Congress: Companies Must Account for Conflict Minerals
Susan Baker Its wealth is unearthed by the poor, controlled by the strong, then sold to a world largely oblivious to its origin. So reads the “African natural resource curse” – a paradox of plenty. In few African nations has this curse brought greater conflict and environmental damage than in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). When perpetrators of the genocide in Rwanda crossed the border, battles escalated with rebels and foreign armies for control of valuable mineral deposits. In Africa’s Eastern Congo and neighboring Uganda and Rwanda, the extraction and transport of “conflict minerals” – tin, tungsten, tantalum (the …
Hanging Out with Oliver Stone, Looking for Answers
Milton Moskowitz If Karl Marx was still living, I think he would probably be invited to ring the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange or at NASDAQ. Or, more likely, the Hong Kong or Shanghai stock markets. And why not? His penetrating analysis of capitalism’s tendency to self-destruct might well have inspired some Wall Street traders to anticipate the financial crisis of the past two years. Dialectical materialisms certainly did not hinder Russia and China from creating huge capitalist corporations. On Monday, September 20, the film director Oliver Stone strode into NASDAQ’s site in the heart of Times …
Making a Difference from Behind a Desk
Catherine Pargeter After completing a graduate program in environmental science and management in 2006, most of my class was off to desk jobs in offices. Lucky were the ones who found a job that let them be outside for at least some part of the day. And then there was me. I grabbed my backpack and volunteered for three years with the U.S. Peace Corps. My village was in the Chikwawa district of southern Malawi. Surrounding the national park where I worked were vast sugar cane fields, with the headquarters of the sugar company 20 kilometers away. It was an …
It’s the End of the World as We Know It (With Apologies to R.E.M.)
Much of what’s confounding about our wayward financial markets today can be explained, I think, by reference to the chart below. It plots the price level of the S&P 500 from the early 1960s through today. If you look at the red, upward-sloping line on the chart you’ll see that from late 1974 to late 2007, this trend line captures much of the market’s progress for the 34-year period. Of course, it’s not point-for-point accurate. The market accelerated at a steeper pitch above the trend line in the mid-1980s. The Crash of 1987, however, brought the market right back to …
Dear Reader
Matthew W. Patksy, CFA, CEO As I sit down to write this column having just returned from South Africa, I am reminded of the key reason I entered the field of socially responsible investing over two decades ago. It was (and is) my deep belief that the capital markets could be leveraged for positive social and environmental impact. To that end, it is clear that the international divestment movement had dramatic impact on the South African economy and helped to bring down the government that had developed the system of apartheid. I traveled to South Africa as part of a …
Investors Call on 3M and Pentair to Review Political Contributions Policies
Trillium Asset Management Corporation, Walden Asset Management and Domini Social Investments issued a press release calling on Pentair and 3M Corporation to adopt emerging best practices of political contribution policies in light of recent controversies over political donations. The press release was issued in conjunction with shareholder proposals filed at Pentair and 3M asking the companies’ Board of Directors to prepare a report on policies and procedures for political expenditures and accounting of all political contributions. Click here to read the article from the Minneapolis Star Tribune Click here to read the press release …
Trillium Joins Investors Opposing California Proposition 23
Trillium Asset Management Corporation joined Ceres and a coalition of 68 investors urging California voters to oppose Proposition 23. This ballot initiative would halt implementation of the state’s landmark, bipartisan clean energy law, AB32. Trillium opposes the proposition on the grounds that it will eliminate the market signals necessary for safe investment into clean technology, hurt job growth in California, inhibit energy price savings and stability, and have a negative impact on citizen’s health and quality of life. Please click here to see the Press release from Ceres. …
Investor Pressure Moves Toyota Affiliate to Divest from Joint Venture with Burmese Regime
Trillium Asset Management, along with Domini Social Investments and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, issued a press release today commending Toyota Motors for influencing their affiliate Toyota Tsusho (TTC) on the divestment of their ownership stake in Myanmar Suzuki Motor. The vehicle assembly plant was jointly controlled by the Burmese military regime. Trillium has been in dialogue with Toyota since 2007 on this issue. Click here to read the press release. Click here to read a news article from Reuters. …
Trillium joins Ceres, Other Investors to Press Energy Companies to Better Disclose Spill Prevention and Response Plans for Deepwater Wells Worldwide
In the wake of the largest oil spill in the nation’s history resulting from the explosion on the Deep Horizon oil rig, Trillium has joined over 50 U.S. and other global investors in sending letters to major energy companies asking the companies to disclose information regarding their risk oversight measures, including spill prevention and response plans, for their own offshore oil operations around the world. A second letter, sent to 26 insurance companies that provide insurance for offshore drilling activity, asks whether the companies are considering adjustments to their overall exposure to offshore oil and gas operations, or considering changes in …
Target, Best Buy Receive Shareholder Proposals Addressing Controversial Political Contributions
August 19, 2010 (Boston) – Trillium Asset Management Corporation, along with Walden Asset Management and Calvert Asset Management Company, has filed shareholder proposals this week at Target and Best Buy, which are under fire for making sizable political contributions to a group channeling funds to a Minnesota gubernatorial candidate known for his opposition to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights. Click here to read the press release. Click here to read the proposal filed at Best Buy Co., Inc. Click here to read the proposal filed at Target Corporation. …
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