As You Sow
Founding data partner · asyousow.org ↗
As You Sow is the U.S. nonprofit leader in shareholder advocacy, founded in 1992. They harness shareholder power to create lasting change and align investments with values — directly engaging corporate CEOs, senior management, and institutional investors to change corporations from the inside out.
As You Sow is the founding data contributor to As You Know, providing the core sustainability datasets that power AYK's platform across racial justice, workforce equity, environmental, and economic issue areas.
Mission & vision
To promote environmental and social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy, coalition building, and innovative legal strategies.
A safe, just, and sustainable world in which protecting the environment and human rights is central to corporate decision making.
1992. Over 30 years of shareholder advocacy driving measurable change in corporate behavior across the U.S. and globally.
Dataset coverage
Scoring methodology & data overview
As You Sow datasets are aggregated to enable extraction of company-level data across seven issue areas over a seven-year period, totaling close to 1 million unique data points.
| Issue Area | Coverage | Update Frequency | Research Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Racial Justice | Large Cap 3000 · 27 KPIs | 4x / year | Human-curated |
| Workforce Equity | Large Cap 3000 · 34 KPIs | 4x / year | Human-curated |
| Circular Economy (Plastics) | ~250 Companies · 100 KPIs | 1x / 2 years | Human-curated |
| Pesticides | ~20 Companies · 27 KPIs | 1x / 2 years | Human-curated |
| Net Zero | ~200 Companies | 1x / 2 years | Human-curated |
| Clean200 | ~200 Companies | 1x / year | Human-curated |
| Prison & Border Exclusion | ~SP 200 | 1x / year | Human-curated |
| CEO Pay / Corporate Board of Directors | ~SP 500 | 1x / year (2016–2023) | Human-curated |
Dataset details
As You Sow's Racial Justice Initiative (RJI) and Workforce Equity datasets score 3,000+ large-cap companies on racial equity policies, pay gaps, board diversity, promotion practices, and community investment — updated quarterly.
- 27 KPIs covering racial justice across the Russell 3000
- 34 KPIs covering workforce equity metrics
- Tracks year-over-year improvement and decline
- Human-curated research methodology
As You Sow's environmental research covers plastics, pesticides, net zero commitments, and clean energy leadership:
- Circular Economy (Plastics) — ~250 companies, 100 KPIs on packaging and recyclability
- Pesticides — ~20 food & agriculture companies scored on toxicity reduction
- Net Zero — ~200 companies assessed on climate commitments and progress
- Clean200 — ranks the top 200 companies by clean energy revenue
As You Sow's economic justice research tracks pay equity, corporate governance, and exclusion screening:
- CEO Pay / Corporate Board of Directors — benchmarks CEO-to-worker pay ratios across ~SP 500, covering 2016–2023
- Prison & Border Exclusion — identifies ~SP 200 companies with exposure to private prisons and detention facilities
All As You Sow datasets use human-curated research — analysts review primary sources including corporate disclosures, SEC filings, proxy statements, and direct company engagement rather than relying solely on automated data scraping.
- Primary source verification across all KPIs
- Consistent scoring frameworks applied across sectors
- Regular update cycles to capture policy and performance changes
- Methodology documentation available for all major datasets
Within the AYK platform, As You Sow data can be used to:
- Screen portfolios for racial justice and workforce equity performance
- Benchmark companies across sectors on environmental commitments
- Support stewardship, engagement, and proxy voting decisions
- Power values-based exclusion screens for ESG funds
- Track year-over-year corporate improvement or decline
- Build custom thematic research and client-facing reports
Access & availability
As You Sow datasets are available on the AYK platform as:
- Standalone thematic datasets by issue area, or
- An integrated component within broader ESG and governance analysis
Data provenance & disclaimer
Data on this page is sourced from As You Sow, an independent third-party research provider.
As You Know aggregates and distributes this data as provided, and does not independently verify, audit, or guarantee its accuracy, completeness, or fitness for any particular purpose. Users should conduct their own due diligence before making investment or business decisions based on this information.
For questions about methodology, contact As You Sow directly.
