Trillium's Q2 2012 Market Commentary
In hindsight it seems our outlook three months ago was too sanguine about both US job growth and the ever-simmering troubles in Europe. Both overtook the headlines during the second quarter and at one point pulled down the S&P 500 a full 10% from its early April peak—thus qualifying as an official market “correction.” As valid as investor concerns may have been, it’s also worth recalling that the S&P was up 30% from October of last year to the April high of this year. Some digestive backing and filling was in order. Despite those concerns, the market rallied off its …
Citizens Groups Rally Behind Trillium, Green Century Resolutions
We’re willing to bet that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) doesn’t often draw picketers, but on March 26, a group organized under the banner of the Coalition for Accountability in Political Spending (or CAPS)1 stood outside the SEC’s normally quiet offices and demanded the swift implementation of a proposal requiring publicly traded companies to disclose details of the agency’s political spending. Two weeks earlier, at a press conference broadcast on C-Span, a coalition of citizens groups2 announced plans to transform this year’s stockholder meetings into a “shareholder spring” of protest against corporate involvement in politics. Bob Edgar, president of …
Trillium Asset Management Solicits Shareholder Support for “No Political Spending” Proposals at Bank of America, 3M
As the annual stockholder meetings of 3M and Bank of America approach next week, Trillium Asset Management has reached out to shareholders seeking their support for our shareholder proposals at the two companies. The proposals call upon the companies to cease making all types of political contributions, both directly and indirectly through third-party vehicles. Read the full press release here. …
New Investor Advisory Raises Questions About Proposed Open Pit Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska
Earthworks, an environmental nonprofit, has recently published a report that details the growing list of regulatory, legal, engineering, and political challenges facing the Pebble Mine project. The proposed open pit mine would be located at the headwaters of the Bristol Bay watershed, which produces 50 percent of the world’s commercial supply of wild sockeye salmon. “Opposition to the Pebble mine project has translated into a barrage of legal, political and regulatory hurdles over the last year,” said Jonas Kron, an analyst with Trillium Asset Management, who reviewed the report. “After scrutinizing the project details, we believe there are significant risks …
Trillium Wins Significant Victory in Net Neutrality Fight
Trillium Asset Management and other socially responsible investors have won a significant victory in the fight for net neutrality. After years of denial, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ruled that investors will have the opportunity to press Internet Service Providers (ISPs) AT&T, Verizon and Sprint to adopt policies that would insure their neutral handling of all Internet content regardless of the sender, recipient or nature of the content. The companies had sought to block shareholders from voting on the proposals by arguing, among other things, that network neutrality was not a “significant public policy issue.” The SEC rejected that …
Trillium Urges Washington State Corporations to Support Marriage Equality Legislation
On January 27, 2012, Trillium Asset Management, LLC and seven other institutional investors wrote to 18 companies based, or with a strong presence, in Washington State, to encourage them to support legislation allowing lesbian and gay couples to marry. The letter states, “We believe it is not only the right thing to do, but that it is smart business practice that enhances competitiveness in attracting and retaining employees from the widest possible talent pool.” Washington-based employers such as Concur, Group Health, Microsoft, RealNetworks, Starbucks and Vulcan and other employers such as Alcoa, Google and Nike have recently endorsed Washington’s marriage …
On 2nd Anniversary of Citizens United, Trillium, Green Century Capital Management & Advocacy Groups Launch Drive to Stem Corporate Political Spending
On the second anniversary of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, Trillium Asset Management, LLC and Green Century Capital Management announce that they have filed shareholder resolutions at three companies, Bank of America, 3M & Target Corporation, urging them to refrain from making political donations in the future. This is the first time institutional shareholders have asked corporations to entirely refrain from political spending. Read more here …
Trillium One of 70 Business Amici to Challenge DOMA
Boston, November 2011 — Trillium Asset Management, LLC was proud to be listed among 70 major employers listed on an amicus brief in support of Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, a challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) filed by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD). The brief addresses the burdens on business caused by DOMA, such as how it forces employers to treat employees with same-sex spouses disadvantageously compared to other married employees and imposes extra costs. Aetna, National Grid, Chubb, Google and Time Warner were some of the 60 other businesses represented by the brief, which was also signed by …
Statement on Occupy Wall Street
November 2011 Trillium Asset Management, LLC is the oldest independent US investment firm dedicated to sustainable investing. Sustainability is a concept used to describe social systems — whether a family, a corporation or a society as a whole. A social system is sustainable when it is economically vital, environmentally responsible, and socially equitable. Each of these qualities partly depends on the other two, and all of them flourishing together and in balance are necessary for a social system to be truly sustainable. We agree with essential themes emerging from Occupy Wall Street (OWS). The rallying cry of OWS is: “We …
Seasonal Wrap-up: Trillium's 2011 Engagement Highlights
Trillium Asset Management, LLC, a Boston-based pioneer in the field of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, reported out today on the results of its 2011 proxy season engagements with nearly two dozen major U.S. corporations. (For a full listing of our 2011 Shareholder Proposals, scroll to the end of the page.) “A good portion of our dialogues and resolutions resulted in agreements with companies to improve policies and provide more transparency,” said Matthew Patsky, CEO of Trillium. “Both are helpful in assessing the environmental, social and governance risks and their financial impact on shareholders.” Trillium’s ESG program addressed a …
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