2011 Resolutions At a Glance
Note: This list includes “lead filings,” where Trillium Asset Management Corporation heads up a coalition of shareholder advocates, and “co-filings,” in which we participate in filings led by others. In the table below, our lead filings are indicated in bold. The text for these resolutions can be found here. Environmental Justice Chevron Add environmental expert to Board of Directors 25% Environmental Justice PPG Disclose environmental impacts at community level 6% Environmental Health Coca-Cola Report on alternatives to Bisphenol-A 25% Environmental Health Dentsply Report on alternatives to Bisphenol-A Withdrawn Environmental Responsibility Sysco Assess water risks in supply chain * Environmental Responsibility Procter …
Target & Best Buy Announce New Policies on Political Spending
Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) and Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) have revised their policies on political spending in the aftermath of the nationwide controversy that erupted following last summer’s contributions to MN Forward, an independent political committee that funneled money to a gubernatorial candidate known for his extreme opposition to lesbian and gay civil rights. The new policies culminate months of review by both companies. Target and Best Buy made contributions of $150,000 and $100,000, respectively, to MN Forward. After the contributions were disclosed in state filings, Target in particular drew the ire of retail consumers, gay rights organizations, and those …
New Year's Resolutions
If there’s a theme tying together our shareholder engagements this year, it’s aptly summarized in a New Yorker cartoon showing a corporate executive reminding his colleagues at the conference room table, “Let’s never forget that the public’s desire for transparency has to be balanced by our need for concealment.” Come to think of it, that’s every year’s theme. As active investors placing place careful bets on selected companies (as opposed to passive indexing, which mimics the general direction of the market) we’re in the information gathering business. We ‘crunch’ financial data, then integrate it with environmental, social and governance (ESG) …
Investors Call on 3M and Pentair to Review Political Contributions Policies
Trillium Asset Management Corporation, Walden Asset Management and Domini Social Investments issued a press release calling on Pentair and 3M Corporation to adopt emerging best practices of political contribution policies in light of recent controversies over political donations. The press release was issued in conjunction with shareholder proposals filed at Pentair and 3M asking the companies’ Board of Directors to prepare a report on policies and procedures for political expenditures and accounting of all political contributions. Click here to read the article from the Minneapolis Star Tribune Click here to read the press release …
Trillium Organizes Tour of 'Cancer Alley'
In early June 2009, Trillium’s Susan Baker led a group of 40 investors on a fact-finding tour of Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley.” The investors, who were gathered in New Orleans for the annual meeting of the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility, represented faith-based institutions and socially responsible investment firms collectively holding billions of dollars under management. They traveled 200 miles by bus to tour the heavily industrialized and highly polluted stretch west of New Orleans. Guided by prominent experts from local environmental justice, indigenous community, and coastal restoration groups, including the New Orleans-based Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, investors were provided with an in-depth …
2007 Shareholder Resolution Roundup
Gentle reader, we must hastily publish the results of this spring’s flurry of company annual meetings while we can still remember them accurately. Most of our advocacy initiatives paid off very well. Surely not by coincidence, this year we happily integrated two new staff members into our Social Research & Advocacy Team, Julie Mackin, our administrative assistant, and Susan Baker Martin, a social research analyst. Susan was a portfolio manager for Trillium Asset Management Corp. (“Trillium”) for a number of years in the 1980’s and 90’s. High Fives All Around Apple Computer made our day on May 2 by announcing …
29 Trillium Stock Picks Make the "100 Best Corporate Citizens List" of Business Ethics Magazine(A)
Coincidence? We don't think so. …
Spotlight on Your Portfolio: What We're NOT Buying…Yet(A)
Investors with Trillium managed portfolios know that an important part of our investment discipline is diversification across economic sectors. We are often asked if, due to social screens, we have trouble finding investment opportunities in certain sectors and the answer is almost always no (with some client-directed exceptions). Our policy is to under- or over-weight sectors relative to the market as an intentional reflection of our financial outlook for that segment of the economy. There are stocks we avoid as social investors: tobacco (classified under consumer staples), weapons manufacturers (typically industrials), and nuclear power (primarily utilities), as examples. We apply …
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