Each year Trillium directly engages with dozens of major U.S. corporations with shareholder proposals along with hundreds more companies via sign-on letters and other forms of outreach. Our shareholder proposal engagements address a wide range of concerns including climate change, human rights, discrimination in the workplace, a free and open Internet, privacy and data security, financial institution responsibility, political and lobbying spending, and board diversity.

You can download highlights of Trillium’s Shareholder Advocacy for the first quarter of 2014 here.

But Investors Voice Concern over Invalidation of Key Requirement

APRIL 15, 2014: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued an opinion yesterday in National Association of Manufacturers v. SEC, an industry-led lawsuit challenging the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) conflict minerals reporting rule for Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.  The court supported the SEC’s analysis and rationale for requiring robust corporate disclosure about the presence of conflict minerals in the products that companies produce and sell.  Significantly, the opinion did not strike companies’ obligation to conduct conflict mineral supply chain due diligence and report on findings to the SEC by May 31.

Sustainable and responsible investors commend the court’s preservation of the conflict minerals reporting rule and its general support for the SEC’s authority to apply regulatory discretion in advancing congressional intent under Section 1502.  We applaud the companies that are already implementing comprehensive due diligence to abide by the 1502 rule and call on all covered issuers to continue preparing the required disclosures, which remain essentially unaltered by the court’s opinion.

We are nonetheless concerned by the potential impact of yesterday’s opinion on the ability of Congress and the SEC to ensure that all investors have access to the breadth of material information that is critical to their investment decision-making.  In particular, we are troubled by the court’s treatment of First Amendment protections against compelled speech and its invalidation of the SEC requirement for companies to designate whether or not their products are “DRC conflict-free”.  If applied broadly, this approach could block Congress from passing laws requiring disclosure of corporate information in the public interest.  This outcome could have a potentially damaging impact on shareholder access to information that is fundamental to brand valuation and risk assessment.

Statement signatories:

Boston Common Asset Management

Calvert Investments

Domini Social Investments

Everence

Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility

Responsible Sourcing Network

Trillium Asset Management

US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment

Walden Asset Management

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CONTACT: Patricia Jurewicz, Responsible Sourcing Network, 510.735.8145, patricia@sourcingnetwork.org

Many Pathways to Substantial Emissions Reductions are Available

BERLIN, GERMANY // APRIL 13, 2014: A new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows that global emissions of greenhouse gases have risen to unprecedented levels despite a growing number of policies to reduce climate change. Emissions grew more quickly between 2000 and 2010 than in each of the three previous decades.

According to the Working Group III contribution to the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report, it would be possible, using a wide array of technological measures and changes in behaviour, to limit the increase in global mean temperature to two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. However, only major institutional and technological change will give a better than even chance that global warming will not exceed this threshold.

The report, entitled Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change, is the third of three Working Group reports, which, along with a Synthesis Report due in October 2014, constitute the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report on climate change.

Working Group III is led by three Co-Chairs: Ottmar Edenhofer from Germany, Ramón Pichs-Madruga from Cuba, and Youba Sokona from Mali.

“Climate policies in line with the two degrees Celsius goal need to aim for substantial emission reductions,” Edenhofer said. “There is a clear message from science: To avoid dangerous interference with the climate system, we need to move away from business as usual.”

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The preceding is a portion of a press release originally published by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which is solely responsible for its content.

You can read the entire press release here or download the report here.

APRIL 14, 2014 // BOSTON, MA: Trillium Asset Management (Trillium) is pleased to announce that we have withdrawn our 2014 shareholder proposal, which was filed on behalf of The Christopher Reynolds Foundation, at Panera Bread (NASDAQ: PNRA) following a commitment from the company to publish a sustainability report by December 1, 2015. Panera will conduct a materiality assessment in 2014 in order to identify and prioritize issues that are material to the company.

Managing, and reporting on, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) business practices helps companies compete in a global business environment characterized by finite natural resources, changing legislation, and heightened public expectations. Reporting allows companies to publicize and gain strategic value from existing sustainability efforts and identify emerging risks and opportunities. By issuing a sustainability report, Panera will strengthen its ability to identify and manage ESG risks and opportunities.

