Google Faces Shareholder Pressure to Amend Repairs Policy
January 11 2022 - 11:52AM
Dow Jones News
By Maitane Sardon
Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google, is facing pressure
from an environmentally-focused investor to allow customers to fix
their own devices to reduce electronic waste.
On Tuesday, mutual fund company Green Century said it had filed
a shareholder proposal with Alphabet requesting it make Google
devices more easily repairable by consumers and independent shops,
and thus more environmentally friendly. It is also urging the
company to stop lobbying against legislation that would expand
repair access.
"Given the current regulatory landscape and growing interest
from consumers, any company in the technology industry that is not
embracing repair exposes itself to significant risk," said Green
Century Capital Management's president Leslie Samuelrich.
Alphabet shareholders may be asked to vote on the changes at the
company's annual general meeting. Although shareholder resolutions
aren't legally binding in the U.S. and Canada, they are a way to
prod companies to adopt more sustainable practices.
The move comes amid growing calls for tech companies to reverse
years of restrictive repair policies that force consumers to buy a
new product instead of repairing broken ones. Last year,
shareholder advocacy group As You Sow said it would withdraw a
resolution it filed with Microsoft Corp. after the company agreed
to increase consumers' options to repair their devices. In
November, Green Century withdrew another resolution with Apple Inc.
following the company's launch of a self-service repair
program.
"We urge Google to follow in the footsteps of industry peers
like Apple and Microsoft and stop restricting repair," Ms.
Samuelrich said.
Alphabet didn't immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Write to Maitane Sardon at maitane.sardon@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 11, 2022 12:37 ET (17:37 GMT)
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