2004
Investors Call for
Action on Climate Risk
At a November 2003 summit convened by the Coalition for Environmentally
Responsible Economies (CERES) at the United Nations in New York, NY,
institutional investors representing over $1 trillion in invested
capital assembled for the first time to examine the financial risks
of global climate change. At the Institutional Investor Summit on
Climate Risk, eight state and city treasurers and comptrollers and
two major labor pension fund leaders issued a 10-point “call
for action” demanding new steps by the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC), corporate boards and Wall Street firms to increase
corporate disclosure of the risks posed by climate change to investors.
As part of the call for action, the 10 pension fund leaders announced
the formation of a new Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR). CERES
has been named the secretariat for INCR. The initial focus of INCR
is to promote better understanding of the risks of climate change
among institutional investors and to follow through on the call for
action.
The summit marked a turning point in the debate over the economic
effects of global warming, said CERES executive director Mindy Lubber.
“At the summit, fiduciaries and their fund managers were presented
with the science and the economic risks and were able to ask questions
and discuss the implications of global warming and excessive carbon
dioxide emissions in financial terms,” she said.
Over 250 people attended the summit including representatives of public
pension funds, state and municipal treasury offices, financial services
firms, foundations, academia and the United Nations. Investors at
the summit included state treasurers and comptrollers from California,
Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York State, North Carolina, Oregon
and Vermont, the heads of labor funds SEIU National Industry Pension
Fund and the CWA/ITA Negotiated Pension Plan, trustees of Los Angeles
and New York City, the heads of the California Public Employees Retirement
System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement
System (CalSTRS), and representatives of the New York State Teachers’
Retirement System and the Michigan Municipal Employee Retirement System.
Wall Street and financial services firms were represented by executives
from Bank of America, Bank of New York, Barclays, Fidelity, Goldman
Sachs, Lazard Asset Management, Lehman Brothers, Marsh and McLennan,
Mellon Financial, Morgan Stanley, Moody’s, Standard and Poor’s,
State Street, Swiss Re, among others.
For more information, visit
www.incr.com.
FTSE Examines Global
Indices
TSE Group, a leading global index provider, has launched a worldwide
consultancy to gather market users’ views on the process used
to classify countries as developed or emerging in global indices.
As international investment flows grow and countries compete for these
assets, FTSE notes that it is imperative that a clear, global standard
to assess the market status of countries is identified and adopted
by the investment community.
“Investors want to see global benchmark providers adopting more
transparent and objective ways of treating country classification.
Relying on GNI per capita alone doesn’t give the right answers.
When classifying a country or deciding whether to include or exclude
it from global benchmarks, investors need to consider the economic
wealth of a country as well as the quality of the local stock market
and access for international investors. FTSE seeks to gather input
on the most accurate and useful way to do this, and we aim to begin
implementing a structure, based on these consultation results, during
2005,” said Mark Makepeace, chief executive of FTSE Group.
Ocean Conservation
and Tourism Alliance
The International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL) and Conservation
International (CI) have formed a joint initiative to protect biodiversity
in top cruise destinations and promote industry practices that minimize
the cruise industry’s environmental impact. The Ocean Conservation
and Tourism Alliance has targeted four initial priorities:
* Best Practices for Wastewater Management: improved shipboard
technology, specifically accelerating and adopting Advanced Wastewater
Purification (AWP) systems.
* Establishing Destination Partnerships: working with local governments
and communities to maintain high-quality travel experiences by protecting
the natural and cultural assets of cruise destinations.
* Promoting Environmental Education: raising guest and crew
awareness of and support for critical conservation issues.
* Promoting Vendor Environmental Education: lessening the environmental
impacts of suppliers.
The initiative’s first step will be to establish a science panel
of experts in conservation, environmental technologies and cruise
industry environmental practices that will independently review core
environmental issues facing the cruise industry and provide advice
as to the best course of action to deal with those critical challenges.
The ICCL, which represents 15 of the world’s leading cruise lines,
has committed $850,000 to the initiative and its supporting projects.
