Foundation News

The Sierra Club Foundation, which is a publicly supported charity, makes grants to grassroots campaigns that deliver results in the fight against climate disruption. The Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign is at the leading edge of this movement, having successfully defeated more than 160 coal plant proposals in the last six years, while targeting existing coal plants for retirement and replacement with clean energy. TSCF also funds the Sierra Club's Beyond Oil and Beyond Natural Gas campaigns, which are focused on reducing emissions and the effect of fossil fuels on our health, as well as the Sierra Club’s Our Wild America Campaign, which works to stop drilling and mining on public land in the face of climate disruption.

But the urgency of the climate crisis demands that we do more. A couple of years ago we took a hard look at our investments and decided that our investment strategy should be in line with the Sierra Club's mission. We now select all of our mutual funds using environmental, social, and governance (ESG) screens. We have investments in highly regarded ESG mutual funds -- namely Generation, Domini, Calvert, Neuberger Berman, and Boston Common.

Running investments through an ESG filter was the first phase in making sure our investments are mission-aligned, and that we get the worst actors out of our portfolio. We are now developing a policy that more fully spells out TSCF's decision not to invest in fossil fuels, investing instead in funds that directly support clean-energy solutions. TSCF Board Chair Larry Keeshan stated: "We at the Foundation are stewards of the money we receive to support our environmental mission, especially longer-term investments and endowments. Part of that stewardship is an investment policy that incorporates socially-responsible investing with a special focus on environmental concerns."

However, TSCF will retain the minimum level of holdings required to allow us to participate in shareholder actions. As a shareholder in Spectra Energy, for instance, Trillium Asset Management represented us on a proposal to cut fugitive methane emissions from natural gas drilling. "Given the rapid pace of natural gas development in the U.S., it is no surprise that operators have prioritized growth over efficiency, and regulators have been slow to catch up," said Natasha Lamb, Vice President at Trillium Asset Management. "The business case for strong oversight and methane reduction targets is clear. Leaking gas is a symptom of poor management systems that neglect shareholder value and amplify climate change." This week, that proposal received 35.5 percent of the votes cast by the shareholders at the company's annual meeting. The vote far surpasses the 3 percent threshold that is required by the SEC for inclusion in next year’s proxy voting.

The Sierra Club -- with grant support from The Sierra Club Foundation -- has unmatched capacity for direct environmental activism through its large grassroots base, its strategic legal actions, and its media punch. In short, the Club is bringing outside pressure on an industry that needs to change. We are complementing these efforts by bringing inside pressure as an investor and shareholder. It’s time for an all-of-the-above strategy. The urgency is there. The climate is changing. We must use every tactic available to us to create change before it's too late.