Spotlight on Your Portfolio: Carbon Footprinting Your Investment
You hear a lot of talk from Wall Street these days about how climate change presents “unprecedented business risks and opportunities.” While investment action doesn’t yet fully match this rhetoric, many major firms are establishing research shops focused on the investment implications of climate change. Some of the early (and quite excellent) work has been focused on the likelihood that the U.S. will pass legislation regulating carbon emissions in the next two years. It’s been decades since we’ve seen this kind of sweeping environmental regulation in the U.S. Carbon regulation on its own – as well as other climate change …
From the President
One of the most amazing days of my professional life was the day more than a decade ago that I spent as keynote speaker for a conference of the people in charge of General Motors’ environmental policies and procedures in plants around North America. There were hundreds of them, many of whom had Ph.D.’s. They were very interested and supportive when faced with an unedited speaker advocating stronger environmental policies and complete disclosure of results. On another day, a visit with the General Motors’ crash test dummies, watching steering wheel columns hurtle into the surrogate humans in car seats at …
Dominion Resources – Climate Change Report (2005 – 2006)
WHEREAS: In 2005, the scientific academies of 11 nations, including the U.S., stated that, “The scientific understanding of climate change is now sufficiently clear to justify nations taking prompt action. It is vital that all nations identify cost-effective steps that they can take now, to contribute to substantial and long-term reductions in net global greenhouse gas emissions.” A 2004 Conference Board report declared that, “scientific consensus that the climate is changing is growing steadily stronger over time; Corporate boards will be increasingly expected to evaluate potential risks associated with climate change; and, the global economy will become less carbon-intensive over …
General Motors – Climate Change (2006 – 2007)
WHEREAS: In the past two years higher, more volatile fuel prices in the U.S. has changed the purchasing patterns of consumers disrupting the financial health of our company. The latest federal projections suggest gasoline prices will be significantly higher over the next decade (Energy Information Administration, Annual Energy Outlook, 2006). In the U.S., passenger cars and light trucks account for one-fifth of all annual U.S. carbon dioxide emissions linked to climate change. General Motors bears the auto industry’s highest “carbon burden” – or total carbon dioxide emissions associated with its fleet, due in part to the poor fuel efficiency of …
Wells Fargo – Climate Change Report (2006 – 2007)
RESOLVED that shareholders of Wells Fargo and Co. request that the Board of Directors report to shareholders by October 2006 on the effect on our company’s business strategy of the challenges created by global climate change. The report should include, but need not be limited to, a discussion of the effects of (a) rising public and regulatory pressures to limit the emission of greenhouse gases, and (b) anticipated changes to our physical environment. This report should be prepared at reasonable cost and omit proprietary information. SUPPORTING STATEMENT Global climate change threatens to affect companies across a wide variety of industries. …
General Motors – Climate Change Report (2004 – 2005)
Whereas: In the U.S., passenger cars and light trucks account for one-fifth of all annual U.S. carbon dioxide emissions linked to climate change. General Motors bears the auto industry’s highest “carbon burden” – or total carbon dioxide emissions associated with its fleet, due in part to the poor fuel efficiency of its products, not the size of its fleet. Worldwide consensus that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions need to be reduced continues to grow, with ratification of the Kyoto Protocol causing many countries to enact limits on these emissions. Already, the European Union and some U.S. states have enacted …
Ford Motor – Climate Change Report (2004 – 2005)
WHEREAS: In the U.S., passenger cars and light trucks account for one-fifth of all annual U.S. carbon dioxide emissions linked to climate change. Ford Motor Company bears the auto industry’s second-highest “carbon burden” – or total carbon dioxide emissions associated with its fleet, due in part to the poor fuel efficiency of its products, not the size of its fleet. Worldwide consensus that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions need to be reduced continues to grow, with ratification of the Kyoto Protocol causing many countries to enact limits on these emissions. Already, the European Union and some U.S. states have enacted similar …
Dominion Resources – Climate Change Report (2004 – 2005)
WHEREAS: A 2004 report by the Bush Administration’s Climate Change Science Program stated that increases in human-derived greenhouse gas emissions are the only likely explanation for global warming over the past three decades. A 2004 Conference Board report declared that, “scientific consensus that the climate is changing is growing steadily stronger over time; Corporate boards will be increasingly expected to evaluate potential risks associated with climate change; and, the global economy will become less carbon-intensive over time…The real questions are what the pace of the transition will be and who will be the winners and losers.” U.S. power plants are …
Chubb – Address Risks of Climate Change (2003 – 2004)
RESOLVED: The shareholders request that the Board of Directors prepare a report, at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, made available to shareholders by September 30, 2004, providing a comprehensive assessment of Chubb’s strategies to address the impacts of climate change on its business. SUPPORTING STATEMENTS: We believe the human contribution to climate change has become widely accepted among the scientific community. Legislation, regulation, litigation, and other responses to climate change seem likely. “In global warming, we are facing an enormous risk to the U.S. economy and retirement finds that Wall Street has so far chosen to ignore.” (Philip Angelides, …
AIG – Address the Impacts of Climate Change (2003 – 2004)
RESOLVED: The shareholders request that the Board of Directors prepare a report, at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, made available to shareholders by September 30, 2004, providing a comprehensive assessment of AIG’s strategies to address the impacts of climate change on its business. SUPPORTING STATEMENTS: We believe the human contribution to climate change has become widely accepted among the scientific community. Legislation, regulation, litigation, and other responses seem likely. “In global warming, we are facing an enormous risk to the U.S. economy and retirement finds that Wall Street has so far chosen to ignore.” (Philip Angelides, Treasurer of California) …
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