Coca-Cola and PepsiCo Proxy Clash with Activist Investor Over Sugar Hints at Future Skirmishes

Howard Berkenblit was quoted in the article, "Coca-Cola and PepsiCo Proxy Clash with Activist Investor Over Sugar Hints at Future Skirmishes," which was published in FoodDive on April 19, 2021. 

The article discusses how recent pressure on Coca-Cola and PepsiCo to disclose in an independent report the effects of soda on public health is highlighting calls for increased shareholder influence on ESG-related issues in the form of shareholder resolutions. According to Howard, it is often the case that a lot of these types of shareholder proposals to get low support: "That's why companies want to increase the thresholds [for a resolution] because it becomes ... an annoyance and a hassle for the company that it has to put this in their proxy statement every year and to have to tally up the votes and explain themselves."