Commentary
We Hear You Loud and Clear: Verizon* Sends Strong Signal to Renewables Industry
After Green Century filed a shareholder resolution with the company in November, Verizon announced a new commitment to source 50% of its entire electricity usage from renewable energy sources by 2025, a significant increase for one of the country’s largest energy consumers.
Read MoreBloomberg Names Green Century Equity Fund One of the Top 10 Socially Conscious Funds
Sustainable, responsible and impact (SRI) investing assets now account for one in four dollars in total assets under professional management in the United States, so it’s no surprise that new SRI investment vehicles have been proliferating. In fact, more than 140 environmental, social, and governance (ESG) funds launched in just the last year.
The sheer number of ESG firms makes it even more impressive that the Green Century Equity Fund recently was named one of the Top 10 Socially Conscious Funds in the U.S. by Bloomberg.
Read MoreThe Best of 2018
As the year comes to a close, I wanted to share some of Green Century’s 2018 highlights with you. It’s been an eventful and impactful year. Onto the list!
Read MoreMcDonald’s* Moo-ves on from Routine Antibiotic Use in Beef
McDonald’s made its meals happier this week by announcing the formal adoption of a policy to restrict medically important antibiotic use in its beef supply chain. McDonald’s will begin by monitoring antibiotic use in its top ten beef sourcing markets across the globe and use that data to set reduction targets for reducing on-farm medically important antibiotic use by the end of 2020.
Read MoreHow Green Century Does Shareholder Advocacy – Financing Sustainable Palm Oil in Indonesia and Malaysia
Considerable strides have been made in palm oil sustainability in just the past six years. Since Green Century began pressing palm oil growers and traders to make zero-deforestation commitments in 2012, the percentage of refined palm oil covered by these commitments has ballooned from 5% to 74%.
Securing these commitments has been instrumental in the effort to combat climate change, preserve habitats for endangered species, and mitigate potential financial risks for investors.
Read MoreHow Green Century Does Shareholder Advocacy – Tropical Forest Protection in Indonesia and Malaysia
I just returned from Indonesia and Malaysia, where I met with palm oil growers, processors, and traders, and with banks that finance the development of palm oil, to press them to end deforestation. As a shareholder advocate, my job is to engage with companies and pressure them to improve their environmental practices.
Green Century’s shareholder advocacy is unique. Our version of shareholder advocacy goes well beyond simply voting the proxies of the corporations in our Funds.
Read MorePoultry Progress, But Where’s the Beef?
The rampant misuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture is creating drug-resistant bacteria that are harming public health and threatening modern medicine as we know it. Your favorite hamburger joint is probably serving beef that is contributing to the crisis. A report released this week, “Chain Reaction: How Top Restaurants Rate on Reducing Antibiotic Use in…
Read MoreCompany Spotlight: Intuit*
As the first family of fossil fuel free, diversified and responsible mutual funds in the United States, Green Century has long supported the necessary transition to clean, renewable energy through its investments. While these investments can be straightforward – Vestas Wind Systems,* Tesla,* etc. – you may be surprised by some of the novel steps…
Read MoreWhat does it mean to invest fossil fuel free?
What does it mean to invest fossil fuel free? And how do you begin to divest? This post will attempt to clarify the definition of fossil fuel free investing, and to distinguish between fossil fuel free and low carbon strategies. What does it mean to invest fossil fuel free? For Green Century, and for many…
Read MoreA 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…
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