Tag: ESG

Trader Cargill, pension fund TIAA linked to land grabs in Brazil’s Cerrado

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://news.mongabay.com/2021/02/trader-cargill-pension-fund-tiaa-linked-to-land-grabs-in-brazils-cerrado/

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Excerpt:

Global commodities giant Cargill continues to buy soybeans from a farm in Brazil that cultivates on illegally acquired and deforested land.

The Parceiro farm in Bahia state, owned by SLC Agrícola, has been implicated in a $200 million land-grabbing scheme being investigated by Brazilian authorities.

Also implicated in the case is the U.S. teachers’ pension fund TIAA, an investor in one of the parcels of illegally acquired land that effectively overlaps with SLC’s farm.

Cargill, which has a zero-deforestation commitment for its supply chain from the Cerrado, says it placed no restrictions on soybean purchases from SLC in 2020; it bought more than a quarter of the grower’s crop the previous year.

Author(s): Caio de Freitas Paes

Publication Date: 3 February 2021

Publication Site: Mongabay

FirstEnergy Corp. to publicly disclose more political spending under deal with New York pension fund

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.cleveland.com/open/2021/02/firstenergy-corp-to-publicly-disclose-more-political-spending-under-deal-with-new-york-pension-fund.html

Excerpt:

COLUMBUS, Ohio—FirstEnergy Corp. has agreed to regularly open its books to the public about its political spending, under an agreement the scandal-ridden utility has reached with a New York State public pension fund.

Under the deal with the New York State Common Retirement Fund, FirstEnergy has agreed to post comprehensive reports on its website twice per year through May 2024 detailing all its spending on any candidates, political parties, and ballot measures in any state. The agreement was released Monday by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, the pension’s trustee.

Author(s): Jeremy Pelzer

Publication Date: 22 February 2021

Publication Site: cleveland.com

NY State Comptroller DiNapoli Statement on McDonald’s Agreement to Tie Executive Compensation to Diversity, Workforce Management

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.osc.state.ny.us/press/releases/2021/02/ny-state-comptroller-dinapoli-statement-mcdonalds-agreement-tie-executive-compensation-diversity?utm_source=weekly%20news&utm_medium=email&utm_term=municipal%20audit&utm_content=20210221&utm_campaign=fiscal%20oversight&section=body

Excerpt:

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, trustee of the New York State Common Retirement Fund, released the following statement today in response to McDonald’s decision to disclose workforce diversity data and tie executive compensation to the company’s ability to foster inclusion and ensure improved human capital management. As a result of McDonald’s new policy, DiNapoli and the Fund are withdrawing their shareholder proposal that had asked the company to connect executive compensation to the company’s management of ESG and workforce issues. The Fund owned 1,674,102 shares in McDonald’s valued at $359,229,000 as of Dec. 31, 2020.

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“It’s my hope that other companies follow McDonald’s example, particularly those corporations where New York state’s pension fund has filed similar shareholder proposals seeking greater attention to, and respect for, their human capital. 

Author: Thomas DiNapoli

Publication Date: 18 February 2021

Publication Site: Office of the New York State Comptroller

Resisting diversity could lead to termination

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.pionline.com/esg/resisting-diversity-could-lead-termination

Excerpt:

Shannon M. O’Leary cited lack of diversity as a big part of the reason her foundation cut ties with three managers in the past year or so.
Foundations argue that scrutiny of investment consultants and money managers lagging on the diversity front will only move the needle so far. For firms failing to meet diversity goals set by foundations, the best recourse is to fire them and reallocate capital elsewhere, sources say.

Author(s): Danielle Walker

Publication Date: 25 January 2021

Publication Site: Pensions & Investments

Tufts University to End Direct Investments into Coal and Tar Sands

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.ai-cio.com/news/tufts-university-end-direct-investments-coal-tar-sands/

Excerpt:

Tufts University joins the growing number of colleges that have pledged to end direct investments into coal and tar sands companies. The decision comes after a review from an internal school sustainability committee. 

