Media Contacts:
Andrea Ranger, Shareholder Advocate, aranger@greencentury.com, 781-349-2813;
Pam Podger, Communications Director, ppodger@greencentury.com, 860-822-3887
BOSTON, April 26, 2023 – After filing shareholder proposals with each company, Green Century° successfully secured commitments with Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.,* Intel Corporation,* NVIDIA Corporation,* ON Semiconductor Corporation,* and Texas Instruments, Inc.* requesting they publish climate transition plans. Climate transition plans detail companies’ near- and medium-term strategies and future actions deemed necessary to reaching their greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals.
The United Nations describes such plans as an “essential tool” for building public trust, helping companies align “governance and incentive structures, capital expenditures, research and development, skills and human resource development, and public advocacy…” with their targets.
Pressure to plan for and achieve steep emissions cuts comes not only from investors, but from the semiconductor industry itself. The Semiconductor Climate Consortium, which is an initiative of the microelectronics industry group SEMI, urges its members to set net-zero emissions targets and to transparently report progress. Additionally, semiconductor company customers that have net-zero emissions reduction targets, such as Apple,* Google,* and Microsoft,* are increasingly eyeing their chip suppliers as they look to eliminate their upstream emissions.
Climate Transition Plans Help Investors Assess Companies’ Progress In Limiting Climate Change
“I believe each company recognizes the value of producing climate transition plans for investors and that their leadership will encourage peers and competitors to do the same,” said Green Century Funds President Leslie Samuelrich. “Investors increasingly need visibility into companies’ assumptions, opportunities, barriers, and emissions reduction pathways as they move toward fulfilling their emissions reduction targets.”
Semiconductor chip manufacturing is energy intensive and relies heavily on electricity to power furnaces, manufacturing equipment, and to maintain clean rooms. As a result, companies like Intel, NVIDIA, and ON Semiconductor are looking to source 100% renewable energy for their operations. However, semiconductor manufacturing also uses gases that are essential to completing chip designs, such as perfluorocarbons (PFCs). PFCs have a global warming potential that is thousands of times higher than carbon dioxide, and the gases are currently much more difficult to replace with less potent alternatives.
“The semiconductor industry has some very real challenges to overcome in order to secure a path to net-zero emissions,” said Green Century Shareholder Advocate Andrea Ranger, “The idea of climate transition plans is relatively new, but for Green Century, they couldn’t come quickly enough. The window of time for limiting devastating climate impacts is so narrow; we need to know that companies are planning and doing their part to ensure a livable future.”
Ranger added, “I want to acknowledge Advanced Micro Devices and ON Semiconductor, especially, for agreeing to create the most comprehensive transition plans I’ve seen yet. All five companies, however, deserve praise for their new commitments.”
An investment strategy that incorporates environmental, social and governance criteria may result in lower or higher returns than an investment strategy that does not include such criteria.
###
°Green Century Capital Management, Inc. (Green Century) is the investment advisor to the Green Century Funds (The Funds). The Green Century Funds are one of the first families of fossil fuel-free, environmentally responsible mutual funds. Green Century hosts an award-winning and in-house shareholder advocacy program and is the only mutual fund company in the U.S. wholly owned by environmental and public health nonprofit organizations.
*As of March 31, 2023, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. comprised 0.00%, 0.86%, and 0.00%, Alphabet, Inc. (Google) comprised 3.11%, 6.48 %, and 0.00%, Apple Inc. comprised 5.14%, 0.00% and 0.00%, Intel Corporation comprised 0.00%, 0.74%, and 0.00%, MicroSoft Corporation comprised 3.98%, 11.12% and 0.00%, NVIDIA Corporation comprised 1.07%, 3.72%, and 0.00%, ON Semiconductor Corporation comprised 0.00%, 0.19%, and 0.00%, and Texas Instruments, Inc. comprised 0.00%, 0.92%, and 0.00% of the Green Century Balanced Fund, the Green Century Equity Fund, and the Green Century International Index Fund, respectively. As of the same date, other securities mentioned were not held in the portfolios of any of the Green Century Funds. References to specific securities, which will change due to ongoing management of the Funds, should not be construed as a recommendation by the Funds, their administrator, or their distributor.
You should carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. To obtain a Prospectus that contains this and other information about the Funds please visit www.greencentury.com, email info@greencentury.com, or call 1-800-934-7336. Please read the Prospectus carefully before investing.
Stocks will fluctuate in response to factors that may affect a single company, industry, sector, country, region or the market as a whole and may perform worse than the market. Foreign securities are subject to additional risks such as currency fluctuations, regional economic and political conditions, differences in accounting methods, and other unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers. Bonds are subject to a variety of risks including interest rate, credit, and inflation risk.
This information has been prepared from sources believed reliable. The views expressed are as the date of this writing and are those of the Advisor to the Funds.
The Green Century Funds are distributed by UMB Distribution Services, LLC. 235 W Galena Street, Milwaukee, WI 53212. 4/23