Boston Trust Walden Balanced Fund
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Some sustainability-mandated funds actively engage the companies they own. Indeed, efforts by sustainability-focused investors whose funds are found on this site have been crucial to driving positive change in deforestation-risk sectors like palm oil. A number of asset managers are known sustainability engagers, and have taken actions such as filing shareholder resolutions asking for policy changes. Those asset managers deserve special acknowledgement - often, they are using their investments to make sure they have a voice at the table to call for real improvements in company behavior. We used data collected by Ceres to identify asset managers that have filed shareholder resolutions on deforestation, climate change, or other environmental issues. If a fund owns companies we screen for, but the family is a known filer of deforestation or environmental-related shareholder resolutions, it earns a special engagement score. Read more about our deforestation grades.
Boston Trust Walden Funds has filed deforestation or other climate-change related shareholder resolutions at Advance Auto Parts Inc., Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation, Comcast Corporation, ConocoPhillips, Costco Wholesale Corporation, Denbury Resources Inc., Emerson Electric, Hubbell Incorporated, Lincoln Electric Holdings, Mettler-Toledo International Inc., PNM Resources, Qualcomm Incorporated, and Stryker Corp. See the resolutions
THIS STATEMENT PROVIDED BY WALDEN FUNDS: A core focus of Walden’s climate-related engagement is to encourage companies to adopt robust climate policies and science-based GHG goals, consistent with reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change or IPCC. This translates to a reduction in GHG emissions of 55 percent globally by 2050 compared to 2010, the likely minimum decrease needed to avoid the most disastrous consequences of global warming. The destruction of tropical forests and peatlands in Indonesia and Malaysia to make room for palm oil production contributes significantly to climate change. As context, during the 26-day period beginning September 1, 2015, researchers from VU University in Amsterdam calculated that daily GHG emissions from fires in Indonesia to clear land for palm oil and pulp production surpassed those of the entire U.S. Walden has engaged companies in client portfolios that have exposure to the palm oil value chain, pressing for commitments to address not only the climate, but also biodiversity and human rights impacts of its development.
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