A list of 120 of the largest energy firms will be banned by the $1.9 billion endowment, the university said Wednesday. At the moment, the school has no direct investments into the excluded companies, though the list will be reviewed and updated every year.

Author(s): Sarah Min

Publication Date: 11 February 2021

Publication Site: ai-CIO

COVID-19 Vaccine Developers Ask the SEC to Help Keep the Secret of How They Set Prices

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.newsweek.com/covid-19-vaccine-developers-ask-sec-help-keep-secret-how-they-set-prices-1565904

Excerpt:

When the U.S. government awarded over $10 billion in contracts and advance- purchase commitments to drug companies working on COVID-19 vaccine and treatments, it did not require the recipients of government money to agree to offer their products at fair prices or share intellectual property rights to enable faster production.

Now, two of the companies awarded those contracts—Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson—are trying to prevent shareholders from voting on resolutions to require the companies to disclose information about the impact of government funding on vaccine access.

Author: Julia Rock

Publication Date: 1 February 2021

Publication Site: Newsweek

New York City pension funds to divest $4 billion of fossil fuels

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://fixedincome.fidelity.com/ftgw/fi/FINewsArticle?id=202101260811SM______BNDBUYER_00000177-3abd-de06-a5f7-7aff55560002_110.1

Excerpt:

Dovetailing on President Biden’s clean-energy initiatives shortly after taking office, two of New York City’s five pension funds voted to divest their portfolios of an estimated $4 billion from securities related to fossil fuel companies.

The New York City Employees’ Retirement System and New York City Teachers’ Retirement System voted to approve divestments on Monday and the New York City Board of Education Retirement System is expected to proceed on a divestment vote imminently, Mayor Bill de Blasio and city Comptroller Scott Stringer said in a joint statement.

NYCERS and Teachers were valued at $91.4 billion and $77.4 billion as of November, according to data from Stringer’s office. Overall, the five systems have roughly $240 billion in assets under management, constituting the fourth largest public pension plan in the U.S.

Author: Paul Burton

Publication Date: 26 January 2021

Publication Site: Fidelity Fixed Income

Two NYC Pension Funds Divesting $4 Billion from Oil Companies

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.ai-cio.com/news/two-nyc-pension-funds-divesting-4-billion-oil-companies/

Excerpt:

Oil companies are quickly losing investors, including two pension funds in New York City, as more asset managers are pivoting to renewable options in the battle against climate change and for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing. 

The two pension funds will divest an estimated $4 billion from fossil fuel companies. NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer on Twitter called the move “one of the largest divestments in the world.”

The move to sell holdings in oil companies mirrors the divestment from tobacco companies two decades ago. 

The $77.4 billion New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS) and the $91.4 New York City Teachers’ Retirement System (TRS) approved the divestments in a vote on Monday. They represent the largest pension funds within the $239.8 billion New York City Retirement Systems.

Author: Ellen Chang

Publication Date: 26 January 2021

Publication Site: ai-CIO

Investors ready for change as Democrats take control

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.pionline.com/washington/investors-ready-change-democrats-take-control

Excerpt:

While the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact present the most pressing challenges, Democratic control of Congress and the White House could also spur action on issues ranging from climate change to scrutiny of private equity practices.

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Mr. Neal’s first bill introduced in the new 117th Congress addresses the multiemployer pension crisis that he said “has only worsened” in the COVID-19 economic downturn. A similar proposal was introduced by members of the House Education and Labor Committee, whose chairman, Robert C. “Bobby” Scott, D-Va., said the pandemic could cause as many as 180 more multiemployer plans to become insolvent, adding up to 300 plans facing failure. Both leaders are urging that the proposed Emergency Pension Plan Relief Act of 2021 be attached to a COVID-19 relief measure now before Congress.

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Potential legislation is expected to build on the panel’s climate action plan calling for clean energy tax credits and jobs initiatives, investments in water infrastructure and research into land and ocean climate solutions, among other ideas.

Author: Hazel Bradford

Publication Date: 25 January 2021

Publication Site: Pensions & Investments