Vanguard is the world’s second largest investment management company, and top investor in fossil fuels globally – with nearly $268 billion in coal, oil, and gas.

With over $27 billion invested in Vanguard funds, Google is Vanguard’s largest corporate retirement client. Google’s Vanguard-managed retirement plan has more than $2 billion invested in fossil fuels. A study by the University of Waterloo found that Google’s 401(k) plan could have earned over $1 billion in additional returns if the company had divested from fossil fuels 10 years ago.

You have the power to call on Google to live up to its climate commitments by demanding a fossil-free retirement plan from Vanguard that protects our future, and threatening to take its business elsewhere should Vanguard refuse.

Once Vanguard starts feeling the heat from its largest corporate client, perhaps it will finally start to rethink whether fossil fuels are a worthwhile investment after all.

Email Google leadership with a copy to Vanguard now and tell them to stop financing the climate crisis.

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Google: Fix Your Funds

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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

I’m writing to you as a member of the public who is concerned about the threat that climate change poses to the global economy, frontline communities, and the future of the planet. 
 
Google is hailed as a climate leader in Big Tech, and as a company with strong ethical principles. You are also the largest corporate retirement client of Vanguard, a company which has shown no such commitment to doing the right thing. 
 
Vanguard is the world’s second largest asset manager, and top investor in fossil fuels globally[1] – with nearly $268 billion in coal, gas, and oil, including tar sands and Amazon oil. Google's Vanguard 401(k) retirement plan alone has more than $2 billion in fossil fuel exposure[2]. And in 2023, Vanguard voted 98% of the time against environmental and social shareholder resolutions, using Google employees’ Vanguard investments to vote against corporate action on climate risk[3]. 
 
Not only are fossil fuels harmful to communities and our climate, they are also a risky financial investment. As climate change worsens and the United Nations and International Energy Agency call for dramatic decarbonization by 2030, about half of the world’s fossil fuel assets are set to become worthless[4]. Climate risk is material risk, and large retirement plan managers like Vanguard must make systemic changes to their policies and portfolios to manage climate risk. 
 
As its largest 401(k) client, Google has a unique and important opportunity to hold Vanguard accountable. Doing so will help Google to align its retirement plan with its climate commitments, support your employees’ retirement savings, and safeguard our collective future. 
 
Please help lead the way: 
 
- Demand that Vanguard provide a fossil-free fund lineup within the Google LLC 401(k) Savings Plan, across asset classes (e.g., equities, fixed income), which includes fossil-free target date funds and a fossil-free default option. 
 
- Ensure these investments are affordable and accessible to plan participants, and that Google/Alphabet provides educational materials about how these investments manage long-term climate risk. 
 
- Publicly commit by December 2024 to offer a fossil-free 401(k) fund lineup, and if Vanguard refuses to offer one, work with another provider. 
 
- Encourage Big Tech to follow Google/Alphabet’s lead by providing fossil-free fund lineups for their employees. 
 
Thank you for your leadership and for urging Vanguard to do the right thing.

{user_data~First Name} {user_data~Last Name}
{user_data~Email Address}


[1] https://investinginclimatechaos.org
[2] https://investyourvalues.org/retirement-plans/google
[3] https://www.pionline.com/esg/vanguard-support-esg-shareholder-proposals-down-last-proxy-year
[4] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2021/nov/04/fossil-fuel-assets-worthless-2036-net-zero-transition

First Name, Last Name, Email and citations will be used as a sign-off on the petition. Example:

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[1] https://investinginclimatechaos.org

[2] https://investyourvalues.org/retirement-plans/google

[3] https://www.pionline.com/esg/vanguard-support-esg-shareholder-proposals-down-last-proxy-year

[4] https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2021/nov/04/fossil-fuel-assets-worthless-2036-net-zero-transition

Finance & Tech

Tell Google: Demand Fossil-Free 401(k) Options Now!

As a global leader in tech and one of the world’s most valuable companies, Google has both the power and the responsibility to tell Vanguard to do better.

Vanguard is the world’s second largest investment management company, and top investor in fossil fuels globally – with nearly $268 billion in coal, oil, and gas.

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Google: Fix Your Funds

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