eight million shares. the proposal returned in 2023 and lost by more. Source
2024: As You Sow at Restaurant Brands International Inc. Asked the company to Report on how the company could reduce its plastics use in line with the Pew one-third reduction finding. 106,012,435 for and 282,584,573 against; not approved. we found no documented change in the documents read. Source
2024: As You Sow at Westlake Corporation Asked the company to Report on how the company could shift its plastic resin business from virgin to recycled polymer production. 8,342,046 for and 117,336,415 against; not approved. we found no documented change in the documents read. Source
2022: As You Sow at Exxon Mobil Corporation Asked the company to Audited report on how a significant reduction in virgin plastic demand would affect the company's financial position. 940,949,583 for, 36.5 percent, and 1,639,139,896 against; not approved. we found no documented change in the documents read. Source
2024: As You Sow at Dow Inc. Asked the company to Report on single-use plastics. 73 percent of votes cast against; not approved. we found no documented change in the documents read. Source
2022: As You Sow at Phillips 66 Asked the company to Report on shifting to recycled polymers for single-use plastics. 161,725,428 for and 159,340,137 against; not approved, since abstentions counted against it. we found no documented change in the documents read. Source
2025: As You Sow at The Home Depot, Inc. Asked the company to Report on how the company could match its peers by making all its packaging curbside recyclable, reusable or compostable. 119,464,565 for and 582,449,456 against; not approved. we found no documented change in the documents read. Source
2022: As You Sow at The Kroger Co. Asked the company to Report on reducing the use of plastic packaging. 219,182,583 for and 352,044,944 against; not approved. we found no documented change in the documents read. Source

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Ocean Conservancy A major ocean conservation organization with broad public membership, and no shareholder advocacy filings found in the documents read for this report.Ask them to vote

2. Deep-sea miningPivotal

Companies involved: TMC the metals company Inc. (shareholders vote here); Allseas Group (privately held, no shareholder vote)

No shareholder proposal by any party at TMC the metals company was found. The company's own 2026 proxy statement puts only board business to a vote, and an EDGAR full-text search for shareholder proposals mentioning deep sea mining returned filings at General Motors and Canopy Growth and none at TMC.

An emerging pressure on ecosystems that have not been scientifically described, now advancing outside the international rules meant to govern it, with 43 states calling for a moratorium or precautionary pause.

Commercial deep-sea mining has not begun, and whether it begins is at present one listed company's decision, which puts this obstacle squarely inside shareholder reach. Common shares of TMC the metals company trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Through wholly owned subsidiaries the company applied in April 2025 to mine the international seabed under United States legislation, bypassing authorisation by the International Seabed Authority, and it has sued that authority for carrying out a regulatory investigation. In 2021 Nauru triggered the two-year rule on the company's behalf, threatening to start commercial mining in the absence of agreed regulations and putting pressure on the states represented at the authority. Forty-three states now hold that mining should pause. No other obstacle on this list has so much of its outcome held by the shareholders of a single company, and that is why it is rated Pivotal.

Confirmed for this obstacle (7)

The Metals Company has sued the International Seabed Authority, the multilateral body with exclusive jurisdiction over the international seabed, through its subsidiaries, for performing a regulatory investigation. source
Common shares of TMC the metals company Inc. trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market, so its owners vote its conduct. filing
In April 2025 a wholly owned TMC subsidiary applied to mine the international seabed under United States legislation, bypassing authorisation by the International Seabed Authority. source
Nauru triggered the two-year rule at the International Seabed Authority on behalf of a wholly owned TMC subsidiary, which put pressure on the states represented there by threatening mining in the absence of agreed regulations. source
Forty-three states hold the view that a moratorium or precautionary pause on deep sea mining should be put in place. source
One listed company's decision settles whether commercial deep-sea mining begins at all, which makes this the clearest case on the whole list of an outcome a shareholder vote reaches directly.
The business put to TMC the metals company's 2026 annual general meeting was the appointment of auditors and an advisory vote on executive pay. filing

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Greenpeace International Documented the corporate playbook behind unilateral deep sea mining and calls for a moratorium, and no shareholder advocacy filings at this company were found in the documents read for this report.Ask them to vote

3. Climate change and ocean warmingNecessary

Companies involved: Chevron Corporation (shareholders vote here); ConocoPhillips (shareholders vote here); Phillips 66 (shareholders vote here); Exxon Mobil Corporation (shareholders vote here); BP p.l.c. (shareholders vote here); Shell plc (shareholders vote here)

The filings held name Follow This as the filer at Chevron in 2023 and at Phillips 66 in 2022. They do not name the proponents of the 2021 proposals at ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66, so those are recorded here without a filer.

More than two-thirds of the world's leading ocean experts rank climate change as the greatest threat to ocean health and biodiversity.

Ocean warming is driven by the aggregate of global emissions, so removing it needs the companies whose products carry most of those emissions to change what they sell, and governments, power systems and households to move as well, which makes the vote necessary here without being sufficient on its own. Marine heatwaves have become more frequent, more intense and longer since the 1980s, and since at least 2006 are very likely attributable to human-caused climate change. Coral reefs, kelp forests, seagrasses and mangroves have already undergone mass mortalities from them, and the ocean has absorbed over 90 percent of the excess heat. Owners have carried this argument before: ConocoPhillips stockholders approved emission reduction targets covering the company's products in 2021, and Phillips 66 shareholders approved both an emissions target and a report on climate lobbying the next day, while the same request at Chevron in 2023 drew under ten percent. No single company's conduct settles the world's emissions, and that is what holds this obstacle at Necessary rather than higher.

