Activist investor Carl Icahn broadens animal welfare campaign at Kroger
(Reuters) – Kroger Co stated on Tuesday Carl Icahn nominated two administrators to the grocery store chain’s board, because the billionaire investor expands his marketing campaign for company America to sort out environmental, social and governance (ESG) points.
A month after taking over McDonald’s Corp over the remedy of pigs, Icahn is increasing the battle past animal welfare to incorporate specializing in what he calls “egregious wage gaps” between Kroger’s chief government officer and cashiers, inventory clerks and others.
The activist investor wrote a letter to Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen on Tuesday, stating the grocery store chain’s lack of ability to create insurance policies regarding animal welfare and criticizing its wage disparities.
In response to Icahn’s letter, Kroger stated that it prioritizes ESG issues and the board, together with its committees, instantly oversee its animal welfare methods.
Kroger added that whereas it was circuitously concerned in elevating or processing of any animals, the corporate has established a framework to obviously outline its insurance policies, requirement and practices, together with its Animal Welfare Coverage that hopes all suppliers transition away from gestation crates by 2025.
Icahn nominated Alexis Fox and Margarita Paláu-Hernández to face for election to Kroger’s board, throughout the firm’s 2022 annual assembly.
Fox is the co-founder of Lighter, a startup that focuses on plant-based food plan, whereas Paláu-Hernández is the founder and chief government at Hernandez Ventures, a non-public agency concerned in Spanish-language media, enterprise and actual property ventures.
The grocery store stated it’s going to overview the proposed nominees and current its formal suggestions.
Icahn beforehand made an identical push at McDonald’s in February, nominating two members to its board in an escalating struggle over the remedy of pigs by the burger chain’s suppliers.
(Reporting by Ananya Mariam Rajesh and Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru and Svea Herbst in Boston; Extra reporting by Radhika Anilkumar; Enhancing by Shounak Dasgupta and Rashmi Aich)
