Investors are now jumping into the battle against the Chamber of Commerce’s climate change denial, asking the heads of major businesses to distance themselves from the Chamber and the National Association of Manufacturers, which has also opposed climate legislation.
On Wednesday, a group of of 43 institutional investors and related organizations submitted a statement to the CEOs of 14 companies. Walden Asset Management and Green Century Capital Management are leading the group of investors.
The notice asks companies “to address their disagreement with the chamber and NAM on climate change policy by withdrawing membership, publicly disclosing their disagreement, or asking the associations to refund the portion of their dues used to lobby on the issue.”
“While some companies, including [yours], have articulated a business rationale for a national policy that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, … membership in NAM/Chamber sends a starkly contradictory message,” they wrote.
The group is targeting Air Products & Chemicals, Alcoa, American Electric Power, Boeing Co., Caterpillar, Cummins, Deere & Co., DTE Energy, Entergy, Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp., Lockheed Martin, Whirlpool, and Xerox Corp.
The investors, which collectively represent $16 billion in assets, include: Boston Common Asset Management, Catholic Health East, Catholic Healthcare West, Clean Yield Asset Management, Domini Social Investments, Green Century Capital Management, MMA Praxis Mutual Funds, Pax World Management Corp., The Russell Family Foundation, Trillium Asset Management and Walden Asset Management.