Confirmed for this obstacle (14)

More than two-thirds of the world's top ocean experts say climate change is the greatest threat to ocean health and biodiversity. source
Marine heatwaves have become more frequent, more intense and longer since the 1980s and since at least 2006 are very likely attributable to human-caused climate change. source
Coral reefs, kelp forests, seagrasses, mangroves and semi-enclosed seas have recently undergone mass mortalities from marine heatwaves. source
Follow This filed the Scope 3 medium-term emissions target proposal at Chevron's 2023 annual meeting alongside AXA Investment Management, DeGroof Petercam Asset Management and Arjuna Capital. filing
Chevron's stockholders rejected the medium-term Scope 3 target in 2023, with 126,481,041 votes for, 9.6 percent, and 1,197,276,946 against. filing
ConocoPhillips stockholders approved a proposal to set emission reduction targets covering the company's operations and its energy products in 2021, with 610,416,225 votes for and 418,551,812 against. filing
Phillips 66 shareholders approved a proposal to set and report on greenhouse gas emissions targets in 2021, with 250,693,810 votes for and 61,569,912 against. filing
Phillips 66 shareholders also approved a proposal for a report on climate lobbying in 2021, with 195,837,321 votes for and 117,573,625 against. filing
Ocean warming is driven by the aggregate of global emissions, so no single company's conduct settles it, and governments, power systems and households have to move alongside the companies whose products carry most of those emissions.
The Phillips 66 climate lobbying vote was among those flagged by the Climate Action 100+ initiative. source
Follow This filed the notice of exempt solicitation at Phillips 66 in 2022. filing
The Follow This solicitation urged Phillips 66 shareholders to vote for Item 5, asking the company to adopt medium and long-term greenhouse gas reduction targets. filing
At Phillips 66's 2022 annual meeting the greenhouse gas emissions targets proposal was not approved, with 115,605,129 votes for and 204,088,939 against. filing
Climate Action 100+ is an investor initiative of more than 570 investors with 54 trillion dollars under management, engaging companies on governance, emissions and climate-related disclosure. source

Shareholder advocacy on record

2021: Filer not established at ConocoPhillips Asked the company to Set emission reduction targets covering the greenhouse gas emissions of the company's operations and of its energy products. 610,416,225 for and 418,551,812 against; approved. we found no documented change in the documents read. Source
2021: Filer not established at Phillips 66 Asked the company to Set and report on greenhouse gas emissions targets. 250,693,810 for and 61,569,912 against; approved. we found no documented change in the documents read. Source
2021: Filer not established at Phillips 66 Supported by Climate Action 100+. Asked the company to Issue a report on climate lobbying. 195,837,321 for and 117,573,625 against; approved. we found no documented change in the documents read. Source
2022: Follow This at Phillips 66 Asked the company to Adopt medium and long-term greenhouse gas reduction targets. 115,605,129 for and 204,088,939 against; not approved. we found no documented change in the documents read. Source
2023: Follow This at Chevron Corporation Co-filed with AXA Investment Management, DeGroof Petercam Asset Management, Arjuna Capital. Asked the company to Set a medium-term reduction target covering the greenhouse gas emissions of the use of its energy products, consistent with the Paris Agreement. 126,481,041 for, 9.6 percent, and 1,197,276,946 against; not approved. we found no documented change in the documents read. Source

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Marine Stewardship Council Polled the ocean science community on the threats to ocean health and publishes on sustainable fishing, and no shareholder advocacy filings were found in the documents read for this report.Ask them to vote

4. Overfishing and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishingNecessary

Companies involved: Mowi ASA (shareholders vote here); Mitsubishi Corporation (shareholders vote here); Nomad Foods Ltd (shareholders vote here); Woolworths Group Limited (shareholders vote here); Cargill, Incorporated (privately held, no shareholder vote); Cooke Inc. (privately held, no shareholder vote); Nutreco (privately held, no shareholder vote); Bolton Group (privately held, no shareholder vote)

The Woolworths resolution is an Australian filing. This record rests filings on EDGAR or on our own ballot table, and neither holds it, so it is carried here as a documented campaign rather than as a filing.

Named listed companies and trade associations lobbied against marine protected areas, bottom trawling restrictions and aquaculture rules, and the assessment describing it puts the effect as weakening and delaying rather than as the single decisive blocker. The one multilateral measure the documents track, the outstanding disciplines of the World Trade Organization's fisheries subsidies agreement, has stalled on disagreement between member states rather than on company lobbying.

IPBES attributes marine biodiversity loss primarily to overexploitation and habitat destruction, and the ocean experts polled by the Marine Stewardship Council ranked overfishing highly for the impact it is having.

Overfishing is what fishing companies catch and what listed processors and retailers agree to buy, and quotas and enforcement are set by states and regional bodies, so both have to move and the vote is necessary rather than decisive. Thirty-two percent of the 97 stocks targeted by the largest listed fishing companies are overfished, against a global figure of at least 31 percent, and those companies sit inside a universe of 228 publicly listed companies with exposure to seafood production. What the documents read do not establish is the share of the world catch that universe accounts for. Of the 30 most systemically important seafood companies, only Bolton Group holds lobbying positions aligned with global biodiversity goals, and the policies the sector has pushed back on hardest are marine protected areas, bottom trawling restrictions and aquaculture regulation. Nomad Foods already requires its suppliers to exclude fish from illegal fishing and from depleted stocks, which shows a listed buyer setting terms for fleets it does not own, and that reach alongside state quota setting is why this obstacle is rated Necessary.