Trillium commends Panera for engaging in a productive dialogue and for making these important commitments.

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For more information: Randy Rice, Trillium Asset Management, (617) 423-6655, rrice@trilliuminvest.com

On Monday, April 7, 2014 Trillium’s Stephanie Leighton, CFA participated in a SRI-focused panel at Middlebury College in Vermont.

Stephen Diehl, of the Middlebury College Pressroom, writes:

“The panel, moderated by Student Government Association President Rachel Liddell ’15, included six investment experts and focused on how institutions can incorporate an Environmental-Social-Governance (ESG) framework in their investment-selection process and how professionals evaluate fossil-fuel investments in educational and foundation endowments…

Trillium Asset Management partner and portfolio manager Stephanie Leighton said her firm is seeing less of the avoidance approach that characterized divestment from South Africa in the 1980s. ‘The real trend in the last few years, especially from young people, is to seek out positive investments,’ she said. ‘So we spend a lot of time trying to find the leading edge companies, and when we find the leaders, we ask the followers to adopt the policies of the leaders.’

Leighton also noted a dramatic increase in shareholder interest in ESG issues over the past few decades. ‘Twenty to 30 years ago, five percent of shareholders were showing interest in social and environmental issues. Now we get 50 percent and more, sometimes, of investors of all stripes thinking about these social and environmental issues…’”

You can read the entire article, and watch a video of the panel, here.

APRIL 2014 // BOSTON, MA: Trillium Asset Management (Trillium) is pleased to announce the successful withdrawal of our 2014 shareholder proposal at PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) following the company’s public adoption of a zero tolerance policy for illegal activities in its supply chain regarding land displacements of any legitimate land tenure holders.

Trillium co-filed this shareholder proposal with Oxfam America requesting that the company address land rights issues throughout its supply chain.

As the demand for sugar cane increases, there is concern over large-scale land grabs in developing countries that evict traditional farmers through coercion or fraud.

Oxfam’s leadership and productive engagements with Pepsi lead the company to make a number of meaningful commitments. Pepsi will adhere to the principle of Free Prior and Informed Consent across its operations and suppliers to avoid conflicts that drive farmers out of their homes. In an effort to provide greater transparency Pepsi will also immediately disclose the top three countries and suppliers of its cane sugar, palm oil, and soy. In addition, Pepsi has said it will carry out wide-ranging environmental assessments across its global supply chains.

Trillium commends the work of Oxfam and Pepsi for the adoption of a policy that will strengthen the company’s ability to assess its suppliers’ performance ultimately pushing stronger standards in the food industry.

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For more information: Randy Rice, Trillium Asset Management, (617) 515-6889, rrice@trilliuminvest.com

Statement from Trillium Asset Management, LLC and Calvert Investments on Rio Tinto’s withdrawal from the Pebble Mine Project

April 9, 2014: Rio Tinto plc (LON: RIO) has announced that it is withdrawing from the proposed Pebble Mine Project in Bristol Bay Alaska. This action, which casts a cloud of deep uncertainty over the project’s future, follows years of widespread opposition to the proposed open pit mine from Native Alaskans, sport and commercial fishing groups, environmental organizations, and retail grocers, along with other businesses and investors. In March, Trillium Asset Management (Trillium) and Calvert Investment Management, Inc. (Calvert) specifically requested that Rio Tinto re-examine its participation in the project.

Rio Tinto’s withdrawal also follows Anglo American’s (LON: AAL) withdrawal from the Project in September 2013 and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s February 2014 decision to initiate a Clean Water Act 404(c) review of the project. This most recent development is yet another clear signal that the proposed Pebble Mine is the wrong mine in the wrong place.

The Bristol Bay region of Alaska, where the colossal open pit mine is proposed, is the home of the largest wild sockeye salmon fishery in the world, which is sustainably managed and central to the life of the Alaska Natives and non-natives in the region.

