Cleantech 2008 Annual Review

While I have been busy attending conferences surrounding Earth Day, on April 22, The Cleantech Group has released their 2008 Annual Review on Cleantech investment available here. Meanwhile I am preparing an article to summarize the key conclusions of the lectures I attended, which should be posted shortly.

Additionally looking ahead, over April 28-30, 2009, more than 350 leaders of the clean technology sector, representing trillions of Euros in capital, together with investors, corporates, policy-makers, entrepreneurs and CEOs of sector leading companies, will convene in Copenhagen for Cleantech Forum XXII at the Radisson SAS Scandinavia.

Clean technology is first and foremost about resource efficiency. In these challenging economic times, clean technology has the potential to offer economic growth, job creation and excellent investment opportunities, to solve real problems and cut costs.

Cleantech Forum

The Next Wave

The term Anthropocene is used by some scientists to describe the most recent period in the Earth's history. It has no precise start date, but may be considered to start in the late 18th century when the activities of humans first began to have a significant global impact on the Earth's climate and ecosystems.

The Earth at night, a simulated night-time image of the world during the anthropocene.

Concurrently, modern economic thought emerged in the 17th and 18th centuries as the western world began its transformation from an agrarian to an industrial society.

Despite the enormous differences between then and now, the economic problems with which society struggles remain the same:

• How do we decide what to produce with our limited resources?
• How do we ensure stable prices and full employment of our resources?
• How do we provide a rising standard of living both for ourselves and for future generations?

With resources becoming scarcer, it is necessary to have correct price signals to ensure the most efficient allocation of resources to maximize social welfare.

Progress in economic thought toward answers to these questions tends to take discrete steps rather than to evolve smoothly over time. A new school of ideas suddenly emerges as changes in the economy yield fresh insights and make existing doctrines obsolete. The new school eventually becomes the consensus view, to be pushed aside by the next wave of new ideas.

This process continues today and its motivating force remains the same as that three centuries ago: to understand the economy so that we may use it wisely to achieve society's goals.

Climate change is, Lord Nicholas Stern argues, the biggest example of market failure we will ever see. If you thought government bail-outs were giving financiers an easy way out, look at the free ride we have been given over our climate-killing consumption patterns. “When we emit greenhouse gases we damage the prospects for others and, unless appropriate policy is in place, we do not bear the costs of the damage,” Stern writes in his new book, A Blueprint for a Safer Planet. “Markets then fail in the sense that their main co-ordinating mechanism – prices – give the wrong signals.”

Stern’s prescriptions for a low-carbon future include putting a price on carbon, investing in renewable energy, and providing funding for poor countries to keep their forests intact.

Then and now. Glacier in Patagonia, Argentina 1928. Glacier in Pategonia, Argentina 2004. 76 years of climate change.

Perhaps the experience of bailing out the banks will persuade them that an early market intervention for the climate may avoid an even more disastrous bust in the future.

Lord Nicholas Stern will present an outline of his new book, A Blueprint for a Safer Planet, which describes how to manage climate change while creating a new era of growth and prosperity.

FREE Event at LSE - Lord Nicholas Stern: A Blueprint for a Safer Planet

The future, if we fail to act.

The Ups and Downs of a Global Carbon Market

A single global price for carbon emissions is not likely for another 10 to 15 years because governments are dragging their heels on legislation and there are still many hurdles to jump. The European Union's executive Commission hopes to have a global carbon market in which emissions trading schemes are linked by 2020. It wants to see national schemes in all OECD countries by 2013 and for those to be linked by 2015. 

However, the recent meltdown of the carbon market in Europe has  highlighted the inherent instability in the system and also hampered green investment, because as long as the price of carbon remains low, industry will remain shortsighted, and not invest the necessary resources over the medium to long -term.  

