Forbes: Apple CEO Tim Cook Is ‘Not Satisfied’ With Employee Diversity
Forbes contributor, Amit Chowdry, writes: “Apple (AAPL) recently released its employee diversity report and the numbers are fairly consistent with other tech companies in Silicon Valley. Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged that he is ‘not satisfied’ with the numbers and will focus on ‘advancing diversity.’… Even though Apple is hiring more females for executive positions nowadays, the percentage of males in leadership roles is still 72%. As a result, Apple was criticized by shareholders Trillium Asset Management LLC and the Sustainability Group about its lack of diversity within the board of directors. When the complaint was filed in January, former …
Investors Applaud Amgen and Novartis for Support of Investor Principles on Biosimilars
Twenty-five pharmaceutical companies are being asked to adopt common principles regarding biosimilars on patient safety, lobbying and business partnerships. DETROIT, MI // Aug. 11, 2014: A coalition of 19 institutional investors representing $430 billion in assets commends Amgen and Novartis for support of a set of investor principles to guide corporate boards on policy and oversight responsibilities related to biosimilar activities. The principles, included in the coalition’s Investor Statement on Board Oversight of Biosimilar Issues, call on boards to ensure that information provided to policymakers on patient safety is balanced, investor dollars used for political lobbying is aligned with shareholder …
Winter Issue of ‘Investing For a Better World’ is Available to Download
The winter 2014 issue of Trillium’s newsletter, Investing For a Better World, is now available to download. Articles in this issue include: Privacy is a Growing Concern for Investors Matt Patsky: Dear Reader Highlander Research and Education Center: Fostering Democracy for Generations Achieving Positive ESG Impact with Market Rate Fixed Income Investments Endo Health Solutions Exits ALEC Apple Updates Bylaws to Clarify Diversity Commitment Trillium Withdraws Shareholder Proposal at Church & Dwight …
Dear Reader: Fall 2013
By Matthew W. Patsky, CFA The SRI industry can point to an ever-growing list of shared victories as we move corporations toward more sustainable business practices. In the Fall 2013 issue of Investing For a Better World you can read about Trillium’s community engagement with residents of Mossville, LA in their quest for environmental justice. Following the publication of Total Portfolio Activation (TPA), a white paper which was commissioned by Trillium and Tides last year, an increasing numbers of SRI investors are grappling with where to place public equity investments (stocks) within the growing impact investing field. TPA provides concrete …
Dear Reader: Summer 2013
Matt Patsky, CFA, CEO, Trillium Asset Management In the past year or so, following Bill McKibben’s compelling Rolling Stone article, Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math, there has been a renewed focus on this issue of climate change in the Sustainable and Responsible Investing (SRI) industry. There is broad consensus that our planet is warming and that humans, through the burning of fossil fuels, are significant contributors. In 2009, 167 countries signed the Copenhagen Accord, agreeing that, in order to prevent catastrophic environmental damage, actions must be taken to prevent the temperature from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius. It is …
Fugitive Methane Shareholder Proposals Receive Strong Support from Investors
Spectra Energy, Oneok, and Range Resources shareholders call for greater transparency into the environmental profile of natural gas; Range responds with an aggressive attack on shareholder rights. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 23, 2013: A series of strong shareholder votes have sent a clear message that natural gas companies must do much more to address fugitive methane leakage and management. Shareholder proposals asking Houston-based Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE), Tulsa-based Oneok (NYSE: OKE), and Fort Worth-based Range Resources (NYSE: RRC) to issue reports on how they are managing high-climate-change-impact methane emissions have received favorable votes from company shareholders: 35.4%, 38.2%, and 21.7% …
SJF Ventures Raises $90MM Third Fund, Tripling Size of Previous Fund
DURHAM, N.C., NEW YORK, and SAN FRANCISCO, May 2, 2013: SJF Ventures conducted the final closing on its third fund with more than $90MM in capital commitments, tripling the size of the previous $28MM second fund. The target for SJF Ventures III was $75MM and the fund was substantially oversubscribed at its final April closing. “We are honored that so many investors choose to join our partnership,” said David Kirkpatrick, SJF Managing Director and Co-Founder. “We are particularly excited that a wide variety of bank, insurance, foundation, family office, pension, mutual fund, and individual investors have recognized that SJF’s impact …
Phil Angelides, a Leader in Shareholder Activism and Green Investment, Wins 2013 Joan Bavaria Award
SAN FRANCISCO, CA // May 1, 2013 – Phil Angelides has been awarded the fifth-annual Joan Bavaria Award for Building Sustainability into the Capital Markets. The announcement was made today, the first day of the annual Ceres Conference, which is running May 1-2 at The Fairmont in San Francisco, CA. Angelides is currently President of Riverview Capital Investments, a real estate investment firm which focuses on clean energy projects and sustainable urban development. From 1999 to 2007, he served as California’s State Treasurer. During his eight years in elected office, Angelides called for a renewed push in shareholder activism and …
Shareholders Target Verizon’s Threat to Open Internet
Proposal to Be Considered at Shareholder Vote on May 2 April 30, 2013 // New York, NY: Shareholders of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) this week will consider a proposal which asks the company to report on business risks to the company stemming from its opposition to open Internet and network neutrality principles. The proposal will be voted on at Verizon’s annual meeting in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Thursday, May 2. Net neutrality is the principle that all Internet traffic should be treated equally and that Internet Service Providers cannot block, speed up or slow down content based on its source, ownership …
Spectra Energy Shareholder Proposal on Methane Emissions Receives Strong Support from Shareholders
April 30, 2013: A shareholder proposal asking Spectra Energy Corp. (NYSE: SE) to issue a report about how the company is managing methane emissions received 35.3% of the votes cast by the shareholders at the company’s annual meeting today. The vote far surpasses the 3% threshold that is required by the SEC for inclusion in next year’s proxy voting. The proposal was filed by Trillium Asset Management, LLC (Trillium) on behalf of the Sierra Club Foundation and Paul Katz and co-filed by The Benedictine Sisters of Virginia, Friends Fiduciary Corporation, and Zevin Asset Management. Methane is the primary component of …
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