Groups of investors, representing tens of billions of dollars, have, for years, expressed deep concern about the proposed mine. In letters to the Environmental Protection Agency in 2011, 2012 and 2013 investors shared their concerns about the Bristol Bay ecosystem, responsible mineral development, sustainable fishery management, Alaska Native culture, and the associated risks.

Trillium, Calvert and other concerned investors believe that this controversy serves as an important example of how environmental, social, government policy, and financial risk factors must be addressed in an integrated manner.

We believe that Rio Tinto reached a similar conclusion after its strategic review, which led to the company’s decision to withdraw from the project.

We will be working with fellow investors in the next few weeks to communicate our ongoing concerns to the EPA as it accepts comments on its Clean Water Act review.

The investor group led by Trillium Asset Management LLC and Calvert Investment Management Inc., includes Christopher Reynolds Foundation, Clean Yield Asset Management, First Affirmative Financial Network, Green Century Capital Management, Inc., Investor Voice, SPC, Maryknoll Sisters, Newground Social Investment, SPC, Pax World Management LLC, Sierra Club Foundation, The Sustainability Group of Loring, Wolcott & Coolidge, Walden Asset Management, and Zevin Asset Management LLC.

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Trillium Asset Management, LLC is the oldest independent investment advisor devoted exclusively to sustainable and responsible investing. With over $1.5 billion in assets under management, Trillium has been managing equity and fixed income investments for high net worth individuals, foundations, endowments, religious institutions, and other nonprofits, since 1982. A leader in shareholder advocacy and public policy work, Trillium’s goal is to deliver both impact and performance to its investors.

Calvert Investment Management, Inc is an investment management company that offers mutual funds and separate accounts to institutional investors, retirement plans, financial intermediaries, and their clients. By combining rigorous analysis with independent thinking, our disciplined approach to money management goes beyond traditional factors in order to manage risk and to identify investment opportunities with greater long-term potential. We offer more than 40 equity, bond, cash, and asset allocation investment strategies, many of which feature integrated corporate sustainability and responsibility research.

For More Information:

Jonas Kron, Trillium Asset Management, (503) 592-0864, jkron@trilliuminvest.com

Stu Dalheim, Calvert Investments, (301) 961-4762, Stu.Dalheim@Calvert.com

APRIL 8, 2014 // BOSTON, MA: Responding to growing consumer and investor concern about the risks associated with palm oil production, General Mills (NYSE: GIS) became the latest company to pledge that it will not purchase palm oil that is linked to rampant destruction of the rainforest and carbon emissions. In its revised palm oil sourcing commitment, General Mills announced that it will only source from suppliers that can trace their palm oil back to operations verified as not contributing to deforestation or peatland development, activities which destroy the habitats for endangered species and drive climate change.

Trillium Asset Management (Trillium) and Green Century Capital Management (Green Century) have engaged General Mills for a number of years on its palm oil commitments, and applaud the company for working towards sustainable palm oil.

“With this commitment, General Mills has sent a strong signal to its suppliers that deforestation is not compatible with its brand or values, reassuring its customers and shareholders,” said Lucia von Reusner, shareholder advocate at Green Century Capital Management. “Given the urgent rate at which rainforests are disappearing, General Mills needs to work quickly to put its commitment into practice and help end deforestation for palm oil.”

“General Mill’s commitment puts the spotlight squarely on Cargill and other palm oil suppliers. As the market moves, purchase orders will speak loudly.  Now is the time for all suppliers to meet the demands of their customers for no deforestation palm oil,” said Trillium’s Senior Vice President, Jonas Kron.