Meanwhile the U.S. cap-and-trade bill is being negotiated with carbon permit auctions by the government expected to start from 2013.  In his latest budget proposals, U.S. President Barack Obama expects to generate some $646 billion in revenues from these auctions between 2013 and 2020.  Obama's plans have so far had no major impact on carbon trading in Europe, but in the long term it is highly probable these two markets will join up creating a vast pool of liquidity.   

Price expectations under a U.S. scheme are fundamentally different to what you expect for the EU. European prices will likely be higher, so if the schemes were linked by 2015, that would mean a one-way flow of (carbon permits) from the U.S. to Europe. 

Some believe this will create the largest derivatives market in the word, as it is projected that the market could read $1 trillion in trades annually by 2020, according to New Carbon Finance, a London research firm.  Proper regulation of a U.S. carbon market is particularly important given what’s happened in financial markets over the last year. 

Wall Street banks, hedge funds and institutional investors are under a rain of public indignation and regulatory scrutiny for their role in the current financial crisis. Many legislators are concerned that creating a carbon market may simply give the same players a new opportunity for manipulation and hazardous trading.

At the same time, those institutional investors argue their activities help to provide liquidity to the market - enough trading activity that helps both to define a price and give buyers and sellers of emission allowances multiple participants with whom to trade.

Just as sketchy home mortgages set the stage for the subprime mess in U.S. banking markets, sketchy environmental initiatives threaten to create a “subprime carbon” mess, environmental group Friends of the Earth warned last Thursday.  A cap-and-trade plan would create a huge new market in emissions permits at a time when Wall Street and Washington have their hands full figuring out how to police existing markets. One key element in all the climate proposals floated so far is the use of “offsets,” or the ability to purchase emissions reductions made somewhere else, which Friends of the Earth call in a new report, “Subprime Carbon”.

Strict fool-proof regulation will be essential to ensure derivatives do not ruin the carbon market as they have others. 

Best Foot Forward

The battle rages on as the recession takes its bite, causing environmental projects to suffer, while others seek to change the footing of the world economy, away from its high consumption of fossil fuels to a low carbon basis:

• The massive injection of cash worldwide by governments to resolve the financial crisis is being compared to the 'New Deal', Franklin D Roosevelt's program in the 1930's to lift the US out of Depression.  In total the economic stimulus packages amount to more than $2,800bn.  Nick Robins, co-author of Sustainable Investing: The Art of Long Term Performance, and head of HSCB's Climate Change Centre for Excellence, says the world stands to devote $430bn for the 'Green New Deal', or about 15% of the $2,800bn stimulus to green measures. China is devoting about a third, US 10-12% and the UK only 7%, and Japan only 2.6%.   

• Ceres scored a huge victory yesterday, as after two years of intense advocacy, they have willed insurance regulators to approve a mandatory groundbreaking requirement ordering insurance companies to disclose to regulators and investors the financial risks they face from climate change, as well as actions the companies are taking to respond to those risks.It is the world’s first mandatory climate risk disclosure requirement — and it covers the largest global industry. Worldwide, insurers manage $16 trillion in assets...MORE

• European Union leaders meet tomorrow for their annual spring council meeting, and senior climate change official, Yvo de Boer has said he fears that the EU is backsliding on it promises an rewriting an agreement made in 2007 in Bali.  Poor countries will not commit to a new treaty at the UN meeting in Copenhagen this December, unless they have assurances from the developed countries that the necessary financing mechanisms will be detailed in the treaty to help fund the cuts in greenhouse gas emissions

• New Energy Finance, said investment in clean energy last year reached $155bn, about 4.4 per cent high than in 2007.  However, in the first half of last there was strong growth, but the second half this dropped off significantly, with asset finance for clean energy down 25 per cent on its peak level.  NEF forecast that this year will be flat, with about $150bn investment in the sector.

UK Working Towards Global Low Carbon Economy

The global low-carbon and environmental sector was worth £3 trillion ($4.1 trillion) last year, according to research commissioned by the UK government.  The UK government also believes the value of the global low carbon energy sector alone could be as high as $3 trillion a year by 2050, employing more than 25 million people.

