NY Times: Chevron Aims at an Activist Shareholder
New York Times business writer Gretchen Morgenson has written a column regarding Trillium’s shareholder engagement with Chevron Corporation, and the subpoena we recently received from the oil company related to its nearly 20-year legal battle with indigenous populations in the Amazon rainforest. The long-running court case alleges that Texaco, which merged with Chevron 10 years ago, destroyed huge tracts of the rainforest by dumping billions of gallons of oil waste products over several decades. Morgenson writes: “Public corporations routinely tell shareholders that their views matter. The Chevron Corporation, for example, said in its 2012 proxy statement: ‘Your board welcomes dialogue …
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 …
First Peoples Worldwide Announces Partnership with Trillium Asset Management
Research and Advocacy Collaboration To Promote Indigenous Voices in the Boardroom Contacts: Lisa MacKinnon, Trillium Asset Management (617) 423-6655 Katie Cheney, First Peoples Worldwide (540) 899-6545 February 1, 2012 — First Peoples Worldwide (FPW), a global indigenous nonprofit dedicated to strengthening Indigenous Peoples, today announced a new partnership with Trillium Asset Management. Under the terms of the partnership, Trillium is undertaking custom research and shareholder advocacy focused on how corporate policies and programs can better protect and enhance Indigenous Peoples’ rights. Founded in 1997 by widely acclaimed advocate Rebecca Adamson, FPW supports projects that preserve biodiversity, identify contemporary applications for …
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 …
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 …
Trillium Asks Securities and Exchange Commission to Investigate Chevron Corporation’s Disclosures Re Historic Ecuadorian Judgment
Contact: Shelley Alpern, Trillium (617) 292-8026, x 248 Jonas Kron, Esq., Trillium (503) 592-0864 Sanford Lewis, Esq. (413) 549-7333 Boston, MA, May 23, 2011 – Trillium Asset Management (“Trillium”) has requested that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) undertake a staff review to examine whether Chevron Corp. has appropriately disclosed to its shareholders the scope and magnitude of financial and operational risk from a recent adverse legal judgment in Ecuador. In its letter, Trillium states its belief that the issues raised may have “the potential to rise to the level of materiality under the securities laws.” After nearly two decades …
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 …
Trillium Congratulates Oneida Tribe on Harvard Kennedy School of Government Award
Trillium congratulates the Oneida Tribe for winning an award from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government for their socially responsible asset management strategy. This award honors tribes who show “governmental excellence” and have effective programs for building Native communities, and specified the leading role that the Oneida Nation Trust Advocacy Department has had in the socially responsible investing movement. As quoted by the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, who present the award, “By adhering to their own vision for ethical corporate behavior, and constantly revitalizing their investment policies, the Oneida are making a difference locally and globally.” …
Chevron Liability in Ecuador Pollution Case Approaches $27 Billion
Court Judgment Expected This Year by Shelley Alpern Five years ago, I had the privilege of getting a firsthand look at the evidence in one of the most important lawsuits being heard anywhere in the world. The exhibits are a number of oily pits and ponds scattered throughout the state of Sucumbios, Ecuador, right in the middle of the Amazon rainforest. The contamination is allegedly the work of Texaco, the first petroleum company to break ground in Ecuador in the early 1970s. The court case is being heard in Lago Agrio, a sad-looking town whose many ramshackle buildings look far …
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