Citizens Groups Rally Behind Trillium, Green Century Resolutions
We’re willing to bet that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) doesn’t often draw picketers, but on March 26, a group organized under the banner of the Coalition for Accountability in Political Spending (or CAPS)1 stood outside the SEC’s normally quiet offices and demanded the swift implementation of a proposal requiring publicly traded companies to disclose details of the agency’s political spending. Two weeks earlier, at a press conference broadcast on C-Span, a coalition of citizens groups2 announced plans to transform this year’s stockholder meetings into a “shareholder spring” of protest against corporate involvement in politics. Bob Edgar, president of …
As Citizens Protest 3M meeting, Investors Challenge Company Leaders on Political Spending
May 8, 2012 Contact: Mary Boyle – Common Cause (202) 736-5770 MINNEAPOLIS – Institutional shareholders and citizen activists challenged Minneapolis-based 3M Corp’s, political spending on Tuesday, urging the company to end its political giving and disclose its expenditures on lobbying. As investor representatives inside 3M’s annual shareholders’ meeting spoke in favor of two political spending measures on the company’s proxy, activists outside rallied in support of political spending reform at the manufacturing giant. “It’s time for 3M corporate leadership to stop using our company’s general treasury money as a political slush fund. There needs to be accountability,” said Mike Dean, …
Newsweek Columnist: Getting Money Out of Politics is Good for Business
Rob Cox, U.S. editor for Reuters Breakingviews, highlights Trillium’s advocacy work on corporate political spending in his recent Newsweek column. Cox writes “[I]t will be up to citizen shareholders to blunt the impact of Citizens United. They can start on Tuesday in St. Paul and Wednesday in Charlotte when the shareholders of 3M and BofA, respectively, gather. They’ll be voting on proposals submitted by Trillium Asset Management of Boston to ‘request that the board of directors adopt a policy prohibiting the use of corporate funds for any political election or campaign.’” You can read the entire column here. …
Trillium Asset Management Solicits Shareholder Support for “No Political Spending” Proposals at Bank of America, 3M
As the annual stockholder meetings of 3M and Bank of America approach next week, Trillium Asset Management has reached out to shareholders seeking their support for our shareholder proposals at the two companies. The proposals call upon the companies to cease making all types of political contributions, both directly and indirectly through third-party vehicles. Read the full press release here. …
On 2nd Anniversary of Citizens United, Trillium, Green Century Capital Management & Advocacy Groups Launch Drive to Stem Corporate Political Spending
On the second anniversary of the Citizens United Supreme Court decision, Trillium Asset Management, LLC and Green Century Capital Management announce that they have filed shareholder resolutions at three companies, Bank of America, 3M & Target Corporation, urging them to refrain from making political donations in the future. This is the first time institutional shareholders have asked corporations to entirely refrain from political spending. Read more here …
2011 Proxy Season Wrap-up
In August, we bade farewell to the 2010–2011 “proxy season,” the inside lingo for the annual cycle of filing resolutions, negotiating their withdrawal, and getting out the vote for the remainder that will appear on the spring proxy ballots. “A good portion of our dialogues and resolutions resulted in agreements with companies to improve policies and provide more transparency,” said Matt Patsky, CEO of Trillium. “Both are helpful in assessing the environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and their financial impact on shareholders.” Trillium’s ESG engagements addressed a wide range of concerns in 2011, including climate change and fossil fuel …
Guest Column: What’s In Your College’s Wallet?
Do you know what’s in your investment portfolio? If Trillium to manages your investments, you probably do. You have likely also thought about your values, and are confident that your money is working to have a positive impact through shareholder activism and investing in low-income communities and sustainable businesses. But do you know what’s in your alma mater’s portfolio? Your donations to your university’s endowment support its operations for years to come. Across the country university presidents have focused on greening their campuses. LEED-certified buildings have been built at many schools, alternative sources of energy from wind to methane digesters …
Seasonal Wrap-up: Trillium's 2011 Engagement Highlights
Trillium Asset Management, LLC, a Boston-based pioneer in the field of environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing, reported out today on the results of its 2011 proxy season engagements with nearly two dozen major U.S. corporations. (For a full listing of our 2011 Shareholder Proposals, scroll to the end of the page.) “A good portion of our dialogues and resolutions resulted in agreements with companies to improve policies and provide more transparency,” said Matthew Patsky, CEO of Trillium. “Both are helpful in assessing the environmental, social and governance risks and their financial impact on shareholders.” Trillium’s ESG program addressed a …
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