Currently, the UK is the sixth-largest economy for low-carbon and environmental goods and services (LCEGS), such as renewable energy, nuclear power and recycling, analysts Innovas found, in market research carried out for the country’s Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

The sector’s turnover was £107 billion in the UK in 2007/8, midway between the size of the country’s healthcare and construction sectors, and was responsible for 880,000 jobs. Innovas predicts it will grow by another £45 billion in the next decade. The total UK economy was worth £1,600 billion in 2007/8.

The report breaks down the LCEGS sector into three parts: traditional environmental services, such as recycling, and water and waste management; renewables, such as wind, hydropower and biomass; and ‘emerging low carbon’, including nuclear power, carbon finance and building technologies.

Worldwide, Innovas found that low-carbon businesses account for nearly half of the market value of the LCEGS sector, or £1,449 billion. Renewable energy accounts for another 31%, or £940 billion, with traditional environmental activities making up the final 21%, or £657 billion.

The transition to a low carbon world will transform our whole economy. Lord Stern’s landmark Review in 2006 set out the economic case for action on climate change and for investment in a low carbon economy. Recognising that economic necessity, the UK has through the Climate Change Act become the first country in the world to adopt a legally binding target to reduce carbon emissions – by at least 26% by 2020 and by 80% by 2050.

Speaking at the launch of the governments proposed Low-Carbon Business Strategy, UK Business Secretary Peter Mandelson said: “Low carbon is not a sector of our economy, it is, or will be, our whole economy, and a global market.”

The Future of Capitalism?

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will meet with U.S. President Barack Obama Tomorrow. President Barack Obama's determination to reverse Bush administration policy on combating climate change will hopefully help produce a global agreement this year in Copenhagen. 

The U.S. didn’t ratify the only international climate change treaty, the Kyoto Protocol, whose provisions expire in 2012. The UN is seeking to broker a new accord in December in Copenhagen that draws all nations into the effort.  Eyes from every nation will be watching to see the U.S. stance on this topic and whether Obama will accept the invitation from Bank Ki-moon to attend a proposed mini-summit at the UN this spring.

Now that the green stimulus's have been rolled out, a closer look reveals that the packages of tax cuts, credits and extra spending that have been trumpeted for their environmental credentials by the governments proposing them, show that green spending account for only a small part of the bigger initiatives.

Much of the spending will go to projects that will, in fact, increase emissions, such as new roads or fossil fuel power stations, while too little money will be devoted to low-carbon projects to make a real difference, experts believe.

Lord Nicholas Stern, the former World Bank chief economist who wrote the landmark study that found the cost of tackling climate change would be far less than the costs of unchecked global warming, has led calls for green measures to be at the heart of global stimulus measures.  

He said: “It is vital that these investments do not lock us for many more decades into an unsustainable high-carbon economy. Investing in low-carbon technologies would improve the world’s economic prospects for the long term, he said. “If we are going to make this expansion, let’s look at what is going to be the growth story of the future. Low-carbon growth is going to be the only growth story of the future.”

Lord Stern calculates that governments need to spend $400bn on green measures to achieve the emissions cuts required and to help the global economy recover.  Only if spending was concentrated on low-carbon technologies would the world escape the prospect of raising emissions for years to come, and “thus having to spend much more in the future to bring them back down to safe levels”, Lord Stern said.  

What is clear is that market capitalism has arrived at a critical juncture. Even beyond the bailouts and volatility, the challenges of the climate crisis, water scarcity, income disparity, extreme poverty and disease must command our urgent attention.  Economic theory derived from the industrial revolution that does not factor in externalities and the true cost of natural resources must be changed.  Sustainable development will be the primary driver of economic and industrial change over the next 25 years.  