Confirmed for this obstacle (14)

IPBES attributes marine biodiversity losses primarily to overexploitation and habitat destruction. source
Thirty-two percent of the 97 stocks targeted by the largest listed fishing companies are overfished, against a global figure of at least 31 percent. source
The 19 companies with the largest direct fishing revenues sit inside a universe of 228 publicly listed companies with exposure to seafood production, by harvesting or by processing. source
Of the 30 most systemically important seafood companies, only Bolton Group holds lobbying positions aligned with the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. source
The policies the seafood sector has pushed back on hardest are marine protected areas, restrictions on bottom trawling in the United States and the European Union, and aquaculture regulation. source
Mowi, a listed Norwegian salmon farmer, has engaged heavily against fish farm regulations while calling in its annual report for a transformation in how nature is used and managed. source
The National Fisheries Institute has opposed marine protected areas, restrictions on bottom trawling and regulation to curb illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and has advocated to weaken fishing quotas. source
Special and differential treatment has been a major area of disagreement in the World Trade Organization's fisheries subsidies negotiations, which members aimed to settle by their thirteenth ministerial conference. source
Global fisheries subsidies were estimated at about 35.4 billion dollars in 2018, with countries high on the UN Human Development Index providing about 87 percent of them, and China, the European Union and the United States the largest subsidizers. source
Nomad Foods requires its suppliers to exclude fish from illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and from depleted or recovering stocks, which is a listed buyer setting terms for fleets it does not own. source
A resolution asking Woolworths Group to stop sourcing farmed salmon from Macquarie Harbour was lodged by the share trading platform SIX on behalf of 121 shareholders. source
The two Woolworths resolutions never reached a vote, because a preliminary resolution to amend the company's constitution failed to secure enough support. source
Companies decide where, what and how much they catch and what they will buy, and quotas and enforcement are set by states and regional bodies, so both have to move before overfishing ends.
FAIRR records that Nomad Foods acknowledges the material risks of illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, overfishing, habitat conversion and human rights, including modern slavery. source

Shareholder advocacy on record

2024: SIX at Woolworths Group Limited Supported by Environment Tasmania, Neighbours of Fish Farms, Eko, Living Oceans, Ethinvest, Ethical Investment Advisers, Tasethical. Asked the company to Stop sourcing farmed salmon from Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania, where salmon farming is the main human-induced contributor to the degradation of the endangered Maugean skate's habitat. the resolutions did not proceed to a vote, after a preliminary resolution to amend the company's constitution failed to secure enough support. we found no documented change in the documents read. Source
2024: Filer not established at Nomad Foods Ltd Supported by FAIRR Initiative. Asked the company to Seafood traceability, with acknowledgement of the risks of illegal fishing, overfishing and habitat conversion. ongoing engagement. the company reports supplier requirements excluding fish from illegal fishing and from depleted or recovering stocks. Source

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Sea Around Us Linked listed fishing companies to the state of the stocks they target, and no shareholder advocacy filings were found in the documents read for this report.Ask them to vote

5. Ocean acidificationNecessary

Companies involved: Chevron Corporation (shareholders vote here); Exxon Mobil Corporation (shareholders vote here); BP p.l.c. (shareholders vote here); Shell plc (shareholders vote here); ConocoPhillips (shareholders vote here); Phillips 66 (shareholders vote here)

The documents read establish decades of industry-funded disinformation about climate science, and they do not name a specific bill, rule or decision that this spending obtained or defeated, so the second of the method's two questions is answered here as a contributing factor rather than as the primary obstacle.

The ocean's surface waters are 30 percent more acidic than before the industrial era, and acidification hinders corals from recovering after bleaching, with nearly all warm-water reefs at risk at two degrees of warming.

Ocean acidification is the ocean's share of the same carbon as the warming above it, and more than half of the rise in ocean acidity between 1880 and 2015 is tied to emissions from 88 fossil fuel producers and cement manufacturers led by Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips, so the vote reaches the companies at the top of it. The ocean has absorbed about 29 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions since the end of the preindustrial era. Acidification is worst for the species that build shells and skeletons from calcium carbonate, and it stops corals growing back after heat kills them. Internal company documents show the industry knew of the climate risks of its products by the mid-1960s and funded disinformation about climate science instead. Global emissions have to fall for ocean acidity to stop rising, which needs governments and households as well as the named producers, and that is what holds this obstacle at Necessary.

Confirmed for this obstacle (5)

More than half of the increase in ocean acidity between 1880 and 2015 is tied to emissions from 88 fossil fuel producers and cement manufacturers, led by Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and ConocoPhillips. source
The ocean has absorbed about 29 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions since the end of the preindustrial era, and its surface waters are 30 percent more acidic as a result. source
Acidification hinders corals from growing back after bleaching, and nearly all warm-water coral reefs could disappear if warming reaches two degrees. source
Internal company documents show the fossil fuel industry knew about the climate-related risks of its products as early as the mid-1960s, and the companies then funded disinformation campaigns to sow doubt about climate science. source
Acidification is the ocean's share of the same carbon, so it answers to the same chain as warming: the named producers and the utilities, carmakers, airlines and banks that buy, burn and finance their products are listed, and governments and households have to move too.

Shareholder advocacy on record

2021: Filer not established at ConocoPhillips Asked the company to Set emission reduction targets covering the greenhouse gas emissions of the company's operations and of its energy products. 610,416,225 for and 418,551,812 against; approved. we found no documented change in the documents read. Source
2023: Follow This at Chevron Corporation Co-filed with AXA Investment Management, DeGroof Petercam Asset Management, Arjuna Capital. Asked the company to Set a Paris-aligned medium-term reduction target covering the emissions of the use of its energy products. 126,481,041 for, 9.6 percent, and 1,197,276,946 against; not approved. we found no documented change in the documents read. Source

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6. Nutrient pollution and coastal dead zonesNecessary

Companies involved: Tyson Foods, Inc. (shareholders vote here); Cargill, Incorporated (privately held, no shareholder vote)

The documents read do not establish whether agrifood companies lobby against nutrient-pollution rules, so the rating here rests on the first of the method's two questions.