Conservation International has matched this contribution with an investment
of $250,000. The alliance’s focus on tourism and biodiversity
issues is important because approximately 70 percent of cruise destinations
are in biodiversity hotspots.
Fuel Cell Groups
to Collaborate
Leading fuel cell organizations have signed a collaboration agenda
that will initiate information sharing, education, regulation and
technical exchange. The U.S. Fuel Cell Council, Fuel Cell Commercialization
Conference of Japan, Fuel Cells Canada, World Fuel Cell Council and
Fuel Cell Europe collectively represent more than 300 businesses,
research institutions and others interested in fuel cells and hydrogen.
The agreement implements a Memor-andum of Understanding committing
to cooperation on significant aspects of commercialization:
* support a proposal to change the regulation of air transport
of methanol fuel cell cartridges, to accommodate micro-fuel cell products
for cell phones and computers;
* explore other avenues of cooperation and information exchange
on regulatory issues, to the extent that the organizations individually
deem productive and appropriate;
* exchange information on test protocols and for some PEM fuel
cell components;
* organize a Second Fuel Cell Summit of Vehicle Demonstration
Programs, and a concurrent exchange on Education and Communications;
* and Internet-based information sharing.
The organizations will meet at least annually to assess progress and
refine their activities; the next meeting will be held in June 2004
in
Top 10 Conservation
Groups
In recognition of the efforts of conservation advocacy groups,
Dr. Reese Halter and the staffs at Global Forest Science (www.globalforestscience.org)
research facilities in Banff, Canada have identified their top 10
conservation groups for 2003. Groups were identified according to
the contributions made in the areas of resources, funds and innovations
to environmental and wildlife conservation. Foregoing a traditional
ranking system, Reese determined that each of the conservation groups
that made the list were of equal value, and are listed here in no
particular order:
* Ducks Unlimited, protecting waterways throughout North America
and educating children.
* Conservation International, dedicated to maintaining the
biodiversity in tropical regions, and working with Starbucks to sustainably
promote coffee harvests.
* Nature Conservancy, purchasing fragile ecosystems throughout
North America, while protecting the environment, animals and forests.
* Audubon Society, protecting birds, particularly those of
high elevations in sub-alpine and alpine regions, and developing outstanding
children’s programs.
* National Geographic Society, supporting treetop ecology work
in tropical forests, and providing excellent children’s programs.
* The David & Lucile Packard Foundation, supporting ecosystem
conservation throughout the Pacific Northwest.
* The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, supporting basic
forest science research toward understanding conservation biology
in the Pacific Northwest.
* Gordon E. & Betty Moore Foundation, extensively contributing
to protection efforts of the waterways of southern Brazil.
* The Pew Charitable Trusts, protecting the Northern “boreal”
forests and waterways.
* Paul Allen Foundation, purchasing fragile and unique ecosystems
in the Pacific Northwest.
Lessons for Climate
Change
Government policies will be critical to the development and adoption
of new technologies needed to abate global warming, according to a
report released by the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. The report,
U.S. Technology and Innovation Policies: Lessons for Climate Change,
examines U.S. experience with technology and innovation policies—both
successes and failures—and draws lessons for climate change policy.
“We cannot solve the problem of global climate change without
the development of new technologies, but new technologies don’t
just happen—the market needs a signal, and that signal needs
to come from government,” said Pew Center president Eileen Claussen.
“Well-crafted policies can create a setting for continuing innovation
where technological improvements build upon one another.”
In U.S. Technology and Innovation Policies: Lessons for Climate Change,
report authors John A. Alic (consultant), David C. Mowery (University
of California, Berkeley), and Edward S. Rubin (Carnegie Mellon University)
examine a range of policies and programs—including intellectual
property protection, energy and environmental regulations, the Defense
Advanced Research Project Agency, and the Partnership for a New Generation
of Vehicles—to glean lessons for future applications, including
climate change policy. The authors found that because innovation is
a complex, iterative process, different policy tools can be employed
as catalysts at various phases (e.g., invention, adoption, diffusion).
The full text of this report is accessible at www.pewclimate.org.
