Tractor Supply Takes Action to Phase out ‘Neonic’ Pesticides
Boston, MA // May 30, 2018 – Trillium Asset Management commends Tractor Supply Company (NASDAQ :TSCO), the largest retailer of rural lifestyle stores, for providing in its recently published 2017 Stewardship Report clear disclosure and strategies to eliminate bee harming neonicotinoid (“neonic”) pesticides in its products and supply chain. In March, Trillium and Clean Yield Asset Management successfully withdrew a shareholder proposal asking the company to report on risks of selling pesticide-containing products linked to pollinator decline. Farms and backyard gardens maintained by Tractor Supply customers may provide important safe havens for pollinators. A typical farm or garden owner shopping …
Letter to Travelers Shareholders: Vote Yes for Workplace Diversity Proposal
May 18, 2018 // Boston, MA – Trillium Asset Management published a letter to Travelers Companies (NYSE: TRV) shareholders encouraging them to vote in favor of a proposal on the Company’s 2018 proxy. This proposal requests the company to disclose workforce diversity metrics as well as a description of policies and programs focused on increasing gender and racial diversity in the workplace. The letter provides the following rationale for voting ‘Yes’: 1. Travelers does not disclose any quantitative workforce diversity data 2. Evidence finds that greater workforce diversity may lead to better business outcomes 3. Providing detailed workforce information may …
ESG Reporting Proposal at Middleby Receives Majority Vote
May 14, 2018 // Boston, MA: During The Middleby Corporation’s (NASDAQ: MIDD) recent annual meeting, shareholders sent a strong message to management when Trillium’s shareholder proposal on corporate sustainability reporting received a 57.2% vote. The proposal asked Middleby to issue a report discussing its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies and performance, including a discussion of climate change management. The link between strong sustainability management and value creation is increasingly evident. The University of Oxford and Arabesque Partners recently reviewed 200 studies on sustainability and corporate performance and concluded 90 percent of studies show “sound sustainability standards lower the cost …
Letter to FRB Shareholders: Vote Yes for Workplace Diversity Proposal
April 27, 2018 // Boston, MA – Trillium Asset Management published a letter to First Republic Bank shareholders encouraging them to vote in favor of a proposal on the Company’s 2018 proxy. This proposal requests the company to disclose workforce diversity metrics as well as a description of policies and programs focused on increasing gender and racial diversity in the workplace. The letter provides the following rationale for voting ‘Yes’: First Republic Bank’s diversity disclosures are vague and insufficient Evidence finds that greater workforce diversity may lead to better business outcomes The Proposal’s request is not cost prohibitive Read the …
Richard Ferlauto Posthumously Awarded the 2018 Bavaria Award for Lifelong Leadership in Corporate Governance
April 27, 2018// Boston, MA – Richard Ferlauto, co-founder of the 50/50 Climate Project and a former Deputy Director at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, has been posthumously awarded the prestigious Joan Bavaria Award for Building Sustainability into the Capital Markets. The announcement was made Wednesday, April 25th, at the Ceres Conference 2018 at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston. The award is given annually by the sustainability nonprofit organization Ceres and the Boston-based investment firm Trillium Asset Management to honor inspiring global leaders working to move capital markets toward a system that balances economic prosperity with social and environmental issues. …
Letter to Facebook Shareholders: Vote Yes for Risk Oversight Proposal
April 23, 2018 // Boston, MA – Trillium Asset Management published a letter to Facebook’s shareholders encouraging them to vote in favor of a shareholder proposal on the Company’s 2018 proxy. This proposal requests Facebook’s Board issue a report on the merits of establishing a Risk Oversight Board Committee. We believe this proposal represents an important corporate governance reform that would enhance big picture risk oversight mechanisms while helping protect shareholder value. The letter provides the following rationale for voting ‘Yes’: The sheer volume, magnitude, and frequency of Facebook’s controversies strongly suggests that the company’s whack-a-mole approach is insufficient – …
Letter to Middleby Shareholders: Vote Yes for ESG Reporting Proposal
Boston, MA // April 17, 2018 – Trillium Asset Management has published a letter to shareholders of The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ: MIDD) urging them to vote in favor of a shareholder proposal on the company’s 2018 proxy card. The shareholder proposal asks Middleby to issue a report discussing its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) policies and performance, including a discussion of climate change management. Our rationale for voting “Yes” is based on the following key points: Middleby last discussed ESG performance in 2010, which does not reflect its operations in 2018. The field of sustainability reporting and peers’ performance have …
Trillium Successfully Withdraws Board Diversity Proposal at LogMeIn
Boston, MA // April 13, 2018 – Trillium Asset Management is pleased to announce that it has successfully withdrawn a shareholder proposal at software and service provider LogMeIn, Inc. (NASDAQ: LOGM) following the Company’s agreement to enhance disclosures regarding Board diversity in its corporate governance documents and proxy statement. Importantly, we also commend the company for appointing Sara Andrews to its Board of Directors this month. Sara brings extensive background in risk management and cybersecurity, and a diverse perspective to the Board. When LogMeIn merged in January, 2017 with GetGo, Inc, a former subsidiary of Citrix Systems the company tripled …
Economic & Market Outlook Now Available: First Quarter 2018
April 12, 2018 // Boston, MA – Investors and economists are expressing increasingly divergent opinions about the direction of markets and the economy, as they struggle to evaluate the looming risks of softening growth, rising inflation, and emerging trade conflict. In our last Outlook, we noted that the tax reform plan would clearly increase corporate earnings, but we questioned whether it would have any significant effect on broader economic growth. In January, investors enthusiastically incorporated early information about tax-related earnings increases, driving up U.S. stock prices and elevating valuations. By the end of January, these tax-related earnings boosts were fully …
Barron’s Covers Shareholder Proposal Filed at Facebook
Boston, MA // April 4, 2018 – Barron’s and the Financial Times recently discussed Trillium’s risk oversight committee shareholder proposal filed at social networking service company Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) in October 2017. “[Facebook] needs to build a system for meaningful oversight into its DNA, and avoid the constant, reactive, whack-a-mole approach we’ve seen”, said Jonas Kron, Director of Shareholder Advocacy, in response to recent demand from Facebook investors to manage and monitor risks. The shareholder resolution asks the Company to issue a report discussing the merits of establishing a Risk Oversight Board Committee. Establishing such a committee would foster an integrated, …
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