Ahead of the convenience-store retailer’s virtual annual meeting on Sept. 6, shareholder advocacy and activist investor groups are asking shareholders of Casey’s General Stores Inc. to vote in support of their environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) and climate proposals.
Proposal 5
In its Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders, Casey's said it “has received notice of the intention of The Humane Society of the United States to present [a] proposal for voting at the annual meeting.” The Shareholder Proposal Asking for Responsible Sourcing Details, labeled Proposal 5, which Casey’s calls “the sourcing proposal,” seeks disclosure of Casey’s “supplier code of conduct … if it has one, and all responsible procurement/supply chain policies, standards or expectations.”
The proposal said that in fiscal 2022, Casey’s conducted an ESG Materiality Assessment “to better understand the ESG topics most relevant to … long-term financial success.” Casey’s promised that it would use the results to “help guide [its] approach to ESG and ensure that [it] allocate[s] resources to the areas that matter most to our stakeholders.”
“But it’s unclear just what new sourcing standards or policies Casey’s adopted following that assessment,” the proposal said.
“One of the key factors the assessment identified was supply chain management. In its 2022 ESG Report, Casey’s said this ‘may’ include a supplier code of conduct, green procurement policies, human rights standards and more. But it’s not clear whether Casey’s actually has developed these things,” said the proposal.
Casey’s also said it would establish “policies, practices and oversight to reflect key issues and emerging topics in the connected agricultural and consumer goods ecosystems, supplier diversity, eco-friendly ingredients, certifications of sustainably sourced ingredients, human rights and more.”
But it is “unclear whether Casey’s ever actually did establish such policies, practices or oversight,” the proposal said.
The Accountability Board, Wakefield, Massachusetts, supports the proposal, saying that Casey’s report “does not sufficiently or comprehensively respond to the proposal’s call for disclosure of responsible procurement/supply chain policies, standards and expectations.”
Casey’s said it addresses all of these concerns in its 2023 ESG Report and suggests that shareholders vote “no” on the proposal.
Launched in 2022, The Accountability Board, Wakefield, Massachusetts, is focused on portfolio advocacy, compliance monitoring and board assessments, with an investment portfolio of approximately 100 major publicly traded companies in the food and agricultural sectors. In the convenience-store and petroleum industries, along with Casey’s, that portfolio also includes ExxonMobil, TravelCenters of America and Arko.
Proposal 6
Meanwhile, As You Sow, Berkeley, California, is proposing in Climate Transition Plan and GHG Reduction Goals, labeled Proposal 6 in Casey’s Notice of Annual Meeting of Shareholders, that Casey’s board of directors issue a report “disclosing how the company intends to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
Founded in 1992, As You Sow is a shareholder advocacy organization with a mission to promote environmental and social corporate responsibility. It says that Casey’s “is one of 50 highest-emitting food companies in the United States” and operates in the Midwest, “a region prone to extreme weather that can disrupt food production and distribution logistics.”
It points out that Casey’s “most profitable product is petroleum-based motor fuel, which is vulnerable to regulation as federal and state governments implement decarbonization plans, and the automobile market continues to rapidly transition to electricity.”
Casey’s, in its annual report, acknowledges that this shift away from fossil fuels could fundamentally change the driving and shopping habits of its customers and could cause “decreases in sales revenue across all categories or lower profit margins.”
Because of the “small number” of electric-vehicle (EV) charging stations that Casey’s has installed across its largely rural retail network, “it remains unclear to investors how Casey’s will protect itself from climate-related risks to its most profitable product, petroleum-based motor fuel,” As You Sow said.
In its 2023 Sustainability Report, Casey’s said that as “part of [its] efforts to support the transition to a lower-carbon economy,” it began installing EV chargers in 2018, and it now has 29 stores offering EV charging, with 138 charging points, up from 26 stores and 114 charging points in 2022. Ankeny, Iowa-based Casey’s has more than 2,500 convenience stores in 16 Midwestern states.
The chain’s installation strategy, it said in the report, “is designed to selectively increase our charging stations at locations within our region where we see higher levels of consumer EV buying trends and demand for EV charging. To date, the consumer EV demand within our Midwest footprint has been comparatively lower than other areas throughout the country, particularly along the coasts. As EV demand from our guests increases, we are prepared to selectively integrate charging-station options at our nearby stores.”
The company said it is forming partnerships with local and national EV charging and vehicle manufacturers. It has also participated in grant opportunities with local utilities. “These partnerships allow us to guide our long-term strategic planning to closely align with evolving trends in EV technologies as consumer demand increases over time,” it said.
But As You Sow said, “It is incumbent on Casey’s to reduce emissions across its value chain, … [and] Casey’s can provide investors with assurance that management is taking action to measure and manage its climate-related risks and opportunities.”
Casey’s says in the Sustainability Report, “We take our responsibility for environmental stewardship seriously and recognize our role in addressing the challenge of global climate change. To inform our energy and climate strategy and to set a baseline against which to measure our progress, we have collected data on our energy use and associated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Examples of data collected for this assessment include electricity, gas, stationary fuel and refrigerant use at our convenience stores, as well as available fuel usage from our vehicle fleet.”
But the chain does not offer greenhouse gas reduction targets As You Sow said.
“Casey’s General Stores does not disclose a plan or goal to reduce its material value chain emissions and … lacks any emissions reduction target. The company notes that the impact of climate change and the energy transition could have an ‘adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations’,” said As You Sow. “Yet, Casey’s has failed to provide shareholders with a plan that adequately addresses these risks and reduces emissions, which would help the business remain competitive and profitable in a net-zero economy.”
Casey’s also “lags peers in addressing the impacts of its emissions,” the investor said, citing Tokyo-based Seven & i Holdings Co., the parent company of Irving, Texas-based 7-Eleven Inc., which has committed to set emissions reduction targets, and Laval, Quebec-based multinational convenience-store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., owner of Circle K brand, which has also developed initial emissions reduction targets.
The retailer recommends that shareholders vote against the proposal.
- Casey's General Stores Inc. is No. 3 on CSP's 2023 Top 202 ranking of convenience-store chains by store count.
Casey’s has more than 2,500 convenience stores in 16 Midwestern states. It is the third-largest convenience store retailer and the fifth-largest pizza chain in the United States. The company did not respond immediately to a CSP Daily News request for comment on these proposals.