Nuclear Power Finds Some Acceptance Within the SRI Community
Milton Moskowitz I was 18 when two atom bombs were dropped on Japan, and I remember feeling relieved because it meant that we probably would not need to sacrifice thousands of soldiers’ lives in a frontal invasion of the Japanese mainland. There were few dissenters to this action, which did accomplish its mission. Seeing the destruction wrought in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese government surrendered, ending World War II. It’s eerie that 66 years later nuclear energy is again causing havoc in Japan, although this time it was self-imposed. The combination of a 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami crippled the …
Still “Impactful” After All These Years
Jonas Kron, JD In the Winter 2011 issue of Investing For A Better World, our colleague Farnum Brown described shareholder advocacy as version 2.0 on SRI’s (socially responsible investment’s) travels towards 3.0, and discussed the importance of directly pressing companies to improve their environmental and social impacts. Similarly, Amy Domini of Domini Social Investments recently wrote passionately in the Huffington Post about the importance of shareholder advocacy as a meaningful way for investors to have a positive impact on the world. Both pieces touched upon the ongoing debate about what to call our field. What was once “socially responsible” or …
Procter & Gamble – Extended Producer Responsibility (2011)
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 comprises nearly one-third of all 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 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency data estimates that the energy needed to produce and …
Smucker’s – Environmental and Social Risks of Coffee (2011)
WHEREAS Our company is one of the four largest coffee companies in the world. It provides industry leadership through its Folgers brand 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 farm 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, and disease vectors in the world’s coffee growing regions. According to the Intergovernmental …
Sysco – Climate Change Related Water Risk (2011)
RESOLVED Shareholders request that by April 2012, the Board of Directors provide a report to shareholders (at reasonable cost and excluding confidential and proprietary information) on how Sysco is assessing water risk to its agricultural supply chain and action it intends to take to mitigate the impact on long-term shareholder value. SUPPORTING STATEMENT Water management is an emerging strategic business issue. The Securities and Exchange Commission states in its 2010 “Guidance Regarding Disclosure Related to Climate Change”, that climate change and water may challenge companies “dependent on suppliers that are impacted by climate change, such as companies that purchase agricultural …
Large Investor Coalition Urges Chevron to Explore Settlement in Rainforest Pollution Lawsuit; Related Shareholder Proposal Gets 25% of Vote
“The entire case is looming like a hammer over shareholders’ heads. Chevron should start fresh with a new approach that embraces environmental responsibility and risk management as part of its corporate culture. More legal proceedings will only delay the inevitable.” ~ New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli …
Largest Open Pit Mine in North America Cause for Investor Concerns– Investors Representing $170 Billion Urge EPA to Safeguard Alaska’s Bristol Bay
Trillium and Calvert-Led Investor Coalition Asks EPA for Clean Water Act (CWA) Review for Pebble Copper and Gold Mine, Sited for the Headwaters of the Bristol Bay Fishery Reserve. BOSTON///April 12, 2011///Nearly 30 investor organizations representing over $170 billion in assets are urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to initiate a review process under the Clean Water Act to evaluate the mine waste impacts of the proposed Pebble Mine on Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed, which produces roughly half of the world’s commercial supply of wild sockeye salmon. Led by Trillium Asset Management Corp. (Trillium) and Calvert Investments (Calvert), the …
Pebble Poses a Mountain-Sized Risk for Alaska Fishery
In October, as the first snow of autumn begins to fall near Alaska’s Bristol Bay, I found myself visiting with a group of locals. Among them was Robin Samuelsen, a Yupik Eskimo and board member of the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation. The conversation began light and jovial as he fondly recalled fishing adventures with his father and grandchild. Then his voice grew anxious: “I’ve never seen the people of Bristol Bay so scared. If there ever is a mining accident our people are finished. Our way of life will be gone.” At issue is the controversial Pebble Mine Project, …
Dominion Resources – Financial Risks of Continued Reliance on Coal (2011)
WHEREAS For electric power companies, continued reliance on coal is increasingly problematic in the face of declining reserves of high quality central Appalachian coal, unprecedented price increases and coal price volatility, and the high cost of carbon capture and storage for coal plants. By comparison, natural gas prices have reached record lows and supplies are increasingly abundant in the U.S., and costs for wind and solar are declining. Coal combustion for electricity is a major contributor to air pollution, accounting for one third of the nitrous oxides (NOx), 50% of the mercury, a hazardous air pollutant, and over 36% of …
Trillium Joins Investors in Challenging Nine Oil and Gas Companies on Hydraulic Fracturing Practices
January 21, 2011 Trillium Files Resolution with Anadarko Petroleum to Spur More Responsible “Fracking” Practices BOSTON – Leading U.S. investors today announced they have filed shareholder resolutions with nine oil and gas companies, pressing them to disclose their plans for managing water pollution, litigation and regulatory risks that are increasingly associated with ever-expanding natural gas hydraulic fracturing operations (also known as “fracking”) in the United States. Resolutions were filed with many of the natural gas industry’s significant players, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, Ultra Petroleum, El Paso, Cabot Oil & Gas, Southwestern Energy, Energen, Anadarko and Carrizo Oil & Gas. “Oil and …
Recent Comments