As Al Gore has put it, "the market is long on short and short on long. Short-termism results in poor investment and asset allocation decisions, with disastrous effects on our economy."

Today in the FT, Martin Wolf began a series on the Future of Capitalism with an article titled 'Seeds of its Own Destruction'.   He concludes that the era of financial liberalization is over, yet unlike the 1930's no credible alternative to the market economy exists and the habits of international co-operation are deep.  "I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more," said Dorothy after a tornado dropped her, her house and dog in the land of Oz.  The world of the past three decades has gone.  Where we end up, after this financial tornado, is for us to seek to determine.

Pavan Sukhdev, a senior banker from Deutsche Bank who has worked on green ideas with the UN, said: “Investments will soon be pouring back into the global economy. The question is whether they go into the old, extractive, short-term economy of yesterday or a new green economy.”

We need sustainable capitalism, and all nations must work together to ensure green shoots of recovery.

 

Which Country has the Greenest Bailout?

After all my discussion regarding greening the stimulus packages it is comforting to see that countries have responded, but many are still lacking behind and the percentage allocation to green stimulus could still be significantly larger. Here is a excellent interactive graphic by the FT analyzing the green portion of economic stimulus's in various countries along with a breakdown of the sector allocations.  

Dawn of a New Era for Institutional Investors

The World faces it last chance to prevent fatal warming as 190 countries will meet in Copenhagen in December to try to agree to a global framework to replace the Kyoto Protocol on fighting global warming, which expires in 2012.  "It is now 12 years since Kyoto was created. This makes Copenhagen the world's last chance to stop climate change before it passes the point of no return," European Union Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas told a climate conference in Budapest on Friday. 

Meanwhile, college endowments are rethinking the aggressive strategies they adopted after chasing the impressive performance of the Yale endowment which has had a 17.8 percent average annual return over the last decade. Endowments have suffered, and for the year ending September 30, endowments and foundations were down on average 13.2 per cent compared with average public and corporate pensions, which were down 14.8 per cent and 15.5 per cent respectively, says Northern Trust.  Considerable losses have most likely ensued since then, and this has caused endowments and pensions to rethink the structure of their asset allocation.  Endowments in the US are often the first to incorporate new strategies and asset classes in their portfolios.  Speaking at a recent conference in New York, Donald Lindsey, CIO of George Washington University says, "Rather than think about asset allocation, think about a macro view of the world.  What are the major forces that are going to have a significant impact and really change the world in the next 10 years?  Are there investable themes that can be capitalized on?"  Core to an endowments investment policy is stewardship, the necessity to maintain purchasing power of invested principal for future generations, while meeting the liabilities of current generations.  

Institutional investors behaviour must change in the months and years to come to better match the fact that their long-term horizons for liabilities and investments and diversified portfolios give them a direct and genuine fiduciary interest in the long term economic health and well-being of the world.  Now is the opportune time for institutional investors to capitalize on the sustainable themes that will be crucial to ensure long-term economic growth.  Institutional investors, including pension funds, should accept some degree of responsibility for the investment practices which have cause the global economic crisis, the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) Initiative has said. The body, which has over 500 members, said institutional investors should admit they made ‘mistakes’ in the run up to the crisis – but should work together in order to improve risk management and responsible investment practices in the future.  California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) chief executive and UNPRI board member Anne Stausboll said: “CalPERS believes integrating responsible investing with our asset management is part of our fiduciary responsibility. 

I urge all institutional investors to become signatories of the UN PRI and to attend the following event put on by the CFA Society of the UK Energy and Sustainable Investing Group who I have been working in collaboration with:  

The New Era in Pension Fund Investing 

Experiences from CalPERS

Date: Tuesday 24 March 2009 Venue: FTSE, Canary Wharf, London Russell Read - Founder, C Change Investments

Russell Read, founder of C Change Investments and former CIO of CalPERS will give you invaluable investment lessons based on his experiences as chief investment officer at Calpers, the largest public pension fund in the US and a recognised global leader in the investment industry.