Excess nitrogen and phosphorus cause the eutrophication that produces coastal hypoxia, killing fish and reducing aquatic life.

Excess nitrogen and phosphorus from farmland create the coastal dead zones, and the companies that shape what farms grow and that buy what they produce are listed, so this obstacle needs corporate conduct to change alongside farm practice and regulation. Mitigation has been aimed at the farm, which leaves farmers carrying the regulatory burden while the agrifood companies that influence their production decisions and profit from intensification sit outside the discussion. A content analysis of the sustainability statements of the world's largest agrifood companies found they largely overlook their most relevant negative environmental impacts. Investors have already asked for the reach that matters: in 2018 the American Baptist Home Mission Society and 13 co-filers asked Tyson Foods to adopt a water stewardship policy covering Tyson's own plants, its contract facilities and its suppliers, and shareholders returned to the same ground on waste lagoons in 2026. Fertilizer still goes on the ground at millions of separate farms that no shareholder vote reaches, and that is why this obstacle is rated Necessary rather than pivotal.

Confirmed for this obstacle (9)

High levels of nitrogen and phosphorus cause eutrophication, which leads to the hypoxia known as dead zones, killing fish and reducing aquatic life. source
Nitrogen mitigation is aimed at the farm, so farmers carry the regulatory burden while the agrifood companies that influence their production decisions and profit from intensification are left out of it. source
A content analysis of the sustainability statements of the world's largest agrifood companies found that they largely overlook their most relevant negative environmental impacts. source
The American Baptist Home Mission Society and 13 co-filers, among them As You Sow, ACTIAM, PGGM and Dignity Health, urged Tyson Foods shareholders to vote for a water stewardship policy at the annual meeting of 8 February 2018. filing
The Tyson proposal asked the board to adopt a water stewardship policy covering Tyson-owned facilities, facilities under contract to Tyson, and Tyson's suppliers. filing
The Tyson water stewardship proposal drew 147,700,207 votes for and 784,979,383 against in 2018. filing
At Tyson's 2026 annual meeting a proposal for a report on the environmental and human health impacts of waste lagoons drew 23,451,579 votes for and 896,423,218 against. filing
Fertilizer goes on the ground at millions of separate farms, and the processors those farms sell into and the input suppliers they buy from are listed companies that already set terms through purchasing, so a vote reaches the chain even where it does not reach the field.
Investor Advocates for Social Justice records investors refiling a water pollution resolution with Tyson Foods. source

Shareholder advocacy on record

2018: American Baptist Home Mission Society at Tyson Foods, Inc. Co-filed with As You Sow, ACTIAM, Adrian Dominican Sisters Portfolio Advisory Board, Daughters of Charity - Province of St Louise, Dignity Health, Felician Sisters, JLens Investor Network, Monasterio Pan de Vida, PGGM Vermogensbeheer B.V., Portico Benefit Services (ELCA), Sisters of Providence - Mother Joseph Province, Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, Sisters of the Good Shepherd. Asked the company to Adopt and implement a water stewardship policy reducing the risk of water contamination at Tyson-owned facilities, facilities under contract to Tyson, and Tyson's suppliers. 147,700,207 for and 784,979,383 against; not approved. we found no documented change in the documents read. Source
2026: Filer not established at Tyson Foods, Inc. Asked the company to Report on the environmental and human health impacts of waste lagoons. 23,451,579 for and 896,423,218 against; not approved. we found no documented change in the documents read. Source

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Waterkeeper Alliance (over 300 local Waterkeeper organizations) A network of local organizations working on water pollution including agricultural runoff, and no shareholder advocacy filings were found in the documents read for this report.Ask them to vote

7. Ocean noise pollutionNecessary

Companies involved: A.P. Moller - Maersk A/S (shareholders vote here)

No shareholder proposal on ocean noise was found in the documents read for this report.

The shipping and offshore energy industries fund a joint research programme on sound and marine life, and the documents read do not rank their lobbying as an obstacle to noise policy, so the second of the method's two questions is answered here as not established.

At least 150 marine species show impacts from ocean noise, and ships are the predominant source of human-made low-frequency noise in the ocean.

Ocean noise is emitted almost entirely by commercial ships and by offshore oil and gas surveys, and the international regime asking them to be quieter is an invitation rather than a rule, so operators choose the level and their owners can direct that choice. At least 150 marine species show impacts from underwater noise. The mitigations exist now: quieting the noisiest 10 to 15 percent of container and cargo ships goes furthest, and cutting Mediterranean ship speeds from 16 to 14 knots probably halved the broadband acoustic footprint with no retrofitting at all. Maersk has committed its whole operated fleet to a noise initiative and works on underwater radiated noise management, so at least one listed operator has chosen differently. What still has to come from outside a company is an action-forcing standard of the kind that produced the pile-driving technologies in Germany, and that is what holds this obstacle at Necessary.

Confirmed for this obstacle (9)

Underwater noise is mainly caused by commercial shipping and by the offshore oil and gas exploration industry. source
Ships are reported to be the predominant source of human-made low-frequency noise in the oceans. source
Quieting the noisiest 10 to 15 percent of container and cargo ships goes furthest in reducing overall shipping noise. source
Cutting ship speed from 16 to 14 knots in the Mediterranean probably reduced the overall broadband acoustic footprint by more than half, and required no retrofitting. source
At least 150 marine species have shown impacts from ocean noise pollution. source
The range of quieting technologies for pile driving exists mainly because the German government set an action-forcing standard and noise limit. source
The International Maritime Organization's revised underwater noise guidelines are an invitation to member states rather than a requirement on ships. source
Maersk engages with regulators, states, shipping associations and scientific institutions on underwater radiated noise management in line with the IMO guidelines, and committed its whole operated fleet to the 10,000 Ships for the Ocean initiative at the 2025 UN Ocean Conference. source
The noise is made by ships and by seismic surveys, the mitigations are available now and the international regime is voluntary, so operators choose the level; what the documents read do not establish is the share of the world fleet a shareholder vote reaches.