Palm oil is the most widely used vegetable in the world, and also the leading driver of tropical deforestation. Recently, major companies including Kellogg’s, Wilmar, Mars, and L’Oreal have made similar commitments for ensuring all palm oil purchases can be traced back to suppliers verified as not contributing to deforestation, peatland development, or human rights violations. Wilmar’s commitment alone is estimated to save 1.5 gigatons of CO2 by 2020[1], which is more than the annual emissions from all of Central and South America.[2]

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Green Century Capital Management is an environmentally responsible investment advisory firm that manages two fossil fuel free mutual funds. Founded by a partnership of non-profit environmental advocacy organizations in 1991, Green Century provides people who care about a clean, healthy planet the opportunity to keep their money out of environmentally irresponsible companies and use the leverage of their investment dollars to encourage environmentally responsible corporate behavior. Visit www.greencentury.com

Trillium Asset Management, LLC is the oldest independent investment advisor devoted exclusively to sustainable and responsible investing. With over $1.5 billion in assets under management, Trillium has been managing equity and fixed income investments for high net worth individuals, foundations, endowments, religious institutions, and other nonprofits, since 1982. A leader in shareholder advocacy and public policy work, Trillium’s goal is to deliver both impact and performance to its investors.

For more information:

Lucia von Reusner, Green Century Capital Management, 617-482-0800, lvonreusner@greencentury.com

Randy Rice, Trillium Asset Management, 617-515-6889, rrice@trilliuminvest.com

On April 6, 2014 The Nation published an article about the growing number of climate-related shareholder resolutions this season:

“Motivated by mounting scientific evidence that human activity is a leading cause of climate change, major institutional investors are pushing for stronger action by companies in climate-related shareholder resolutions in the 2014 proxy season.

The 35 institutional investors are led by Walden Asset Management, the New York State comptroller’s office, the California State teachers’ retirement system, Calvert Investments, the Connecticut Treasurer’s Office, Trillium Asset Management, Mercy Investments and Green Century capital management.

They have filed 142 resolutions in a coordinated effort to spur action by 118 companies – including Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Kinder Morgan, Lowes and several electric utilities – on a wide range of climate-related issues such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, energy efficiency and sustainable palm oil.”

You can read the entire article here.

The effects of climate change are already occurring in all continents and across the oceans, and the world, for the most part, is ill-prepared for their risks, says a United Nations report issued on March 31, 2014, which also warns that while action can be taken, managing the phenomenon’s impacts will be difficult on a rapidly warming planet.

The Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has detailed the impacts of climate change to date, the future risks from a changing climate, and the opportunities for effective action to reduce risks.

You can read the entire report, Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, here.

Trillium is one of many concerned investors that have called on Duke Energy to launch an independent investigation into the recent Dan River coal ash spill.

Taft Wireback, of The Winston-Salem Journal, writes:

“[C]oncerned investors include the state treasurers of Connecticut, Oregon and Pennsylvania, and leaders of the California State Teachers’ Retirement System and the Illinois State Board of Investment.

‘Duke’s recent environmental problems suggest serious lapses in oversight as well as failures in risk management by the board of directors,’ said Bill Dempsey, senior vice president of the Nathan Cummings Foundation, which is leading the shareholder initiative…

Other investors endorsing the initiative include F&C Management, SEIU Master Trust, Marco Consulting Group, As You Sow, Calvert Investments, Christopher Reynolds Foundation, Congregation of St. Joseph, Everence Financial and the Praxus Mutual Funds, Green Century Capital Management, Mercy Investment Services, Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, Trillium Asset Management and United Church Funds.”

You can read the entire article here.

Bloomberg has published an article about the SEC Cybersecurity Roundtable which took place on March 26, 2014 in Washington, DC. Trillium’s Director of Shareholder Advocacy, Jonas Kron, was a panelist at the roundtable.

Dave Michaels and Chris Strohm write:

“The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is examining the exposure of stock exchanges, brokerages and other Wall Street firms to cyber-attacks that have been called a threat to financial stability…

[The] event was spurred by SEC Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar, who today called for the agency to establish a cybersecurity task force…

Companies’ public reports so far about cyber-attacks have mostly provided investors with ‘boilerplate’ language, said Jonas Kron, director of shareholder advocacy at investment adviser Trillium Asset Management LLC, which has pushed Apple Inc. and EBay Inc. to disclose more about risks related to privacy and data security.

‘That is really unfortunate,’ Kron said today. ‘What the disclosure system is supposed to do is create differentiation.’”

You can read the entire article here.