Russell’s lecture will cover the following key issues:

• New tools/approaches needed for asset allocation and risk management— influence of private markets
• Growth versus value inflection point — re-emergence of energy and materials
• New centrality of emerging market investments
• Divergence of public pension funds from private pensions, insurance companies, & foundations/endowments
• Value-added, principled ESG investing

Sign up to attend.

Pictet Launches Megatrends Fund

Pictet is launching what it claims is a first-of-its-kind 'megatrends' fund that includes exposure to its water, clean energy and timber investment themes.

The Swiss private bank is hoping to raise €1 billion ($1.27 billion) into the Global Megatrends Selection Fund, which is aimed at retail investors across Europe.

The fund will invest on an equally weighted basis across eight themes, against which Pictet is already running thematic funds. These are biotech, digital communications, security, generic pharmaceuticals and premium brands, in addition to the three environmental themes.

“Pictet has identified these as [creating] persistant, secular changes in structural factors (such as demographics, lifestyle, regulation and the environment) which have the potential for long-term growth,” the company said.

I attended the launch of Pictet's Timber Fund in September 2008, and since inception it has only attracted around €10 million, so it will be interesting to see if the combination of these themes can achieve more attraction.  Pictet's Timber Fund is not a pure timber play however, as it invests in companies along the timber value chain, but it is more desirable to invest directly in timberland via a Timberland Investment Management Organization (TIMO) or REIT, although there is a trade-off with regards to liquidity.  A analysis of the merits of investing in timberland is detailed in my first post Money Does Grow on Trees.

Each month, the fund will be rebalanced, selling out of those themes which have overperformed and increasing investments in those that have underperformed, aiming to reduce its exposure to overvalued stocks.

The company – whose asset management subsidiary manages Sfr115 billion ($98 billion) – claims to have been a pioneer in thematic investing, launching its first such fund, a biotech fund, in 1995.

These existing themed funds invest in a mix of market capitalisations, typically a third large-cap, with the rest small- and mid-cap companies. 

The Megatrends fund – which is benchmarked to the MSCI World index – is not structured as a fund of funds, but will be invested alongside the existing funds, avoiding the ‘double charging’ of most fund of funds. It carries an administration fee of 1.6%.

Paul Gaston, head of UK sales, said that the fund is a “unique proposition” in the retail market, but it is likely to compete with Goldman Sachs’ recently launched Sustain fund product. That fund similarly combines demographic, environmental and social themes in a global mixed-cap equity portfolio.

U.S. Companies Red Carded for Climate Risk

A U.S. coalition of investors known as Ceres, that work with companies to address sustainability challenges,  placed nine companies on  a "Climate Watch" list, claiming the long-term competitiveness of the firms could be hurt by their lack of action on climate change. Investors filed shareholder resolutions with eight of the nine companies—and 49 other businesses—aimed at improving their focus and attention to the financial risks and opportunities from climate change. Below I have posted a list of the companies that have been red flagged, and the reasons justifying these concerns.  As environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) issues become more widely publicized and analyzed, the ability to utilize this information to increase portfolio returns will improve, as an understanding of the material effects on business will become increasingly clear.

Oil Sands

The group also targeted companies investing in Canada's tar sands, including Chevron Corp, which owns part of the Athabasca Oil Sands Project, and Canadian Natural Resources, one of the largest producers in oil sands.

Alberta's oil sands rival Saudi Arabia's conventional oil reserves in size, but environmentalists say mining and processing them releases huge amounts of greenhouse gases.

I have previously discussed Canada's oil sands as a focal point in its climate change policy in a post titled Toxic Alberta, stating that it is imperative that if production of the oil sands is to continue, it must be done in a environmentally friendly manner, taking advantage of the latest developments in technology to avoid significant detriment to the environment. 

