A Week in Impact Investing
Phew! Global climate change was the focus of a whirlwind of events, from coast to coast, last week and Green Century participated in many of them. Here are a few of the highlights:
On Monday…
Governor Jerry Brown signed a law that puts California on a path to generate 100% of its electricity from renewable and zero-carbon sources, such as solar and wind, by 2045.
(Pictured here: California Governor Jerry Brown signing SB 100 into law, with Environment CA State Director Dan Jacobson close at hand, in San Francisco.)
Having the fifth largest economy in the world commit to decarbonizing its electricity supply by 2045 is a game changer, and we’re not alone in thinking so. According to the MIT Technology Review, this is “the most important climate law in U.S. history.”
We are proud to say that Green Century and our non-profit partners were part of the effort to get this historic law enacted.
Green Century President Leslie Samuelrich at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York City.
Learn more about what Green Century did to help usher in this new, decarbonized era in California.
Green Century also attended a Divest-Invest press conference, where we reaffirmed our commitment to fossil fuel free investing.
If you’re interested in learning how to start divesting, download our Guide to Fossil Fuel Free Investing.
On Tuesday…
Green Century President Leslie Samuelrich attended the 2018 Sustainable Investing Conference at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City.
Green Century Shareholder Advocate Jesse Waxman, CA State Controller Betty Yee, who serves on the CalPERS Board of Administration, which recently recognized deforestation as a material risk, and Samuelrich at the Global Climate Action Summit, in San Francisco.
On Wednesday…
Green Century participated in the Global Climate Action Summit, in San Francisco, which featured former Vice President Al Gore, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and a host of other international dignitaries.
The Global Climate Action Summit was intended to highlight all of the subnational efforts being undertaken to help achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement, which seeks to prevent global temperatures from rising more than 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
Green bonds are a good example of these types of subnational efforts. More than 50% of the fixed income holdings in the Green Century Balanced Fund are in green bonds that financing climate change mitigation and renewable energy projects around the world, including in San Francisco.
On Thursday…
Leslie Samuelrich gave a presentation at the annual PRI in Person conference, in San Francisco, on the role of investors in managing deforestation risk. Supported by the United Nations, the PRI is the world’s leading responsible investment organization.
Meanwhile, at the Global Climate Action Summit, it was announced that investor groups continue to join the coalition of large food companies that have signed a Statement of Support (SoS) for the Cerrado Manifesto. In total, investors managing over US $5.6 trillion in assets have now signed the letter.
Green Century was an early signatory to the SoS and earlier this year accepted an invitation to represent investors in the aforementioned consortium of global food giants – which includes McDonalds,* Walmart,* and Unilever* – that are trying to stop deforestation in the Cerrado region of Brazil.
You can learn more about the impact Green Century investors are making on climate change here.
On Friday…
We wrote this summary for you, and the other individuals who enable our work. By investing for your future with Green Century, you help make all of work possible – and for that, we thank you.
If you’re not already an investor and would like to learn more about investing fossil fuel free with Green Century, call us at 1-800-934-7336 or you can find all the forms and materials you need to get started here.
*As of June 30, 2018, McDonald’s corporation comprised 0.00%, 1.17% and 0.00%; Unilever NV comprised 1.56%, 0.00% and 0.00%; and Unilever PLC comprised 0.00%, 0.00% and 1.79% of the Green Century Balanced Fund, the Green Century Equity Fund, and the Green Century MSCI International Index Fund, respectively. Other securities mentioned were not held in the portfolios as of June 30, 2018. References to specific securities, which will change due to ongoing management of the Funds, should not be construed as a recommendation of a security by the Funds, their administrator, or the distributor.
You should carefully consider the Funds’ investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses before investing. To obtain a Prospectus that contains this and other information about the Funds, please click here for more information, email info@greencentury.com or call 1-800-934-7336. Please read the Prospectus carefully before investing.
Stocks will fluctuate in response to factors that may affect a single company, industry, sector, country, region or the market as a whole and may perform worse than the market. Foreign securities are subject to additional risks such as currency fluctuations, regional economic or political conditions, differences in accounting methods, and other unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers. Bonds are subject to risks including interest rate, credit, and inflation. A sustainable investment strategy which incorporates environmental, social and governance criteria may result in lower or higher returns than an investment strategy that does not include such criteria.
This information has been prepared from sources believed to be reliable. The views expressed are as of the date of this writing and are those of the Advisor to the Funds.
The Green Century Funds are distributed by UMB Distribution Services, LLC. 235 W Galena Street, Milwaukee, WI 53212. 9/18