March 25, 2014: Jonas Kron, Trillium’s Director of Shareholder Advocacy, will be a panelist at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s March 26th roundtable on the issues and challenges cybersecurity presents for market participants and public companies.

The roundtable will be divided into four panels. Participants on the first panel will discuss the cybersecurity landscape. Jonas will be a member of the second panel which will discuss cybersecurity disclosure issues faced by public companies. Participants on the third panel will discuss the cybersecurity issues faced by exchanges and other key market systems. On the final panel, participants will discuss how broker-dealers, investment advisers, and transfer agents address cybersecurity issues, including those involving identity theft and data protection.

More information on the roundtable can be found here.

March 25, 2014: Trillium Asset Management is pleased to announce that following our engagement with Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) the company has committed to fully disclose its trade association memberships and the other tax exempt organizations which it makes contributions to, as well as the portion of those payments that are used for political activities.

In recognition of this progress, Trillium has withdrawn its 2014 shareholder proposal at Hess. A similar shareholder proposal, filed by Trillium for 2013, received a remarkable 46% of the vote.

We encourage the company to take further steps to strengthen its transparency and oversight of political contributions and lobbying spending.

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Citizen’s United there has been increasing concern about corporate dollars flowing into political races via trade associations and other tax exempt organizations like so-called “social welfare” organizations.

The Center for Political Accountability assists Trillium tremendously in its engagements with companies on political spending transparency and we thank it for its support. Additionally, Trillium appreciates the support and contributions of the co-filers on this proposal: Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Benedictine Sisters of Mount St. Scholastica, Inc., Benedictine Women of Madison, Inc., and The Providence Trust.

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For more information: Randy Rice, Trillium Asset Management, rrice@trilliuminvest.com, 617-515-6889.

Trillium Asset Management was among 92 companies worldwide which were recently recognized for creating the most positive overall social and environmental impact by the nonprofit B Lab with the release of the third annual ‘B Corp Best for the World’ list.

The ‘B Corp Best for the World’ list honors businesses that earned an overall score in the top 10% of all Certified B Corporations on the B Impact Assessment, a rigorous and comprehensive assessment of a company’s impact on its workers, community, and the environment.

Check out the full list at bestfortheworld.bcorporation.net.

March 20, 2014: During the last quarter of 2013 Trillium Asset Management (Trillium) filed a shareholder resolution with National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE: NFG) asking the company to include “gender identity or expression” in its written non-discrimination policy. It was the first time that Trillium filed this resolution with NFG. The Security and Exchange Commission requires that shareholder resolutions receive a minimum of 3% in the first year in order for shareholders to re-file the next year.

Trillium’s resolution received 33.6% of shareholder votes – 11x the percentage needed to re-file.

Trillium introduced the resolution at NFG’s annual meeting on March 13, 2014. Our statement is below:

“Mr. Chairman, members of the Board, fellow shareholders: Thank you for the opportunity to speak to you this morning. I am Randall Rice from Trillium Asset Management, an investment firm based in Boston, MA. Today, I’m representing our client, The Social Justice Fund Northwest (The Fund).

Trillium has worked with The Fund to create an investment policy whereby ownership of equities, including stock in National Fuel Gas, is consistent with its financial objectives.

National Fuel Gas is held in accounts across our investment firm, with our clients holding 64,927 shares at the close of business, Tuesday March 11th.

To be clear: The Fund holds stock in National Fuel Gas Company in order to meet its long term investment objectives and not for the purpose of promoting a social agenda.

I am here to introduce item #4 on your Proxy Statement; a proposal to amend the company’s written equal employment opportunity policy to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or expression and to take concrete action to implement the policy.

This Company’s economic success is important to The Fund and to our firm.

It is in Trillium’s interest — and that of The Fund — to ensure that companies in our portfolio develop and implement inclusive workplace policies which explicitly prohibit discrimination. We believe that these companies have a competitive advantage in recruiting and retaining employees from the widest possible talent pool.

Gender Identity non-discrimination is a matter of equal employment opportunity. ‘Gender Identity’ simply relates to the gender role that a person claims for her or himself – which may or may not align with his or her physical gender. ‘Gender Expression’ is how a person behaves, appears or presents him or herself with regard to societal expectations of gender.