Fortunately President Barack Obama understands the necessity for this and has said oil extracted from tar sands in Canada can be made a clean energy source, and the U.S. will work with its northern neighbor to develop the technology.

A joint effort by the U.S. and Canada, its biggest trading partner, on ways to capture and store carbon dioxide underground would “be good for everybody,” Obama said yesterday in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. 

When Obama visits Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa on Thursday, energy will be a key topic in the talks. About 75 percent of Canada's oil sands output is shipped to the U.S. market. 

As Obama backs slashing emissions of heat-trapping gases to 1990 levels, I hope he takes into account the massive scale of carbon capture and storage which must be implemented to ensure cleaner development of Canada's oil sands. The new president will also have to square his environmental agenda with his call to trim dependence on oil supplies from the Mideast and with the U.S.’s longstanding policy to treat Canada as a commercial and strategic ally.

Although, Obama is aware of the need to implement carbon capture and storage to stave of global warming, it will remain to be seen whether or not this is too little, too late.  "Extraction of oil from oil sands is a risky proposition and will likely in the long term be a disaster for both investors and inhabitants of an increasingly warming planet," said Margaret Weber, board chair of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, which coordinates shareholder filings with Ceres.

The Climate Watch companies are as follows:

Chevron: Chevron is named to the Climate Watch List for its extensive investments in Alberta, Canada’s oil sands, and for resisting shareholder requests to disclose potential financial risks associated with the carbon-intensive project that encompasses millions of acres. Greenhouse gas emissions associated with oil sands development is three times higher than conventional oil extraction and refining according to the investors. Chevron owns 20 percent of a major oil sands extraction effort, the Athabasca Oil Sands Project, and is the operator at a large proposed oil sands project at Ells River, yet its public disclosure of potential financial exposure from climate regulations and other project risks pales in comparison to Shell and Suncor. The resolution outlines key risks from the project and asks that the company report on environmental damage resulting from its expanding oil sands operation.   (Green Century contact: Emily Stone, 617-482-0800, and Ceres contact: Andrew Logan, 202-746-0661)

CONSOL Energy: Given that coal combustion accounts for about one-third of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the U.S. and given the growing regulatory momentum to reduce emissions from power plants, the New York City Pension Funds filed a resolution with the Pittsburgh-based company requesting a report on how the company is responding to growing regulatory and competitive pressure to significantly reduce GHG emissions. CONSOL is the nation’s largest bituminous coal producer. (NYC Comptroller Contact: Laura Rivera, 212-669-2701)

ExxonMobil: ExxonMobil has been unresponsive to investor requests for a decade regarding strategies intended to meet growing demand for diversified clean energy sources. Four climate resolutions filed this year request that: the board develop comprehensive GHG emission reduction goals: that it report on the impact of climate change on emerging markets and on U.S. leadership in achieving energy independence; and that it disclose its plans for developing for renewable energy. The resolutions were filed by the: Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment, Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation and Reynolds Foundation, Province of St. Joseph of the Capuchin Order, and Neva Goodwin.  (Tri-State Coalition Contact: Pat Daly, 973-509-8800)

General Motors: Investors have a long, unsuccessful history of filing shareholder resolutions with General Motors and engaging with the company on climate-related business strategies. The resolution filed by the Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment asks General Motors to set GHG reduction goals from its products and operations, as other U.S. and foreign automakers have already done. The resolution cites GM’s ongoing litigation to stop California’s clean car standards from being adopted and its lackluster response compared to Ford in developing a business model that accounts for climate change. (Tri-State Coalition Contact: Pat Daly, 973-509-8800)

Massey Energy: The Virginia-based coal company continues to resist shareholder resolutions requesting the company to develop and disclose a strategy for responding to climate change. Thirty percent of shareholders voted in favor of the resolution last year. Given that coal combustion accounts for about one-third of all GHG emissions in the U.S., the New York City Pension Funds filed a resolution, for the third consecutive year, requesting a report on how the company is responding to growing regulatory and competitive pressure to reduce GHG emissions. Massey is the nation’s 4th largest coal producer. (NYC Comptroller Contact: Laura Rivera, 212-669-2701) 

