A study by sociologist Sarah Soule and another follow up study co-authored with Professor of Business Mary-Hunter McDonald, find that activists who buy shares as a way of pressuring companies to be more environmentally responsible, have great outcomes.

“….The more activists protested, the more corporations responded. And while activists couldn’t count on winning short-term battles, simply engaging with corporations created change. In these instances, shareholder activism brings attention to issues. The companies respond in part to help move those issues onto a platform that they can control, such as their own social responsibility committee or publishing a report on a particular topic”

Source: Stanford University