Media Contacts: Andrea Ranger, aranger@greencentury.com, 781-349-2813; Mark Morgenstein, mmorgenstein@greencentury.com, 678-427-1671
Boston, August 18, 2022 – Green Century’s° shareholder proposal requesting AMERCO to adopt science-based greenhouse gas reduction targets in line with the Paris Agreement goal went to a vote Thursday. The overall vote tally was 19% in favor of the proposal, which was crafted to boost AMERCO’s ambition to address climate change. However, excluding the nearly 50% of the shares controlled by employees and the family of company founders, the “aye” votes may have been closer to 66%.
Although AMERCO is a leader in the do-it-yourself moving business, boasting a sizable fleet of 186,000 light- and medium-duty vehicles available at 21,000 locations across all 50 U.S. states and 10 Canadian provinces, it is not a leader in quantifying and reporting greenhouse gas emissions from its truck fleet and storage facilities. AMERCO has reported no plans to set emissions reduction targets, nor has it published any, even as the company’s largest institutional investors seek such targets and “quality plans to meet them.”
Green Century President Leslie Samuelrich and Shareholder Advocate Andrea Ranger issued the following statements in response to the announcement of the majority vote:
“The investor support we received is nothing short of remarkable given that nearly 50% of the stock represents inside ownership,” said Samuelrich. “Mitigating greenhouse gas emissions has to be a priority to stabilize both the climate and the global economy. Emissions reductions are predicted to mitigate risks for AMERCO, too, by limiting extreme weather events that can interrupt customer travel and damage the U-Haul fleet and storage buildings.”
Ranger added, “AMERCO arose from humble beginnings in the 1940’s and built the beloved U-Haul brand that we know today. AMERCO has adapted and innovated since those early days. We believe it can continue to apply that innovative spirit by integrating key climate-friendly strategies from rolling out zero emission U-Haul vehicles to installing solar systems to power its facilities, all while wowing its customers and investors.”
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About Green Century Capital Management
°Green Century Capital Management, Inc. (Green Century) is the investment advisor to the Green Century Funds (the Funds). The Green Century Funds are the first family of fossil fuel free, responsible, and diversified mutual funds in the United States. Green Century Capital Management 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 June 30, 2022, AMERCO comprised 0.00%, 0.03%, 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.
The percentage in favor was calculated by (i) dividing the number of votes in support of the proposal by (ii) the sum of the number of votes voted in support of and against the proposal. Abstentions and broker non-votes were not included in the calculation.
You should carefully consider the Funds’ 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. A sustainable investment strategy which incorporates environmental, social and governance criteria may result in lower or higher returns than an investment strategy that does not include such criteria.
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. 8/2022