Care about this, and have not voted their shares on it

OceanCare Wrote the technical assessment of the available quieting technologies for shipping, seismic surveys and pile driving, and no shareholder advocacy filings were found in the documents read for this report.Ask them to vote

8. Coastal habitat destructionHelpful

Companies involved: Mozambique Heavy Sand Company VIII (privately held, no shareholder vote); Gulf Gateway Resort & Marina LLC (privately held, no shareholder vote); The Home Depot, Inc. (shareholders vote here); Mowi ASA (shareholders vote here)

The documents read do not establish corporate lobbying against coastal habitat protection, so the rating here rests on the first of the method's two questions.

Habitat destruction sits alongside overexploitation as a primary driver of marine biodiversity loss, and urbanisation increases the vulnerability of beaches, salt marshes and mangrove forests to sea level rise.

Coastal habitat is cleared mostly by private developers, state industrial projects and local authorities, so a shareholder vote helps at the margin here rather than deciding the outcome. Mangrove loss in Mozambique's Zambezia Province has been traced to a sand mining operation part-owned by a Chinese mining group, whose concessions yield titanium ores that end up in paints, plastics and sunscreen sold by listed companies. In Florida a developer removed mangroves at Cape Coral without a permit, and in Yucatan the authorities name real estate development near the sea as one of the main causes of loss. Aquaculture expansion is a documented route to mangrove deforestation and runs through listed farmers and feed makers, and Home Depot shareholders voted on a biodiversity impact assessment in 2025, so the lever is not absent. What the documents read do not establish is any share of the global loss that corporate conduct decides, and that is why this obstacle is rated Helpful.

Confirmed for this obstacle (8)

The expansion of fish farming can degrade habitat, including through mangrove deforestation. source
Rapid mangrove loss in Mozambique's Zambezia Province is linked to a sand mining operation part-owned by a Chinese mining group. source
The Mozambique concessions target heavy mineral sands yielding titanium ores used in paints, plastics and sunscreen. source
At Cape Coral in Florida the developer Gulf Gateway Resort and Marina LLC removed mangroves at the Seven Islands site without a permit. source
Mexican authorities identify real estate development near the sea as one of the main causes of mangrove loss. source
Urbanisation and the changes it makes to freshwater and sediment flows increase the vulnerability of sandy beaches, salt marshes and mangrove forests to sea level rise. source
At Home Depot's 2025 annual meeting a proposal for a biodiversity impact and dependency assessment drew 116,914,429 votes for and 585,622,203 against. filing
Most of the clearing is done by private developers, state industrial projects and local authorities, and the aquaculture and minerals strands run through listed farmers, feed makers and buyers, so the vote reaches part of this and not the part that decides it.

Shareholder advocacy on record

2025: Filer not established at The Home Depot, Inc. Asked the company to Biodiversity impact and dependency assessment. 116,914,429 for and 585,622,203 against; not approved. we found no documented change in the documents read. Source

Care about this, and have not voted their shares on it

Greenpeace International Works on marine habitat protection and documents corporate pressure on ocean governance, and no shareholder advocacy filings on coastal habitat were found in the documents read for this report.Ask them to vote

What owners can do

Vote alongside As You Sow on the plastics proposals it files at resin producers and retailers. The same request has now been put to Westlake, Dow, ExxonMobil, Phillips 66, Amazon, Kroger, Home Depot and Restaurant Brands International, and the Amazon vote in 2022 failed by under eight million shares out of 370 million cast.
Vote alongside Follow This on the Paris-aligned product emissions targets it files at Chevron and Phillips 66. Ocean warming and acidification are the same carbon, and the 2021 majorities at ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66 show the vote can be won.
Ask whether your fund voted its TMC shares. Deep-sea mining is the one obstacle here whose outcome rests on a single Nasdaq-listed company, and no shareholder proposal has been put to it.
Vote alongside the religious and institutional investors who asked Tyson Foods to extend a water stewardship policy to its contract farms and suppliers, which is where the nutrients that make the dead zones are applied.
Vote alongside FAIRR and the Woolworths proponents on seafood traceability and sourcing at retailers and processors, which is the part of overfishing that a listed buyer can set terms on.
Ask shipping companies you own for an underwater radiated noise management plan and a speed policy. Quieting the noisiest tenth of the container fleet goes furthest, and slower steaming needs no retrofitting.

Where this sits on our maps

Organizations to know

As You Sow Files the ocean-plastics proposals across the resin and retail chain, and has taken a cumulative million tons of virgin plastic out of nine brands' commitments.☆ Follow
Follow This Files the Paris-aligned product emissions targets at the fossil fuel producers whose products drive warming and acidification.☆ Follow
Climate Action 100+ An investor initiative of more than 570 investors with 54 trillion dollars under management that flagged the Phillips 66 climate lobbying resolution.☆ Follow
FAIRR Initiative Engages seafood companies on traceability, overfishing and human rights risk.☆ Follow
Union of Concerned Scientists (shareholder advocacy on record) Traced more than half the rise in ocean acidity between 1880 and 2015 to the products of 88 named producers.
InfluenceMap (shareholder advocacy on record) Assessed the biodiversity lobbying of the 30 largest seafood companies and the sector's industry associations.
Greenpeace International (shareholder advocacy on record) Documented the corporate playbook behind unilateral deep sea mining.
TMC the metals company Inc. The Nasdaq-listed frontrunner whose conduct decides whether commercial deep-sea mining begins.
Exxon Mobil Corporation A named producer on the acidification attribution and a resin maker on the plastics chain.
Phillips 66 Carried majorities on an emissions target and on climate lobbying in 2021, and came within two million shares on recycled polymers in 2022.

