Media Contact: Thomas Peterson, tpeterson@greencentury.com, 781-349-2615; Annalisa Tarizzo, atarizzo@greencentury.com, 781-349-2789
Boston, March 21, 2022 – The Securities and Exchange Commission proposed new rules today that would require publicly traded companies to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the risks that climate change poses to their businesses, their governance of these risks, and their emissions reduction targets if relevant. The proposal requires disclosure of Scope 1 and 2 emissions, which constitute emissions from a company’s operations and purchased energy, and, for some companies, Scope 3 emissions, or emissions associated with a company’s supply chain and the use of its products. The proposed rules will be subject to a public comment period before they are finalized.
Green Century° president Leslie Samuelrich issued the following statement:
“The SEC’s proposed requirement that companies disclose their greenhouse gas emissions represents a major step forward. We believe climate vulnerabilities and value chain emissions constitute material information, and investors need reliable, comparable disclosures in order to assess issuers’ exposure to physical and transition risk. These SEC rules will ensure companies provide that critical disclosure.
“We applaud the SEC for including a phased-in requirement that large companies disclose scope 3 emissions when these emissions are material or when the company has scope 3 emissions targets. Scope 3 emissions represent the vast majority of the climate impact of companies in many sectors, from fossil fuels, to retail, to consumer packaged goods. Investors need these disclosures in order to understand a company’s true exposure to climate risk, and to evaluate whether companies are authentically reducing the emissions associated with their value chains. As our shareholder advocate Thomas Peterson told the Wall Street Journal last month, the exclusion of scope 3 emissions disclosure would have incentivized companies to shift emissions to their suppliers or customers to give the impression of emissions reduction, while value chain emissions actually grew or remained static. Some of the world’s largest polluters have vastly underreported and misrepresented their emissions by excluding scope 3. The SEC is closing the door on that kind of greenwashing.”
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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.
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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. 3/22