Winslow Fund Among
Leaders
The Winslow Green Growth Fund (WGGFX) finished 2003 with a return
of +91.74 percent, which places it among the leading small-cap growth
funds for the year. For the one-year period ended December 31, the
fund ranks second out of 483 small-cap growth funds, based on total
returns, according to Lipper, Inc. Overall, small-cap growth funds
had an average return of +44.77 percent for the year.
“The overall performance of the Winslow Green Growth Fund during
2003 reinforced our belief that environmental performance is tied
to a company’s overall financial performance,” said president
and lead portfolio manager Jackson W. Robinson. “We have found
that companies that are environmentally responsible historically outperform
those that are not.”
As of December 31, the fund’s average annual returns are +91.74
percent for one-year, +23.00 percent for five years and +20.15 percent
since inception on May 3, 1994.
More Green Power
for Conneticut College
Students and administration at Connec-ticut College, New London, CT,
have helped solidify the college’s ongoing support for the generation
of green power by purchasing wind power energy certificates that equal
approximately 44 percent of the college’s annual electricity
consumption. The college has committed to purchase wind energy certificates,
which financially support the renewable energy industry, for the next
two years from EAD Environmental, a New York-based renewable energy
credit and greenhouse gas marketer.
The effort to commit to renewable energy at Connecticut College began
three years ago. Students in the College’s Renewable Energy Club
proposed a petition to increase student fees to cover the additional
cost of purchasing renewable energy attributes. More than 75 percent
of the students signed the petition, and it won overwhelming support
from the Student Government Association and, consequently, the College’s
Board of Trustees.
Connecticut College has agreed to purchase 13.3 million kilowatt-hours
of EAD Environmental’s 100-percent Green-e Certified, New Wind
RECertificates. This is equivalent to the total output of nearly four
1.5-megawatt wind turbines and will prevent the emissions of approximately
17.2 million pounds of greenhouse gases.
Sustainable Development
in the Panama Canal
Working toward protecting the environment and promoting sustainable
development, the Panama Canal Authority (ACP) recently participated
at a Corporate Social Responsibility Conference in Panama, sponsored
by the Inter-American Develop-ment Bank. At the conference, ACP administrator
Alemán Zubieta spoke to participants about the canal’s
vision and mission toward economic development, ecological balance
and social development. Barely four years in Panamanian hands, the
ACP has gained ISO 9001 Certification for its management, as well
as ISO 14001 Certification—a testimony to its quality of service
and commitment to the environment.
The Panama Canal Authority is the autonomous agency of the Government
of Panama in charge of managing, operating and maintaining the Panama
Canal. For nearly 90 years, the canal has served as the global pathway
for the shipment of major world commodities. Since the end of 1999,
when the ACP assumed the responsibility for the management, operation
and modernization of the canal as well as the protection and conservation
of its watershed, it has shifted to a market-oriented business model
focused on customer service and reliability, making major capital
investments for new and modern equipment and machinery, increasing
safety and operational efficiency for customers.
For more information, refer to the ACP’s Web site at www.pancanal.com.
Energy Efficiency
and the Bottom Line
With a focus on energy efficiency, U.S. manufacturers can boost competitiveness
and protect themselves from fuel supply problems, says a new report
from the Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) and Executives for Energy Efficiency,
a steering committee of New York State business stakeholders. The
report provides guidance to plant managers and energy program officials
who promote energy efficiency measures to add to bottom line business
performance.
Motivating Business Leaders to Improve Profitability through Energy
Efficiency reveals that the benefits of energy efficiency are not
confined to lower utility bills, but also include timely solutions
for manufacturers seeking relief from competitive pressures and fuel
supply and price challenges. With industry accounting for about a
third of U.S. natural gas consumption, industrial energy efficiency
will help offset this winter’s potential natural gas supply shortages.
A companion report released concurrently by the ASE, Strategic Energy
Efficiency: Reduce Expenses, Build Revenues and Control Risks, elaborates
on the connection between energy efficiency and business performance.
Both reports are available on the project’s Web site at www.ase.org/programs/industrial/e4ee/index.htm.
|
