FEP Locks In Deals With Chevron, PepsiCo and Bristol Myers Squibb

The shareholder activism wins keep coming in 2026!

On the heels of our announcement last week that our Free Enterprise Project (FEP) had successfully negotiated shareholder proposal withdrawals with five corporations — Prudential, Eli Lilly, Exxon, Capital One and AT&T — we are now ready to announce three more corporate settlements.

After FEP submitted ROI shareholder proposals to Chevron, PepsiCo and Bristol Myers Squibb, all three corporations engaged with FEP and satisfied our concerns to the extent that we were willing to withdraw our proposals from proxy consideration.

Chevron

FEP’s Chevron proposal requested that the company publish a report disclosing the net-present-value (NPV), return-on-investment (ROI) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) calculations, if any, relied upon to authorize and maintain the material sustainability investments and operational costs referenced in Chevron’s 2024 Corporate Sustainability Highlights.

Following engagement with the company, FEP decided to withdraw the proposal for the following reasons:
(1) Chevron’s approach to climate policy expressly targets making “prudent investments without losing focus on delivering stockholder value;”
(2) Chevron has defended the proposition that “oil and gas are a vital part of the energy mix in this country and in the world, which is a reality that we all need to acknowledge;”
(3) Chevron has called out California’s climate extremism, noting that “California’s discouraging investment in the energy that runs its economy…. raises costs for average consumers. And … that doesn’t serve the state very well;”
(4) As of 1/7/25, Chevron’s total returns have outperformed the S&P 500 by over 30 percentage points the past 5 years;
(5) Chevron has agreed to engage with FEP in the proxy off-season.

PepsiCo, Inc.

FEP’s PepsiCo, Inc. proposal requested a report assessing the extent to which the company’s “PepsiCo Positive (pep+)” goals have been authorized and maintained on the basis of NPV and ROI calculations.

FEP withdrew the proposal after PepsiCo agreed to update its disclosures to affirm in part that:

PepsiCo applies rigorous financial discipline to sustainability investments, including a prioritization framework. The prioritization framework to assess sustainability projects is anchored in Net Present Value (NPV) analysis, and assesses sustainability projects for financial impact….

Other factors supporting withdrawal include:
(1) PepsiCo has been rated “Lower Risk” on the 1792 Exchange’s Corporate Bias Ratings, and
(2) PepsiCo agreed to continued off-season engagement with FEP.

Bristol Myers Squibb

FEP’s Bristol Myers Squibb proposal requested that the company publish a report assessing the extent to which its sustainability goals have been authorized and maintained on the basis of NPV and ROI calculations.

FEP agreed to withdraw its shareholder proposal in exchange for the company agreeing to a disclosure update making clear that its sustainability initiatives include financial evaluation utilizing measurement tools such as ROI targets or NPV calculations.

In addition, Bristol Myers Squibb has agreed to further off-season engagement with FEP.

We thank all three companies for assuring us of their concern for financial transparency and accountability.