Standard Pacific: Unlike other leading homebuilders, Standard Pacific has opposed shareholder requests the past three years to disclose its strategies and performance on energy efficiency and other climate-related issues. The resolution filed by the Nathan Cummings Foundation asks the CA-based homebuilder to adopt quantitative goals for boosting energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its products and operations. Homebuilders have an important role in mitigating climate change because 40 percent of GHGs come from building energy use, and building energy efficiency is one of the most cost effective means of reducing global warming pollution. (Nathan Cummings Foundation Contact: Lance Lindbloom, 212-787-7300, and Ceres contact: Betsy Boyle, Ceres 617-247-0700 X143;)

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd: One of the largest and most established producers currently active in Canada’s oil sands, the Calgary-based company has refused to date to meet with investors on the issue of climate change, and, unlike other oil companies, it has not made any renewable energy investments. Ethical Funds filed a resolution with Canadian Natural Resources in 2007 requesting that it disclose its climate risks, but the company has not responded to the resolution. CNQ is the only oil company opposing the recommendations of the Government of Alberta’s Cumulative Environmental Management Association Multi-stakeholder process. (http://www.cemaonline.ca/ ) (Ethical Funds Contact: Robert Walker, 604-714-3833)

Southern: The nation’s largest electric power producer, which emits more than 160 million tons of CO2 emissions a year, has balked at shareholder resolutions the past several years asking it to set GHG reduction targets. In filing the resolution, the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth cited the company for its adequate climate risk disclosure, but weak action to mitigate that exposure by reducing GHG emissions. Thirty-seven percent of the company’s industry peers, including American Electric Power, Duke Energy and Exelon, disclosed absolute GHG reductions targets in the Carbon Disclosure Project’s most recent annual survey released in 2008.  Atlanta-based Southern opposes mandatory federal limits to reduce GHG emissions. (Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth, NJ contact: Sr. Barbara Aires, 973-290-5402)

Ultra Petroleum: Houston-based Ultra has resisted shareholder requests the past three years to disclose its strategies for addressing climate change, despite relatively strong shareholder voting support. While Ultra has a relatively small market capitalization (about $5 billion), its resistance to acknowledging climate change risks puts it out of step with its peers. The resolution filed by the Nathan Cummings Foundation asks the company to report on its plans to address climate change. (Nathan Cummings Foundation Contact: Lance Lindbloom, 212-787-7300, Ceres contact: Andrew Logan, 202-746-0661)

In addition to the Climate Watch companies, investors filed resolutions with the following other businesses. The list of investors filing resolutions with each of the companies can be found at http://www.ceres.org/resolutions or http://www.iccr.org.

Auto/Transportation: Avis/Budget, Hertz

Banks: Ameriprise, Citigroup, Fifth Third Bancorp, State Street

Building and Big Box Companies: Bed, Bath & Beyond, Boston Properties, General Growth, Home Depot, Las Vegas Sands, Lennar, Pulte Homes, Ryland

Coal: Alpha Natural Resources, Foundation Coal, International Coal

Electric Power: Dominion, Dynegy, Idacorp, Mirant, NV Energy (formerly Sierra Pacific)

Forestry:  International Paper, Meredith, RR Donnelly

Oil & Gas: ConocoPhillips, Haliburton, Noble Energy, Oneok, Range Resources, South Jersey Industries, Spectra

Other S&P 500 Companies: Apple, Aqua America, Assurant, Broadcom, Denbury Resources, Dover Corporation, Flowserve, Kadant, MetLife,  Middleby, Novell, SanDisk, Southwest Airlines, St. Jude, Stryker, Valmont. 

Canadian Companies: Great-West Life & Annuity