WealthManagement.com: Protect the Environment – Invest in REITS
WealthManagement.com recently published an article that explores the question of whether real estate investment trusts (REITs) deserve a place in a Sustainable and Responsible Investing portfolio. Jennifer Popovec writes, “Many property owners report that commercial buildings with energy efficiency ratings command significantly higher rents, boast higher occupancy rates, and achieve higher sale prices compared to conventional buildings. Likewise, a number of apartment REITs indicate that today’s renter is increasingly interested in living in communities that are “environmentally conscious.” ‘We have observed that the payback from doing green, environmentally focused activities is pretty high in real estate versus other industries,’ says …
Producer Responsibility for Packaging – Proctor & Gamble (2012)
WHEREAS product packaging is a significant consumer of natural resources and energy, and a major source of waste and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. More than half of U.S. product packaging –37 million tons – is discarded in landfills or burned rather than recycled. Packaging debris migrates to oceans where it damages fisheries, tourism and marine life. Paper and packaging comprise 43% of U.S. landfill waste. Nestle Waters North America says plastic bottles are the largest contributor to its carbon foot print; Coca-Cola Co. reports packaging is the largest part of the carbon footprint of several products. A recent analysis of …
Smuckers – Coffee, Climate Change and Sustainable Sourcing (2012)
Whereas: Our company is one of the four largest coffee companies in the world. It provides industry leadership through brands such as Folgers not only in consumer expectations but also with regard to pricing. The coffee business is critically important for our company by providing approximately 40% of our company’s revenue. It is equally important to the well-being of 25 million coffee farming families worldwide. Climate change may present a number of important risks and opportunities for our company and these communities, as it impacts temperature, rainfall patterns, frequency of severe weather events, and disease vectors, among other effects, in …
New Investor Advisory Raises Questions About Proposed Open Pit Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska
Earthworks, an environmental nonprofit, has recently published a report that details the growing list of regulatory, legal, engineering, and political challenges facing the Pebble Mine project. The proposed open pit mine would be located at the headwaters of the Bristol Bay watershed, which produces 50 percent of the world’s commercial supply of wild sockeye salmon. “Opposition to the Pebble mine project has translated into a barrage of legal, political and regulatory hurdles over the last year,” said Jonas Kron, an analyst with Trillium Asset Management, who reviewed the report. “After scrutinizing the project details, we believe there are significant risks …
Anadarko – Hydraulic Fracturing (2012)
Whereas: Hydraulic fracturing in natural gas drilling has become highly controversial. The resolution proponents are concerned about regulatory, legal, reputational and financial risks associated with the environmental, health, and social impacts of fracturing operations. Concern about water sources, toxic chemicals and wastewater has led to new regulations in several states and proposed federal legislation. Explosions, contamination incidents, and millions of dollars in fines demonstrate that things can and do go wrong. For example, in Pennsylvania, officials have cited energy companies for 2,500+ violations associated with fracturing practices and collected $25.7 million in fines since 2008. More than 250 health care professionals …
Report on Bisphenol A in Thermal Receipt Paper- Panera Bread Company (2012)
WHEREAS: The value of Panera Bread Company’s brand is based in part on customer trust. We believe that if the company’s cash register thermal receipt paper contain bisphenol A (BPA), a potentially hazardous chemical, that trust could be put at risk. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has stated “Some receipts made of thermal paper may now contain as much as 10 mg. of BPA, which could pose a risk for human exposure, as well as account for substantial environmental releases of BPA.” http://www.epa.gov/dfe/pubs/projects/bpa/index.htm BPA reportedly mimics estrogen in the body; a number of animal studies link BPA, even …
Sustainable Palm Oil Policy – YUM! Brands, Inc. (2012)
Whereas: The environmental and social impacts of palm oil, an ingredient in our Company’s supply chain, make it highly controversial. Accordingly, we believe the Company’s failure to procure certified sustainable palm oil is a brand risk, to both our Company’s reputation and long-term to the security of supply. Approximately 85% of palm oil is grown in Indonesia and Malaysia, much of it on industrial plantations. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, palm oil plantations are a large source of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) because they are often established on land converted from swamp forests (“The Root of the Problem: …
Canadian Oil Sands – ExxonMobil (2012)
WHEREAS: ExxonMobil has significant investments in the Canadian oil sands. ExxonMobil owns 69.6 percent of Imperial Oil, one of Canada’s largest oil companies. Imperial is 100 percent owner of the Cold Lake oil sands project and is the operator and 25 percent owner of Syncrude. ExxonMobil and Imperial jointly own and operate 100 percent of the Kearl oil sands project. According to ExxonMobil’s 2010 10-K, oil sands represent approximately 11 percent of proved reserves, demonstrating our company’s significant reliance on Canada’s oil sands for long term growth. There are significant environmental, social and economic risks associated with oil sands. The …
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 …
Of Climate Change and Cost Curves
As communities around the globe strive to meet ever-increasing energy demand and produce sustainable jobs and investments, we are at a crossroads where we must either aggressively adopt non-fossil fuel energy sources or risk exceeding the 2°C temperature rise already expected from the cumulative buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Mainstream conventional wisdom holds that nuclear power must be embraced in the transition to a post fossil fuel future, and that solar and wind’s high costs and lack of scalability will consign their contributions to the margins. But as we discuss in this article, for reasons inextricably linked to …
Recent Comments