Media Contacts:
Michael Passoff, As You Sow 415-391-3212 X32 michael@asyousow.org
Lauren McLean, Trillium Asset Management, 208-387-0777 laurenmclean@trilliuminvest.com
Lily Donge, Calvert 301-961-4758 lily.donge@calvert.com
Highest vote ever recorded on Global Warming Shareholder Proposal
BOISE, ID: Climate change heated up Idaho Power's corporate boardroom as shareholders gave a majority vote to a resolution calling on their company to establish greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals and to report on its plans to meet them.
"This record-breaking vote of 52% is a dramatic show of investor support for a climate change resolution" said Dan Bakal, director of electric power programs at Ceres, a national coalition of investors and environmental groups. The IdaCORP vote is 25% higher than the highest vote on any U.S. climate change resolution thus far.
The shareholder resolution was filed by As You Sow, Calvert Asset Management Company, Inc., and Trillium Asset Management.
"The vote for the resolution indicates that shareholders are concerned that IDACORP is not prepared to address the increasing probability of strict federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions", said Michael Passoff, Associate Director of As You Sow.
Lily Donge, senior analyst at Calvert noted that "companies all across the country are planning to reduce carbon emissions and capitalize on renewable energy opportunities. Now IDACORP will have to do so as well."
"Few customers realize that Idaho Power is primarily coal power and that its plans to meet growth by adding a natural gas plant would both increase its exposure to emissions regulation and the open market on which it would need to purchase the natural gas," noted Kiki Tidwell, a shareholder from Ketchum who spoke at the annual meeting.
Lauren McLean, Portfolio Manager at Trillium Asset Management summed it up: "This historic vote sends a loud and clear message that investors, in light of impending climate regulation, are no longer asking how much it'll cost to reduce carbon, but instead how much money their companies can make doing it."
This vote is not only a victory for shareholders of IDACORP, but it is a huge victory for investors across the country concerned about corporate practices impacts on climate change.
About As You Sow
As You Sow is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting corporate social responsibility and shareholder advocacy. www.asyousow.org
About Trillium Asset Management Corporation
Trillium Asset Management Corporation is one of the oldest and largest investment management firms in North America devoted exclusively to socially responsible asset management. www.trilliuminvest.com
About Calvert Investments
A leader in Sustainable and Responsible Investments (SRI), Calvert Investments offers investors among the widest choice of SRI strategies of any investment management company in the United States. Calvert Asset Management Company, Inc. is the investment advisor to the Calvert family of funds. www.calvert.com
