St.Louis activist groups say they're planning several protests this week against Peabody Energy.
Earlier this week activists hung a banner on a Peabody Energy and United Way billboard that read "Dirty Coal Dirty Money".
And activists joined student groups on Tuesday to protest at Washington University, saying the school had too cozy of a relationship with Peabody.
Arielle Klagsbrun is helping to organize this week's demonstrations.
"Coal is dying in the United States, they're third quarters profits were just release and they're down 84%,” Klagsbrun said. “ They're trying to ship coal to China, the most dangerous thing we could do is ship coal overseas where's going to be burned more and more."
In a statement, Washington University says it respects students' right to express their opinions.
Peabody Energy also released a statement saying:
"It is offensive for any activist group to deface property or suggest that major local institutions are beholden to the thousands of individuals and businesses donating to them. Peabody Energy gave more than $5 million in philanthropic contributions in and around the St. Louis region in 2011 with no strings attached. Our employees gave their time, talent and treasure to myriad nonprofit organizations. Peabody Energy is invested in making St. Louis a better place to live, because improving quality of life is core to what we do. We are proud to offer real solutions for our energy needs. Coal is clean, abundant, affordable, and uniquely American. Missouri gets 80% of its energy from coal, so we pay a fraction of the energy costs of other states. Emissions from coal have been dramatically reduced, even as American coal use has tripled in the past four decades. And Peabody is a global leader in sustainable mining and clean coal technology. We are proud to continue to call downtown St. Louis home. And we are proud to provide thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in taxes and royalties to support improved schools, services and lifestyles around the world."
Klagsbrun says the negative environmental impact of CO2 produced from burning Peabody coal out weights the company's philanthropic efforts.
"You know, it's not enough for Peabody to put its name on the opera house or chair the United Way campaign. Because it's going to be my generation and the generations that come after me that are going to be dealing with this mess that's Peabody's making,” Klagbrun said.