Sources

Overall summary, third World Ocean Assessment (United Nations)
Scientists from every continent say ocean health and biodiversity at a tipping point (Marine Stewardship Council)
Chapter 3: Oceans and Coastal Ecosystems and their Services (IPCC AR6 Working Group II)
Tracing Fossil Fuel Companies' Contribution to Climate Change and Ocean Acidification (Union of Concerned Scientists)
Plastic Pollution (As You Sow)
Plastic Pellets (As You Sow)
Oceans Under Threat: Seafood Sector Influence on Government Biodiversity Policy (InfluenceMap)
Corporate capture of the deep sea (Greenpeace International)
Shareholders in fishing companies at risk from fisheries over-exploitation (Sea Around Us)
Best Available Technology and Best Environmental Practice for Mitigating Three Noise Sources (Convention on Migratory Species and OceanCare)
Protecting the Marine Environment: Underwater noise (European Maritime Safety Agency)
Agrifood companies must take responsibility for nitrogen pollution (Nature Food)
TMC the metals company Inc. 10-Q for the quarter ended 30 June 2026 (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)
TMC the metals company Inc. DEF 14A 2026 (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)
ConocoPhillips 8-K Item 5.07, 2021 annual meeting vote results (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)
Phillips 66 8-K Item 5.07, 2021 annual meeting vote results (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)
Chevron 8-K Item 5.07, 2023 annual meeting vote results (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)
Amazon.com 8-K Item 5.07, 2022 annual meeting vote results (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)
Tyson Foods 8-K Item 5.07, 2018 annual meeting vote results (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)
Activists fail in bid to stop Woolworths sourcing farmed salmon from Tasmania's Macquarie Harbour (ABC News)

About this report

The rating answers two questions: how far the outcome depends on companies changing what they make, how they make it and what they sell, and how far it depends on companies dropping their political influence against it. The higher answer sets the rating: Independent, Helpful, Necessary or Pivotal.

This is the deep report. A frontier model researched it against documents captured as it read them, and every fact it recorded carries an excerpt from one of those documents. Each excerpt was matched to its document twice: on the machine that did the work, and again here. The ratings are analytical judgments under our method, not findings of any organization named here.

95 claims were checked against the document each cites: 95 held and 0 did not.

What we read. 153 documents were held for this report and every quotation was checked against them.

Every claim, and what became of it (95)

