Shareholder advocacy
We know that human activity is negatively impacting the loss of biodiversity globally, and companies have a key role to play. To help reverse this trend, companies must start by meaningfully assessing, disclosing, and addressing their nature-related impacts, dependencies, risks, and opportunities.
Green Century has worked for decades to preserve forests, including iconic boreal tracts in Canada and elsewhere as a result of the comprehensive 2022 landmark Montreal Biodiversity Protocol, which set 23 targets on habitat loss, species extinction, pollution, invasive species and sustainable use of resources. Green Century has long worked to advance protections for nature through our efforts to preserve natural forests, reduce the use of harmful chemicals, and put companies on a path to net zero emissions. In the fall of 2023, we filed our first proposals that specifically address biodiversity, asking PepsiCo and Kellanova to complete material biodiversity dependency and impact assessments. This year, we refiled our resolution at PepsiCo and co-filed, along with Domini Impact Investments, a biodiversity and nature disclosure resolution at Home Depot. These resolutions called on the companies to face and address the challenges to nature that threaten their business.
Green Century is the financial institution that has filed the most environmentally focused proposals for the last three years, according to Georgeson Proxy Season reports. Many of those resolutions focused on issues related to biodiversity.
Investors can be working a discussion of biodiversity into their engagements. In the last shareholder season, Green Century persuaded several companies to make progress on biodiversity issues:
• Green Century helped protect the Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge, the largest intact freshwater ecosystem in the world. The refuge had been threatened by a proposed mine on its border to supply raw material to Chemours, a chemical company spun off from DuPont. Green Century held several meetings with Chemours executives and helped raise the public visibility of the issue. Following this campaign the landowner sold the land – nearly 8,000 acres – to a conservation group. This victory was a crucial step in protecting the Refuge, home to 900-year-old trees and many endangered species and animals, including birds, alligators, and bears.
• Conagra Brands, the parent company of Orville Redenbacher’s, Duncan Hines, Slim Jim and other well-known food brands, already has a forest protection plan, but they do not have a commitment to protect non-forest ecosystems. They agreed to assess expanding those protections to grasslands, savannahs and other wild places affected by the packaged food company’s buying of beef and soy because of a Green Century shareholder resolution.
• ADM – Green Century persuaded Archer-Daniels-Midland (ADM), one of the largest agricultural companies in the world, to strengthen protections for South America’s ecosystems that are critical to global biodiversity and curbing climate change. Under the company’s new policy, it will no longer buy soy and corn grown on plantations created by destroying wild lands. As a global food supplier, this commitment protects critical areas on the continent and serves as a model for other companies.
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Green Century also addresses biodiversity loss by supporting the campaign work of our nonprofit owners, which run environmental and public health campaigns.
They run their own environmental campaigns on issues ranging from solar, wind and other clean renewable energy, to raising awareness of wild places fragmented by roads, development, and other human activities. Some of these campaigns alert the public to threats to unspoiled, rare ecosystems. Many people see the benefits of biodiversity, from protecting wild spaces so animals can roam freely to raising awareness of toxic chemicals that harm bees, butterflies and other pollinators that are vital for our food production.
Preserving biodiversity requires the aid of multiple players. These groups, ranging from Connecticut to California, have worked on campaigns to address:
• Biodiversity threats faced by bees and other pollinators, including loss of habitat, a warming climate, disease and the wider use of toxic pesticides known as neonicotinoids. Commonly called “neonics”, this class of insecticides is widely used in gardening and farming. Neonics are absorbed by the entire plant’s system – from roots to pollen – making them especially harmful to pollinators. Some states, including Vermont and New York, have curtailed the sale of seeds coated with neonics. Additionally, Minnesota and California have blocked the use of neonics in state wildlife areas and on other public lands, reflecting the consensus that these areas should be some of the safest places for bees, butterflies, birds, and other critters.
• In the new frontier of deep seabed mining, some companies are rushing to exploit the last untouched ecosystems on the planet without understanding what the environmental impact would be. Seabed mining and mineral exploration aim to increase access to manganese, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth elements. These minerals are used in defense systems, batteries, smartphones, medical devices, and more. This activity, however, poses significant downsides, including destroying ocean habitat, disrupting marine ecosystems, releasing toxins, and causing biodiversity loss.
• Educating the public on the importance of wildlife corridors and conserving wild spaces for many species, ranging from red-tailed hawks soaring above suburban forests to amphibians and other critters accessing wildlife tunnels to survive highway crossings. Connecting wildlife to forests, wetlands, and other wild places is vital as terrain gets fragmented by development, highways, railroads, fences, dams and other obstacles. With boundless tracts vanishing, rewilding and reconnecting nature is vital for healthy ecosystems. At stake is the ability for species to follow instinctual migration routes, adapt to climate change, and forage for food, water, shelter, and mates.
In conclusion, nature and preserving biodiversity are efforts that require attention, intention and stewardship. Companies must find nature-positive approaches to all aspects of their business, from supply chains to manufacturing to distribution, to avoid near- and long-term risks associated with the degradation of the natural world. Investors have a crucial role to play by insisting that companies take concrete steps to address the systemic risk of global biodiversity loss. Along with our advocacy efforts, Green Century’s owners work to raise awareness to protect special places and protect habitat for rare species, as well as preserve the quality of our air, lands, and waters.
Article by Leslie Samuelrich leads Green Century Funds, a leader in fossil fuel free and sustainable investing for more than 30 years. In 2024, she was selected for the esteemed Forbes’ 50 Over 50 list and was named for the second consecutive year to the prestigious Barron’s 100 Most Influential Women in U.S. Finance, joining the ranks of other prominent and influential women leaders. Her comments have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters, Barron’s, Morningstar, The New York Times, and many other outlets. She recently was elected to a third term on the Board of Directors for US SIF: The Sustainable Investment Forum. She has been a guest speaker on impact investing at The Wharton School for several years.
This material is for informational and educational purposes and is intended for a U.S. audience. It should not be considered investment advice, nor is it a solicitation to buy or sell any specific investment or strategy. No guarantees are made regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information provided.
Green Century is a trade name for Green Century Capital Management, Inc., an SEC-registered investment adviser. Some products are distributed by Distribution Services, LLC, an unaffiliated broker-dealer. Green Century Funds are available only through a prospectus and to U.S. residents.