In response to our shareholder proposal, the Board indicates that implementation of the proposed policy protecting employees from discrimination would be very difficult. Contrary to that assertion, the Corporate Equality Index, which is published by the Human Rights Campaign, reports that 61% The Fortune 500 has successfully implemented nondiscrimination policies that include gender identity or expression. These companies include energy sector peers Apache, BP, and Chevron and corporate neighbors in New York State, including Verizon, Consolidated Edison and American Express.

These companies know that inclusive workplace policies can lead to a stronger corporate culture and increased employee satisfaction which also positively relates to stock performance.

The Board says that it believes that existing Equal Opportunity laws offers adequate protection to employees. We respectfully disagree. The company has operations in a number of states, each of which has different employment discrimination policies. As the board is also aware, no federal law currently protects employees from workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

ISS Proxy Advisory Services, which is the leading provider of proxy voting advice for investors, has recommended that our shareholders vote in favor of this proposal, stating that:

‘The addition of such a policy would benefit shareholders by establishing the company as an inclusive workplace. It could also enhance the company’s ability to attract and retain talent, and could help the company avoid potential controversies and liabilities.’

Our employees deserve the protection of non-discrimination policy that includes gender identity and expression.

I not only to urge fellow shareholders to this proposal, I also invite our company directors to meet with us to discuss this important issue.

Thank you.”

Green Century Capital Management has launched an animated fossil fuel free investing educational video and outreach program to educate the public and reach potential investors who are interested in moving their investments out of fossil fuel companies for moral and financial reasons.

The video shows a family who cares about the planet and already takes action against global warming by using more energy-efficient light bulbs and signing petitions, yet without realizing it, might be financing the very companies that are fueling climate change—resulting in damaging storms and wildfires – through their mutual fund investments.

You can watch the video here.

The San Jose Mercury News recently ran an article about the growing fossil fuel divestment movement.

Dana Hull writes:

“It’s impossible to track with accuracy how many individual investors have joined the effort, or how much money has been moved out of fossil fuel companies due to privacy issues regarding individual portfolios. But financial advisers say they are hearing from more clients who are at least taking a deeper look at their investments.

‘It’s coming up a lot in conversation,’ said Will Lana, a senior vice president at Trillium Asset Management, a Boston-based firm that is the oldest independent investment adviser devoted exclusively to sustainable and responsible investing. Trillum manages $1.4 billion and does not invest in coal, oil or gas companies or utilities that generate most of their electricity from fossil fuels.”

You can read the entire article here.

Record high climate-related resolutions seek improvements on issues like greenhouse gas reductions, flaring cutbacks and increased sustainable palm oil sourcing

March 7, 2014: Motivated by mounting scientific evidence that human activity is a leading cause of climate change; major institutional investors are pushing for stronger actions from companies in climate-related shareholder resolutions in the 2014 proxy season.

Led by Walden Asset Management, the New York State Comptroller’s Office, the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, Calvert Investments, the Connecticut Treasurer’s Office, Trillium Asset Management, Mercy Investments and Green Century Capital Management, 35 institutional investors have filed 142 resolutions in a coordinated effort to spur action by 118 companies – including Chevron, ConocoPhillips, Kinder Morgan, Lowes and several electric utilities – on a wide range of climate-related issues such as greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, energy efficiency and sustainable palm oil.

“The combined package of 2014 resolutions demonstrates a common urgency that investors and companies alike need to ‘raise the bar’ and expand our actions to address climate change,” said Timothy Smith, Senior Vice President and Director of Environmental Social and Governance Shareholder Engagement at Boston-based Walden Asset Management. “The range of resolutions shows how investors are broadening their outreach to more companies and deepening their message to other companies on difficult climate issues such as lobbying on climate by fossil fuel companies.”

