January 11, 2017 // Boston, MA – In November 2016, Trillium Asset Management joined over 300 investors and companies as signatories of the “Business Backs Low-Carbon USA” letter urging the incoming administration and elected leaders to support the Paris Climate Agreement and public policy helping to advance a low-carbon economy.  Yesterday, ahead of the incoming administration, the statement was re-released after the number of signatories grew to 637 investors and companies. The letter calls for U.S. leaders to support the following: “With tens of billions of dollars of U.S. renewable energy investment in the works this year alone, and far …

December 30, 2016 // Boston, MA: Bloomberg recently published a story on four shareholder proposals filed by Trillium Asset Management on minimum wage reform in its Sustainable Finance newsletter. This Fall, Trillium re-filed shareholder proposals at Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. and TJX Companies alongside Zevin Asset Management. The shareholder proposals asked each company to adopt and publish principles addressing minimum wage reform. Trillium also filed a new shareholder proposal at Home Depot on minimum wage reform and joined Zevin as co-filer on a shareholder proposal filed at CVS Health on this issue. Alicia Ritcey writes: “Investors including Trillium Asset Management …

December 29, 2016 // Boston, MA – Yesterday, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued Interpretive Bulletin 2016-1 on Shareholder Rights, recognizing the importance of proxy voting and fiduciaries engaging portfolio companies on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters. The Department emphasized that “proxies should be voted” and that shareholder engagement on “the nature of long-term business plans including plans on climate change preparedness and sustainability”, “diversity”, and “policies and practices to address environmental or social factors that have an impact on shareholder value” are appropriate. In response, Trillium Asset Management’s Director of Shareholder Advocacy, Jonas Kron released the following statement: …

The Winter 2017 issue of Investing for a Better World ® is now available for download. Investing for a Better World ® is Trillium’s biannual newsletter highlighting our approach to sustainable and responsible investing as well as the impact of our shareholder advocacy work. Articles in this issue include: Thinking Capital℠ by CEO Matt Patsky: Visit to Singapore and Post-Election Views Shareholder Advocacy: J.B. Hunt Commits to Expanding Workplace Protection and Policies Public Policy & Long-Term Business Growth Trillium Develops New Product-Specific Impact Reports New White Paper: Integrating LGBT Issues into Total Portfolio Activation Spotlight: Plymouth Church UCC Seattle Invests in Justice     Download the issue here. If you would …

December 8, 2016// Boston, MA: Given the many potential and real challenges to our work from the incoming Administration, we believe it is important for investors to provide clear policy direction that supports sustainable economic growth. Three critically important areas that Trillium will be working on include: Inclusiveness, climate change, and economic inequality. Much of our advocacy work over the last few years has focused on these areas and we believe it will be even more important to continue engagement with companies and policy-makers on these core issues. Inclusiveness: We have been particularly active in encouraging protection of LGBT rights …

Boston, MA// November 22, 2016: Trillium Asset Management along with approximately 365 businesses and investors have organized a statement urging the incoming Trump administration and global leaders to continue support of the Paris Climate Agreement. The statement was announced at a press conference during the COP22 climate negotiations last week in Marrakech, Morocco. Signatories of the statement range from Fortune 500 firms such as Unilever, a multinational consumer goods company, to smaller organizations such as As You Sow, a nonprofit organization that promotes environmental and social corporate responsibility through the tools of shareholder advocacy. “The enormous momentum generated by the …

Boston, MA // November 18, 2016: The below commentary was authored by Jack Robinson, Trillium’s Vice Chair and Portfolio Manager. In November, Jack received an invitation to visit Block Island Wind Farm by Deepwater Wind, a developer of offshore wind energy projects. As America’s first offshore wind farm, the project will supply clean power for the majority of Block Island, Rhode Island. We believe that climate change is the defining investment issue of our time. In the March 2016 edition of Extracting Fossil Fuels from Your Portfolio Guide, a paper authored by 350.org, Green Century Capital Management, and Trillium, we …

Boston, MA // November 16, 2016: Trillium commends Palo Alto Networks (NYSE: PANW), a network and enterprise security company, for appointing Mary Pat McCarthy, the first woman director to serve on the company’s Board. Ms. McCarthy, former vice chair of KPMG LLP, brings a diverse perspective and deep skill set in finance, risk management, and business strategy to the company. In 2015, Trillium successfully withdrew its Board Diversity shareholder proposal at Palo Alto following the company’s agreement to institutionalize a commitment to board diversity inclusive of gender, race, and ethnicity in its Corporate Governance Guidelines, Charter of the Nominating and Corporate …

Boston, MA // November 14, 2016: Trillium Asset Management sponsored the US SIF Foundation’s biennial Report on US Sustainable, Responsible and Impact Investing Trends 2016 which was released today. The report found that sustainable, responsible and impact investing assets now account for $8.72 trillion, or one in five dollars invested under professional management in the U.S. The biennial Trends Report—first conducted in 1995 when ESG assets totaled $639 billion—provides comprehensive data on US asset managers and institutional investors using one or more sustainable investment strategies and examines a broad range of significant ESG issues such as climate change, human rights, weapons …