Privacy is a Growing Concern for Investors
By Jonas Kron & Michael Connor (Published in the Winter 2014 Issue of Investing For a Better World) The high-stakes drama began to unfold in a Hong Kong hotel room last June. In the starring role was a 29-year-old computer whiz who had committed what TIME magazine called “the most spectacular heist in the history of spycraft.” The story has continued to develop in the months since with a steady drumbeat of news reports that have rocked the highest levels of government in the U.S. and around the world. The computer whiz is Edward Snowden, a former contactor for the …
Ceres Releases New Report: The SEC and Corporate Climate Change Reporting 2010-2013
February 10, 2014 / / BOSTON, MA: Ceres released a new report on Securities & Exchange Commission actions to improve corporate disclosure of material climate risks and opportunities, finding that the SEC has not prioritized this issue. The report, Cool Response: The SEC and Corporate Climate Change Reporting, surveyed SEC comment letters sent to companies since 2010, when the SEC recognized the financial impacts of climate change by issuing Interpretive Guidance on climate disclosure. It found that only three comment letters related to climate change were issued in 2012 and 2013, and 49 in 2010 and 2011, following the issuance …
US SIF Foundation Report: Unleashing the Potential of US Foundation Endowments
The US SIF Foundation recently published a report that assesses the current range and state of foundation involvement in sustainable and responsible investing (SRI) and offers practical steps that foundation staff and trustees can take to help their institutions align a broader portion of their assets with their programmatic or broader institutional goals. The appendix also provides resources which will be helpful to a broad range of foundations. The report, Unleashing the Potential of US Foundation Endowments: Using Responsible Investment to Strengthen Endowment Oversight and Enhance Impact, can be viewed and downloaded here. …
Trillium Job Opening: Research Analyst – Information Technology & Telecom Sectors
Trillium Asset Management, LLC is the oldest investment advisor exclusively focused on sustainable and responsible investing (SRI).We believe that environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors play an integral role in the investment process, which can lower portfolio risk and help identify the best-managed companies. Our firm manages multiple investment strategies, including All Cap Core, Fossil Fuel Free, Growth and Income, Large Cap Core, SMID Cap Core, and Sustainable Opportunities. Research Analyst responsible for the Information Technology and Telecom sectors Principal Responsibilities Research, analyze, and recommend publicly traded, alpha generating investments in the Information Technology and Telecom sectors to Trillium’s Portfolio …
Investors Call on Olympic Sponsors to End Their Silence, Defend Russian LGBT Rights
February 6, 2014: New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, as trustee of the $160.7 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund, along with New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer and a coalition of 19 investors, released letters written to four major corporate sponsors of the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia that failed to respond to an earlier request they use their influence to ensure the protection of the human rights of Russian citizens, as well as athletes and visitors to the Olympics. The letters follow an initial outreach to ten companies in December regarding Russia’s recently enacted …
Achieving Positive ESG Impact with Market Rate Fixed Income Investments
By: Cheryl I. Smith, Ph.D., CFA and Randy Rice Every investment across every asset class has social and environmental impacts—positive and negative. That goes as much for investments that fail to take environmental, social or governance issues into consideration as to those that explicitly pursue sustainability, corporate responsibility, or positive social and environmental impact. A well-diversified portfolio holds investments diversified across several asset classes, including (but not necessarily limited to) equity (stock), fixed income (bonds) and cash. Investments within each asset class are expected to behave similarly with respect to such economic variables as changing interest rates, rates of economic …
Trillium Successfully Withdraws Greenhouse Gas Shareholder Resolution at Valmont Industries
February 4, 2014: Trillium Asset Management is pleased to announce that we have successfully withdrawn a shareholder proposal at Valmont Industries, Inc. (NYSE: VMI) following commitments from the company to improve disclosures of measurement around greenhouse gas reduction initiatives. The company has agreed to establish and report an emissions baseline for its coatings division by December 31, 2015. Valmont will also provide more contextual information on its goals to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions as reported in their Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) report. These commitments focus on the company’s coatings operations – their most carbon intensive business segment. Trillium …
Highlander Research and Education Center: Fostering Democracy for Generations to Come
By Pam McMichael, Executive Director, Highlander Center “Highlander has been an anchor for almost every major social justice movement in this country. From labor rights to civil rights, from environmental justice to immigrant justice, Highlander has been at the forefront of social justice work for 75 years.” – The Honorable John Lewis, United States Representative The Highlander Research and Education Center serves as a beacon for progressive community organizing and grassroots leadership development — across race and generations. We work with communities in the South and across the nation to connect people, and develop skills and organizing strategies to increase …
NY Times: Foundations Band Together to Get Rid of Fossil-Fuel Investments
The New York Times recently published an article about the increased attention that foundations are giving their fossil fuel investments. Diane Caldwell writes: “Seventeen foundations controlling nearly $1.8 billion in investments have united to commit to pulling their money out of companies that do business in fossil fuels, the group plans to announce on Thursday. The move is a victory for a developing divestiture campaign that has found success largely among small colleges and environmentally conscious cities, but has not yet won over the wealthiest institutions like Harvard, Brown and Swarthmore. But the participation of the foundations, including the Russell …
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