This year’s record number of climate-related resolutions demonstrates that investors are paying more attention than ever to risks and opportunities that climate change and environmental issues pose to companies in their portfolios. The investors – many of which are members of the Investor Network on Climate Risk, coordinated by the sustainability advocacy group Ceres, and members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) – request specific actions from companies such as adopting and achieving company-wide goals for reducing GHG emissions from operations.

“Investors are not standing still as the climate crisis worsens. These wide-ranging resolutions reflect a deepening concern that stronger actions from companies are needed,” said Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres and director of the Investor Network on Climate Risk, which helped coordinate the filing of the resolutions.

Investors filed 23 resolutions asking companies, including Exxon Mobil and Dish Network, to set GHG reduction targets and increase transparency on how they are managing climate risks. They also filed resolutions with companies including Kraft Foods and PepsiCo requesting assessments of the company’s supply chain impact on deforestation and plans to mitigate these risks.

Recent analysis shows that many U.S. businesses, including numerous Standard & Poor’s 500 index firms, have reported a higher rate of return on investments in carbon-reduction technologies than on overall corporate capital investments. In response to resolutions by Trillium Asset Management, Church & Dwight has agreed to set GHG emissions reduction goals and increase disclosure of the companies’ approaches to managing climate risk. Advance Auto Parts, Denbury Resources, Cabot Oil and Gas, and Lincoln Electric Holdings agreed to increase public disclosure to investors of how they are managing climate risk following engagements with Walden Asset Management. Meanwhile, a shareholder resolution filed by Mercy Investments at BorgWarner prompted an enterprise-wide commitment to assess not only GHG emissions, but also other waste streams from manufacturing, such as water waste. After dialogue with Calvert and Mercy Investments, PACCAR – one of the world’s largest manufacturers of medium and heavy-duty trucks – agreed to improve its reporting on climate change and the steps the company is taking to minimize its impacts.

The impact of these resolutions is already becoming clear on other issues as well. Last month, in response to a shareholder proposal filed by Green Century Capital Management, Kellogg Co. announced an industry-leading commitment to purchase only deforestation-free palm oil. Palm oil, which is a $50 billion-a-year commodity used in about half of all packaged goods, is a key driver of deforestation that accounts for more than 15 percent of worldwide carbon emissions. At least 30,000 square miles of tropical forest – an area bigger than Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire combined – has been cleared to accommodate palm oil plantations in the past two decades. Green Century also coordinated 40 investors representing $270 billion AUM to successfully lobby the world’s largest palm oil trader, Wilmar, to adopt a zero deforestation policy- a move estimated to save the 1.5 gigatons of CO2 by 2020, the equivalent of annual CO2 emissions from all of Central and South America. Investors have filed with a number of other companies calling for sustainable sourcing of palm oil, including Panera Bread and Safeway. As one of the world’s largest food processing companies, Kellogg’s commitment is a critical development.

“Kellogg’s commitment to only purchase palm oil from responsible sources positions it as company working to curb climate change instead of one accelerating it,” said Leslie Samuelrich, President of Green Century Capital Management. “We hope that Kellogg’s commitment encourages other companies to listen to shareholder concerns and develop sustainable palm oil supply chains that protect rainforests, which act as the ‘lungs’ of our earth to reduce carbon pollution.”

Kellogg’s commitment is just the latest example of shareholder impact. In 2013, Ceres worked with INCR member Mercy Investments to file a resolution with Continental Resources, the largest company operating in North Dakota’s Bakken region, to save energy and curb carbon pollution by reducing flaring. Three months later, the company set an aggressive goal to reduce flaring, setting an important precedent for shale energy production across the U.S. On January 29, 2014, the entire industry in North Dakota pledged to significantly reduce flaring while advocating for stricter regulations moving forward.

Topics covered by the 2014 resolutions include:

• comprehensive sustainability reporting
• greenhouse gas reduction goals
• methane emissions
• carbon asset risk
• energy efficiency
• deforestation and sustainable agriculture
• spending on political lobbying related to climate and energy
• greenhouse gas emissions financed by banks
• plans to source renewable energy
• and adding a board member with environmental expertise

For more information and to view these shareholder resolutions, visit http://www.ceres.org/investor-network/resolutions.

