Microsoft vs. As You Sow, Explained – Market Realist

As You Sow is one of the top corporate watchdogs and shareholder advocates, right up there with Greenpeace, Certified B Corporation, and Human Rights Campaign.

The non-profit organization targeted Microsoft via a shareholder resolution in June 2021. The issue has to do with Microsoft’s rules for customers regarding device repair.

“Microsoft positions itself as a leader on climate and the environment, yet facilitates premature landfilling of its devices by restricting consumer access to device reparability,” As You Sow waste program coordinator Kelly McBee wrote, adding, “To take genuine action on sustainability and ease pressure on extraction of limited resources including precious metals, the company must extend the useful life of its devices by facilitating widespread access to repair.”