Confirmed · The ocean is under mounting stress from overexploitation, pollution and the accelerating impacts of climate change, while global demand for biological, mineral and energy resources continues to grow.
Confirmed · The ocean has absorbed over 90 percent of the excess heat and 30 percent of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels.
Confirmed · Microplastics affect all marine ecosystems, with evidence of impact on more than 4,000 species.
Confirmed · Without a shift to a circular plastics system, plastic waste entering the ocean is projected to nearly triple by 2040, from about 11 million metric tons a year in 2016 to roughly 29 million metric ton
Confirmed · Plastic pellets are estimated to be the second largest direct source of microplastic pollution to the ocean by weight.
Confirmed · Plastic pellets, the feedstock for nearly every plastic product, are produced by petrochemical companies and shipped to manufacturing plants.
Confirmed · Nine major global brands have committed to cut their use of virgin plastic by more than a cumulative one million tons after engagement by As You Sow.
Confirmed · Packaging is the largest single use category of plastic, at a quarter of all plastic produced.
Confirmed · As You Sow filed the exempt solicitation urging Amazon shareholders to vote for Item 22, a report on packaging materials, at the annual meeting of 24 May 2023.
Confirmed · The Amazon proposal asked the board to report on how the company could cut its plastics use in line with the one-third reduction finding of the Breaking the Plastic Wave report, to reduce ocean plasti
Confirmed · The Amazon packaging proposal drew 35 percent of shares voted in 2021 and 48.9 percent of overall investors in 2022.
Confirmed · At Amazon's 2022 annual meeting the packaging materials proposal was not approved, with 181,296,823 votes for and 189,313,134 against.
Confirmed · At Amazon's 2023 annual meeting the packaging materials proposal was not approved, with 2,345,678,911 votes for and 4,921,660,303 against.
Confirmed · As You Sow filed the exempt solicitation urging Restaurant Brands International shareholders to vote for Item 10, a report on reducing plastics use, at the annual meeting of 6 June 2024.
Confirmed · At Restaurant Brands International's 2024 annual meeting the plastic use proposal drew 106,012,435 votes for and 282,584,573 against.
Confirmed · As You Sow filed the exempt solicitation urging Westlake shareholders to vote for Proposal 3 on single-use plastics at the annual meeting of 9 May 2024.
Confirmed · At Westlake's 2024 annual meeting the proposal for a report on reducing ocean plastic pollution drew 8,342,046 votes for and 117,336,415 against.
Confirmed · As You Sow filed the exempt solicitation urging ExxonMobil shareholders to vote for Item 9 on single-use plastics at the annual meeting of 25 May 2022.
Confirmed · At ExxonMobil's 2022 annual meeting the report on plastic production drew 940,949,583 votes for, 36.5 percent, and 1,639,139,896 against.
Confirmed · At Dow's 2024 annual meeting the single-use plastics report drew 73 percent of the votes cast against it.
Confirmed · As You Sow filed the exempt solicitation urging Phillips 66 shareholders to vote for Proposal 6, a report on shifting to recycled plastics, in 2022.
Confirmed · At Phillips 66's 2022 annual meeting the proposal for a report on shifting to recycled polymers for single-use plastics drew 161,725,428 votes for and 159,340,137 against, and was not approved because
Confirmed · As You Sow filed the exempt solicitation urging Home Depot shareholders to vote for Item 6, a report on packaging policies for plastics, at the annual meeting of 22 May 2025.
Confirmed · At Home Depot's 2025 annual meeting the report on packaging policies for plastics drew 119,464,565 votes for and 582,449,456 against.
Confirmed · As You Sow filed the exempt solicitation urging Kroger shareholders to vote for Item 5, a report on reducing the use of plastic packaging, in 2022.
Confirmed · At Kroger's 2022 annual meeting the recyclability of packaging proposal drew 219,182,583 votes for and 352,044,944 against.
Confirmed · What reaches the ocean as plastic is decided inside companies, in what resin they make, what packaging they specify and what they sell it in, so this obstacle is corporate conduct rather than a conseq
Confirmed · The Metals Company has sued the International Seabed Authority, the multilateral body with exclusive jurisdiction over the international seabed, through its subsidiaries, for performing a regulatory i
Confirmed · Common shares of TMC the metals company Inc. trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market, so its owners vote its conduct.
Confirmed · In April 2025 a wholly owned TMC subsidiary applied to mine the international seabed under United States legislation, bypassing authorisation by the International Seabed Authority.
Confirmed · Nauru triggered the two-year rule at the International Seabed Authority on behalf of a wholly owned TMC subsidiary, which put pressure on the states represented there by threatening mining in the abse
Confirmed · Forty-three states hold the view that a moratorium or precautionary pause on deep sea mining should be put in place.
Confirmed · One listed company's decision settles whether commercial deep-sea mining begins at all, which makes this the clearest case on the whole list of an outcome a shareholder vote reaches directly.
Confirmed · More than two-thirds of the world's top ocean experts say climate change is the greatest threat to ocean health and biodiversity.
Confirmed · Marine heatwaves have become more frequent, more intense and longer since the 1980s and since at least 2006 are very likely attributable to human-caused climate change.
Confirmed · Coral reefs, kelp forests, seagrasses, mangroves and semi-enclosed seas have recently undergone mass mortalities from marine heatwaves.
Confirmed · Follow This filed the Scope 3 medium-term emissions target proposal at Chevron's 2023 annual meeting alongside AXA Investment Management, DeGroof Petercam Asset Management and Arjuna Capital.
Confirmed · Chevron's stockholders rejected the medium-term Scope 3 target in 2023, with 126,481,041 votes for, 9.6 percent, and 1,197,276,946 against.
Confirmed · ConocoPhillips stockholders approved a proposal to set emission reduction targets covering the company's operations and its energy products in 2021, with 610,416,225 votes for and 418,551,812 against.
Confirmed · Phillips 66 shareholders approved a proposal to set and report on greenhouse gas emissions targets in 2021, with 250,693,810 votes for and 61,569,912 against.
Confirmed · Phillips 66 shareholders also approved a proposal for a report on climate lobbying in 2021, with 195,837,321 votes for and 117,573,625 against.
Confirmed · Ocean warming is driven by the aggregate of global emissions, so no single company's conduct settles it, and governments, power systems and households have to move alongside the companies whose produc
Confirmed · IPBES attributes marine biodiversity losses primarily to overexploitation and habitat destruction.
Confirmed · Thirty-two percent of the 97 stocks targeted by the largest listed fishing companies are overfished, against a global figure of at least 31 percent.
Confirmed · The 19 companies with the largest direct fishing revenues sit inside a universe of 228 publicly listed companies with exposure to seafood production, by harvesting or by processing.
Confirmed · Of the 30 most systemically important seafood companies, only Bolton Group holds lobbying positions aligned with the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Confirmed · The policies the seafood sector has pushed back on hardest are marine protected areas, restrictions on bottom trawling in the United States and the European Union, and aquaculture regulation.
Confirmed · Mowi, a listed Norwegian salmon farmer, has engaged heavily against fish farm regulations while calling in its annual report for a transformation in how nature is used and managed.
Confirmed · The National Fisheries Institute has opposed marine protected areas, restrictions on bottom trawling and regulation to curb illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and has advocated to weaken fis
