"Microsoft Leaves Lobbying Group ALEC Amid Split Over Renewables", 21 Aug 2014

Microsoft Corp. has left the American Legislative Exchange Council because of concerns about the lobbying group's opposition to renewable energy, a coalition of activist investor groups said. The Sustainability Group and Walden Asset Management...said Microsoft confirmed in e-mails that it's no longer a part of ALEC after the groups pressed the company to abandon it...ALEC has drafted model legislation for use in state legislatures to roll back renewable fuel standards across the country. Its members include ExxonMobil Corp., Peabody Energy Inc., American Electric Power Co. and Koch Industries...Bill Meierling, a spokesman for ALEC, said Microsoft left the organization..for budgetary reasons and not as a result of the group's positions on renewable energy...Greenpeace Senior IT Policy Analyst Gary Cook said...“Google, Facebook, eBay, Yahoo, Yelp and other technology companies that are currently still ALEC members would do well to learn from Microsoft's leadership”... Coca-Cola, General Motors, Bank of America and Procter & Gamble [have also left ALEC], according to Common Cause...after public exposure related to...[ALEC's advocacy of] issues such as restrictive voter ID requirements, anti-union measures and “Stand Your Ground” gun bills.