Shareholders Call Out Ten Worst Climate-Changing Companies
A new list cites the companies in energy, finance, insurance and retail that have done the least to address the risks posed by climate change.
As the world gradually awakens to the reality of global warming and the risks -- and opportunities -- it presents, many companies have taken significant steps to prepare for changes to the environmental, economic and regulatory climates. Not so with a list of ten corporations named to a new "Climate Watch" list announced today.
ExxonMobil, energy giant TXU, Wells Fargo Bank, and Bed Bath & Beyond are among the companies that have been singled out not only because they have been unresponsive to shareholder requests for information about greenhouse gas emissions, but because they are still, in some cases, introducing new plans that will increase GHG emissions in coming years.
"Climate change is one of the biggest business and economic issues we face, and all businesses should be taking it seriously," said Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres, which released the report. "More extreme weather events, regulatory changes in Congress and in the states and growing global demand for climate-friendly technologies are just a few of the ways that climate change will ripple through every sector, every business across the U.S. and beyond."
Lubber said that the ways in which companies manage these risks and seize new opportunities have serious consequences for their competitiveness, economic health and shareholder value in the coming years. As a result, the companies that investors perceive as not planning for the future could cost shareholders their investment in years to come.
Richard Moore, the state treasurer in North Carolina, said the auto industry exemplifies the risks companies face today. "Ford and GM focused on short-term profitability, and continued to give the domestic market the gas-guzzlers that they said the wanted. At the same time, Toyota pursued a different strategy of fuel efficiency; now our two big automakers are having worst years ever, and Toyota is having its best ever by focusing on gas mileage, sustainability, and looking further ahead -- that makes it clear that there's money to be made in this new environment."
The shareholder resolutions -- a record 42 introduced this year dealing with global warming -- ask the companies to set concrete goals to lower emissions, increase energy efficiency, and in the case of ExxonMobil, to assure investors that the company has stopped funding anti-global warming science.
"Those companies that are ignoring the serious risks posed by climate change do so at their own peril," said Moore, whose office manages more than $70 billion in pension funds. "Acknowledging the business risks posed by climate change is just good business, and shareholders demand it."
The full list of Climate Watch companies includes:
More information about the Climate Watch list and the companies that made the list this year is available from Ceres.org.
ExxonMobil, energy giant TXU, Wells Fargo Bank, and Bed Bath & Beyond are among the companies that have been singled out not only because they have been unresponsive to shareholder requests for information about greenhouse gas emissions, but because they are still, in some cases, introducing new plans that will increase GHG emissions in coming years.
"Climate change is one of the biggest business and economic issues we face, and all businesses should be taking it seriously," said Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres, which released the report. "More extreme weather events, regulatory changes in Congress and in the states and growing global demand for climate-friendly technologies are just a few of the ways that climate change will ripple through every sector, every business across the U.S. and beyond."
Lubber said that the ways in which companies manage these risks and seize new opportunities have serious consequences for their competitiveness, economic health and shareholder value in the coming years. As a result, the companies that investors perceive as not planning for the future could cost shareholders their investment in years to come.
Richard Moore, the state treasurer in North Carolina, said the auto industry exemplifies the risks companies face today. "Ford and GM focused on short-term profitability, and continued to give the domestic market the gas-guzzlers that they said the wanted. At the same time, Toyota pursued a different strategy of fuel efficiency; now our two big automakers are having worst years ever, and Toyota is having its best ever by focusing on gas mileage, sustainability, and looking further ahead -- that makes it clear that there's money to be made in this new environment."
The shareholder resolutions -- a record 42 introduced this year dealing with global warming -- ask the companies to set concrete goals to lower emissions, increase energy efficiency, and in the case of ExxonMobil, to assure investors that the company has stopped funding anti-global warming science.
"Those companies that are ignoring the serious risks posed by climate change do so at their own peril," said Moore, whose office manages more than $70 billion in pension funds. "Acknowledging the business risks posed by climate change is just good business, and shareholders demand it."
The full list of Climate Watch companies includes:
- Banking & Financial: Wells Fargo
- Electric Power: TXU, Dominion Resources, Allegheny Energy
- Coal: Massey Energy and Consol Energy
- Insurance: ACE
- Oil & Gas: ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips
- Retail: Bed Bath & Beyond
More information about the Climate Watch list and the companies that made the list this year is available from Ceres.org.
