Heading into Corporate Annual Meeting Season, Trillium Announces Four Shareholder Proposals Withdrawn
Trillium Asset Management Corporation (“Trillium”) is pleased to announce the withdrawal of four shareholder 2010 resolutions as we head into the annual meeting season. Resolutions filed with Plum Creek Timber, Lincoln Electric, State Street Bank and Whole Foods Market have resulted in changes to corporate policies that will have a positive impact on transparency, corporate governance and workplace diversity. Plum Creek Timber Company (PCL): Say on Pay Our “say on pay” proposal called upon management to submit an advisory resolution on executive compensation for shareholder approval at annual meetings. After evaluating the resolution, for which Trillium was the lead filer, …
Plum Creek Timber Co. – Say on Pay (2010)
RESOLVED Shareholders of Plum Creek Timber Companyrequest the board of directors to adopt a policy that provides shareholders the opportunity at each annual shareholder meeting to vote on an advisory resolution, proposed by management, to ratify the compensation of the named executive officers (“NEOs”) set forth in the proxy statement’s Summary Compensation Table (the “SCT”) and the accompanying narrative disclosure of material factors provided to understand the SCT (but not the Compensation Discussion and Analysis). The proposal submitted to shareholders should make clear that the vote is non-binding and would not affect any compensation paid or awarded to any NEO. …
J. P. Morgan Chase & Co. – Pay Disparity Report (2010)
WHEREAS Recent events have increased concerns about the extraordinarily high levels of executive compensation at many U.S. corporations. Concerns about the structure of executive compensation packages have also intensified, with some suggesting that the compensation system incentivized excessive risk-taking. In a Forbes article on Wall Street pay, the director of the Program on Corporate Governance at Harvard Law School noted that, “compensation policies will prove to be quite costly—excessively costly—to shareholders.” Another study by Glass Lewis & Co. declared that compensation packages for the most highly paid U.S. executives “have been so over-the-top that they have skewed the standards for …
Intel – Request for Continuation of In-Person Shareholder Meetings (2010)
WHEREAS Intel has announced that it is discontinuing its physical stockholders meeting in 2010 and will hold the meeting online. We strongly support the use of new technologies to make annual meetings accessible to stakeholders who cannot attend in person. This will make “attendance” simpler for investors globally and is a creative tool for expanding outreach to owners. But we do not believe that Internet-only meetings should be substituted for traditional in-person annual meetings. Instead, they should be a complementary. We believe the tradition of in-person annual meetings plays an important role in holding management accountable to stockholders. In contrast, …
Google – Sustainability Reporting (2010)
WHEREAS Investors increasingly seek disclosure of companies’ social and environmental practices in the belief that they impact shareholder value. Many investors believe companies that are good employers, environmental stewards, and corporate citizens are more likely to be accepted in their communities and to prosper in the long-term. Sustainability refers to development that meets present needs without impairing the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It includes “encouraging long lasting social well being in communities where [companies] operate, interacting with different stakeholders (e.g. clients, suppliers, employees, government, local communities, and non-governmental organizations) and responding to their specific and …
Costco – Sustainability Reporting (2010)
WHEREAS Investors increasingly seek disclosure of companies’ social and environmental practices in the belief that they impact shareholder value. Many investors believe companies that are good employers, environmental stewards, and corporate citizens are more likely to generate stronger financial returns, better respond to emerging issues, and enjoy long-term business success. Globally over 2,700 companies issued reports on sustainability issues in 2007 (www.corporateregister.com). A recent survey found that 80% of the Global Fortune 250 companies now release corporate responsibility data, which is up from 64% in 2005 (KPMG International Survey of Corporate Responsibility Reporting 2008). Mainstream financial companies are also increasingly …
Chevron – Environmental Oversight (2010)
WHEREAS Environmental expertise is critical to the success of companies in the energy industry because of the significant environmental issues associated with their operations. Shareholders, lenders, host country governments and regulators, and affected communities are focused on these impacts. A company’s inability to demonstrate that its environmental policies and practices are in line with internationally accepted standards can lead to difficulties in raising new capital and obtaining the necessary licences from regulators. Chevron has repeatedly been cited for allegedly harmful environmental practices: Chevron is on trial in Ecuador for widespread contamination of Amazonian land and water resources by Texaco in …
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