DECEMBER 22, 2014: Trillium Asset Management (Trillium) has filed a shareholder proposal with ExxonMobil* (XOM) asking the company to amend its written equal employment opportunity policy to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and to substantially implement the policy. The proposal was co-filed with the New York State Comptroller’s office. Exxon merged with Mobil in 1999 and stripped away the LGBT non-discrimination policies that had been in place at Mobil. Trillium filed its first shareholder proposal with ExxonMobil on the issue in 2001. In 1995, Trillium was the first investment firm to sponsor a shareholder proposal …

December 2014: During the fourth quarter of 2014, Trillium Asset Management (Trillium) filed shareholder proposals related to board diversity with Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG), Citrix Systems (NASDAQ: CTXS), Discovery Communications (NASDAQ:DISCA) and eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY). Trillium is co-lead filer with Mercy Investment Services, Calvert Investments and Portico Benefits, an affiliate of the Lutheran Church on the proposal with Discovery Communications, with support from Boston Common Asset Management. The New York State Common Retirement Fund joined Trillium in filing at eBay with Pax World and the United Methodist Foundation joining as co-filers. Trillium believes that diversity, inclusive of gender, race and ethnicity, is …

December 19, 20014: Trillium Asset Management (Trillium) is pleased to commend eBay, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) for not renewing its membership in the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC has been on the forefront of attacks on state renewable energy programs and other legislative efforts to address climate change. Trillium began engaging eBay on its membership in this organization in January 2014 and is delighted eBay has joined the growing ranks of companies that have dropped their membership in ALEC. Since August alone, Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Yelp, AOL, and Yahoo have abandoned ALEC. As an investment firm that integrates environmental and social …

DECEMBER 2014: Following a productive dialogue between Trillium Asset Management and real estate developer, Forest City (NYSE: FCE.A) on the issue of workplace protections, Forest City amended its Equal Employment Opportunity policy to include gender identity and gender expression as protected categories. They company’s policy on now states: Forest City is committed in policy and practice to providing equal employment opportunities for all applicants and associates, based upon their training, experience and overall qualifications. Consistent with this commitment, discrimination against an applicant or associate based upon the individual’s race, color, creed, religion, sex, gender, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, …

Third-Party Benchmark Designed to Help Reduce Public Health & Environmental Risks from Chemical Exposure for Health Care Industry, Retail Stores, Socially Responsible Investors and other Stakeholders DECEMBER 8, 2014: A group of corporate and NGO leaders today released a new tool for assessing leadership in corporate chemicals management. The Chemical Footprint Project (CFP) provides the first-ever common metric of its kind for publicly benchmarking corporate chemicals management and profiling leadership companies. “You can’t manage what you don’t measure,” said Dr. Mark Rossi, Co-Director of the nonprofit Clean Production Action and Chair and Founder of BizNGO, who released the Chemical Footprint …

An Updated Guide to Personal Divestment and Reinvestment has just been published  On December 15, 2014, 350.org, Green Century Capital Management & Trillium Asset Management will host a webinar: Extracting Fossil Fuels from your Portfolio ℠: An UPDATED Guide to Personal Divestment and Reinvestment. To preserve our planet, scientists tell us we must reduce the amount of Co2 in the atmosphere from its current levels of 400 parts per million to below 350 ppm. 350 is more than a number — it’s a symbol of where we need to head as a planet. 350.org, Green Century Capital Management & Trillium …

Shareholders are concerned with decline in pollinators and risks to our food system DECEMBER 2, 2015 // BOSTON, MA: Shareholders, in collaboration with the Investor Environmental Health Network, who are concerned with the systemic risks of pesticide pollution and the decline in pollinators, have filed a shareholder proposal with PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP). The proposal asks the Company to publish a report that discusses options for policies to minimize impacts of pesticides in its supply chain. PepsiCo (“Pepsi” or “the Company”) is a major purchaser of corn, oats and potatoes — crop types that are routinely pre-treated with neonicotinoids (‘neonics’), a …

WASHINGTON, DC // NOVEMBER 20, 2014: Sustainable, responsible and impact investing (SRI) assets have expanded 76 percent in two years: from $3.74 trillion at the start of 2012 to $6.57 trillion at the start of 2014, according to the US SIF Foundation’s latest biennial survey, the Report on US Sustainable, Responsible and Impact Investing Trends 2014. As a result, assets managed with SRI strategies now account for more than one out of every six dollars under professional management in the United States. “The findings released today clearly demonstrate that investment decisions using sustainable, responsible and impact investing strategies are on …

NOVEMBER 2014 // BOSTON, MA: Shareholders, concerned about the negative financial, social and environmental impacts of unsustainable palm oil production including deforestation, human rights abuses and climate change, recently filed a shareholder proposal with YUM! Brands (NYSE: YUM) asking the company to prepare an annual public report demonstrating the extent to which Yum is curtailing the actual impact of its palm oil supply chain. Approximately 85% of palm oil is grown in Indonesia and Malaysia, where it is the leading driver of deforestation. Primarily due to forest and peatland conversion, Indonesia was ranked the 3rd largest emitter of greenhouse gases …

Investors and Stakeholders Present New Reporting Framework for Impact of Equity Engagement November 2014: The multi-stakeholder Impact of Equity Engagement (IE2) initiative released a new report revealing the positive outcomes of investor engagement on the environmental, social, and corporate governance practices of publicly traded companies. Investors often engage in the proxy process, dialogue, public policy advocacy, and assertive action with public companies. However, the report found that no standard method exists to date for demonstrating the impact of these activities. The report, which proposes a new reporting framework to track the impact of shareholder engagement, is available for download from: …