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 …
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 …
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 …
Duke Energy – Financial Risks of Continued Reliance on Coal (2011)
WHEREAS Electric utility companies that rely on coal face numerous challenges and uncertainty regarding environmental compliance costs, and the cost of carbon capture and storage for coal plants. Declining reserves of high quality central Appalachian coal, unprecedented price increases and coal price-volatility, versus abundant supplies and record low-prices for cleaner burning natural gas, and declining costs for wind and solar energy, make continued reliance on coal increasingly problematic. Coal combustion for electricity is a major contributor to air pollution, accounting for one third of nitrous oxides (NOx), 50% of mercury, a hazardous air pollutant, and over 36% of carbon dioxide …
Trillium Wraps Up 2010 Proxy Season
The 2009-2010 proxy season was marked by a number of strong votes on shareholder proposals and successful corporate dialogues sponsored by Trillium Asset Management Corporation. “Across the industry, investor support for environmental, social and governance proposals (ESG) has climbed dramatically in the last several years,” said Shelley Alpern, Director of ESG Research and Shareholder Engagement at Trillium. “Support for our proposals reflected this trend almost across the board, with the median level of support reaching 26 percent. If abstentions are considered as an indicator of investor dissatisfaction, it is clear in several cases that shareholders are even more dissatisfied with …
Dear Reader
Cheryl Smith, Ph.D., CFA, President In the mind-numbingly complicated world of 21st century high finance, it’s not always obvious which transactions are unethical versus those which are, if not high-minded, at least legally permissible within a deeply flawed system. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has charged Goldman Sachs with fraud in connection with the creation and sale of a “synthetic synthetic Collateralized Debt Obligation” (SSCDO) allegedly custom designed to allow a favored client, John Paulson, to place a outsized bearish bet against the mortgage market. The alleged fraud is not in the creation of the security but in the …
Investors Press PPG Industries on Toxic Pollution in Poor Communities
April 14, 2010 (Boston) – Trillium Asset Management Corporation (“Trillium”) and the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate announced today they will present a shareholder proposal at the annual meeting of PPG Industries (NYSE-PPG) shareholders addressing the company’s environmental impacts in low-income communities. The meeting takes place on April 15, 2010 in Pittsburgh. Click here to read the full press release. …
Bank of America – Mountain Top Removal Mining (2010)
WHEREAS Bank of America (BAC) recognizes that its ability to attract and retain customers and employees could be adversely affected “to the extent our reputation is damaged” and that “failure to address, or to appear to fail to address various issues” could damage the Corporation and its business prospects (2005 Annual Report). BAC also recognizes that: The company’s health is dependent on the health of communities and our society; Climate change and atmospheric pollution represent a risk to the ultimate stability and sustainability of our way of life; and Every part of our business has a potential impact on our …
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