Confirmed · Special and differential treatment has been a major area of disagreement in the World Trade Organization's fisheries subsidies negotiations, which members aimed to settle by their thirteenth ministeri
Confirmed · Global fisheries subsidies were estimated at about 35.4 billion dollars in 2018, with countries high on the UN Human Development Index providing about 87 percent of them, and China, the European Union
Confirmed · Nomad Foods requires its suppliers to exclude fish from illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and from depleted or recovering stocks, which is a listed buyer setting terms for fleets it does not
Confirmed · A resolution asking Woolworths Group to stop sourcing farmed salmon from Macquarie Harbour was lodged by the share trading platform SIX on behalf of 121 shareholders.
Confirmed · The two Woolworths resolutions never reached a vote, because a preliminary resolution to amend the company's constitution failed to secure enough support.
Confirmed · Companies decide where, what and how much they catch and what they will buy, and quotas and enforcement are set by states and regional bodies, so both have to move before overfishing ends.
Confirmed · More than half of the increase in ocean acidity between 1880 and 2015 is tied to emissions from 88 fossil fuel producers and cement manufacturers, led by Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and
Confirmed · The ocean has absorbed about 29 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions since the end of the preindustrial era, and its surface waters are 30 percent more acidic as a result.
Confirmed · Acidification hinders corals from growing back after bleaching, and nearly all warm-water coral reefs could disappear if warming reaches two degrees.
Confirmed · Internal company documents show the fossil fuel industry knew about the climate-related risks of its products as early as the mid-1960s, and the companies then funded disinformation campaigns to sow d
Confirmed · Acidification is the ocean's share of the same carbon, so it answers to the same chain as warming: the named producers and the utilities, carmakers, airlines and banks that buy, burn and finance their
Confirmed · High levels of nitrogen and phosphorus cause eutrophication, which leads to the hypoxia known as dead zones, killing fish and reducing aquatic life.
Confirmed · Nitrogen mitigation is aimed at the farm, so farmers carry the regulatory burden while the agrifood companies that influence their production decisions and profit from intensification are left out of
Confirmed · A content analysis of the sustainability statements of the world's largest agrifood companies found that they largely overlook their most relevant negative environmental impacts.
Confirmed · The American Baptist Home Mission Society and 13 co-filers, among them As You Sow, ACTIAM, PGGM and Dignity Health, urged Tyson Foods shareholders to vote for a water stewardship policy at the annual
Confirmed · The Tyson proposal asked the board to adopt a water stewardship policy covering Tyson-owned facilities, facilities under contract to Tyson, and Tyson's suppliers.
Confirmed · The Tyson water stewardship proposal drew 147,700,207 votes for and 784,979,383 against in 2018.
Confirmed · At Tyson's 2026 annual meeting a proposal for a report on the environmental and human health impacts of waste lagoons drew 23,451,579 votes for and 896,423,218 against.
Confirmed · Fertilizer goes on the ground at millions of separate farms, and the processors those farms sell into and the input suppliers they buy from are listed companies that already set terms through purchasi
Confirmed · Underwater noise is mainly caused by commercial shipping and by the offshore oil and gas exploration industry.
Confirmed · Ships are reported to be the predominant source of human-made low-frequency noise in the oceans.
Confirmed · Quieting the noisiest 10 to 15 percent of container and cargo ships goes furthest in reducing overall shipping noise.
Confirmed · Cutting ship speed from 16 to 14 knots in the Mediterranean probably reduced the overall broadband acoustic footprint by more than half, and required no retrofitting.
Confirmed · At least 150 marine species have shown impacts from ocean noise pollution.
Confirmed · The range of quieting technologies for pile driving exists mainly because the German government set an action-forcing standard and noise limit.
Confirmed · The International Maritime Organization's revised underwater noise guidelines are an invitation to member states rather than a requirement on ships.
Confirmed · Maersk engages with regulators, states, shipping associations and scientific institutions on underwater radiated noise management in line with the IMO guidelines, and committed its whole operated flee
Confirmed · The noise is made by ships and by seismic surveys, the mitigations are available now and the international regime is voluntary, so operators choose the level; what the documents read do not establish
Confirmed · The expansion of fish farming can degrade habitat, including through mangrove deforestation.
Confirmed · Rapid mangrove loss in Mozambique's Zambezia Province is linked to a sand mining operation part-owned by a Chinese mining group.
Confirmed · The Mozambique concessions target heavy mineral sands yielding titanium ores used in paints, plastics and sunscreen.
Confirmed · At Cape Coral in Florida the developer Gulf Gateway Resort and Marina LLC removed mangroves at the Seven Islands site without a permit.
Confirmed · Mexican authorities identify real estate development near the sea as one of the main causes of mangrove loss.
Confirmed · Urbanisation and the changes it makes to freshwater and sediment flows increase the vulnerability of sandy beaches, salt marshes and mangrove forests to sea level rise.
Confirmed · At Home Depot's 2025 annual meeting a proposal for a biodiversity impact and dependency assessment drew 116,914,429 votes for and 585,622,203 against.
Confirmed · Most of the clearing is done by private developers, state industrial projects and local authorities, and the aquaculture and minerals strands run through listed farmers, feed makers and buyers, so the
Confirmed · The Phillips 66 climate lobbying vote was among those flagged by the Climate Action 100+ initiative.
Confirmed · Follow This filed the notice of exempt solicitation at Phillips 66 in 2022.
Confirmed · The Follow This solicitation urged Phillips 66 shareholders to vote for Item 5, asking the company to adopt medium and long-term greenhouse gas reduction targets.
Confirmed · At Phillips 66's 2022 annual meeting the greenhouse gas emissions targets proposal was not approved, with 115,605,129 votes for and 204,088,939 against.
Confirmed · The business put to TMC the metals company's 2026 annual general meeting was the appointment of auditors and an advisory vote on executive pay.
Confirmed · Investor Advocates for Social Justice records investors refiling a water pollution resolution with Tyson Foods.
Confirmed · As You Sow founded and manages the Plastic Solutions Investor Alliance, more than 50 institutional investors from four countries with a combined 2.6 trillion dollars under management.
Confirmed · FAIRR records that Nomad Foods acknowledges the material risks of illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, overfishing, habitat conversion and human rights, including modern slavery.
Confirmed · Climate Action 100+ is an investor initiative of more than 570 investors with 54 trillion dollars under management, engaging companies on governance, emissions and climate-related disclosure.
Confirmed · As You Sow filed the exempt solicitation urging Dow shareholders to vote for Item 5 on single-use plastics at the annual meeting of 11 April 2024.

First drafted September 26, 2026, reviewed and republished September 26, 2026. Scoring method revision 1.6.

Which passes have run, and what ran them

The passes can run on different models, so each one records its own. Where a model was asked for by a name that moves, the exact build that answered is shown.

The deep run · September 26, 2026 · Read 28 documents and wrote 95 claims, each with an excerpt from one of them. The run's own verifier repaired 0 and dropped 0 over 2 passes.local runner · claude-opus-5

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