About Ceres

Ceres is a nonprofit organization mobilizing business and investor leadership on climate change, water scarcity and other sustainability challenges. Ceres directs the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), a network of over 100 institutional investors with collective assets totaling more than $11 trillion. Ceres also directs Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy (BICEP), an advocacy coalition of nearly 30 businesses committed to working with policy makers to pass meaningful energy and climate legislation. For more information, visit www.ceres.org or follow on Twitter @CeresNews.

For more information, contact

Aaron Pickering — Ceres, pickering@ceres.org, 617-247-0700 ext. 148, cell: 508-951-0919

Peyton Fleming — Ceres, fleming@ceres.org, 617-247-0700 x 120, cell: 617-733-6660

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This press release was originally published by Ceres which is solely responsible for its content.

March 10, 2014: Trillium Asset Management is pleased to announce that it has withdrawn its shareholder proposal at Wabtec Corporation (NYSE: WAB) following the company’s agreement to institutionalize a commitment to board diversity inclusive of gender, race and ethnicity.

Trillium’s shareholder proposal, which was filed on behalf of Rebekah Helzel, asked the company to:

Publicly commit itself to a policy of Board inclusiveness to ensure that women and minority candidates are routinely sought as part of every Board search the company undertakes;

At the time of the filing, Wabtec had no woman on its board of directors and did not disclose that diversity, inclusive of gender or race, was part of its board nominee search process. Numerous studies have underscored the nexus between greater board and management diversity, and improved corporate governance and financial performance.

Following a successful dialogue with the company this winter, Wabtec’s board agreed to amend its Corporate Governance Guidelines, Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee Charter and 2014 proxy statement to include a clear definition of diversity, inclusive of gender and race, and make diversity an intentional part of board nominee search criteria. Subsequently, Trillium withdrew its proposal. Under its revised charter, Wabtec’s Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee now holds itself accountable to goals and responsibilities that include:

[E]nsuring that the Board of Directors consists of individuals from diverse backgrounds (including diversity of gender, race and ethnicity) and experience who, collectively, provide meaningful counsel to management. In order to achieve this goal the Committee will actively seek and consider diverse candidates, inclusive of gender, race and ethnicity

The infrequency with which companies look to refresh their board is often cited as a reason women have not moved into boardrooms at a faster pace. Committing to an annual review of the skills, backgrounds, the diversity inclusive of gender and race, among other attributes was a critical element of our dialogue, as was urging companies to look beyond traditional talent pools for board candidates.

“We commend the company for engaging in productive dialogues with shareholders, including Trillium and the Pennsylvania State Treasurer’s Office, along with The Thirty Percent Coalition, which resulted in meaningful revisions to its corporate governance documents.” said Susan Baker of Trillium Asset Management. “Like many companies in the industrial sector, Wabtec has sought skilled board members through traditional talent circles which often do not include women. In addition to revising its corporate charter documents we are gratified that the board is closely examining its governance practices and taking important steps to broaden its board nominee search process, “she added.

“I’m proud that Wabtec — a company with deep roots in the Pennsylvania economy — agrees that a diverse board can lead to increased value to the company and its shareholders. I also commend Wabtec for committing that future director searches will include diversity as a focus” said Pennsylvania Treasurer Rob McCord.

“The meaningful revision to Wabtec’s corporate governance documents is an excellent example of how progress can be made in a collaborative fashion.  We are honored to have been a part of this important dialogue and applaud Wabtec for the commitment they have made to include gender diversity as an integral part of their board nomination process,” said Charlotte Laurent-Ottomane, Executive Director of the Thirty Percent Coalition.

“Wabtec values constructive dialogue with its shareholders and commends Trillium for its dedication to shareholder issues,” said Albert J. Neupaver, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.  “We are highly committed to principles of diversity as part of our drive to create sustainable value for all of our shareholders.  As part of this commitment our Board believes that a diverse membership with varying perspectives and experiences is an important Board attribute.”

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For more information: Randy Rice, Trillium Asset Management, 617-515-6889, rrice@trilliuminvest.com.