More Corporate Boards Have Environmental Committees

Activism works, people! Corporations are listening to what consumers and investors have to say, and the overwhelming message is that we want them to green up. So, more and more of them are putting together environmental committees tasked with addressing environmental issues. Investors have been putting quite a bit of pressure on corporations to be socially and environmentally responsible.

From The Wall Street Journal:

About 25% of Fortune 500 companies now have a board committee overseeing the environment, compared with fewer than 10% five years ago, estimates Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres, a national coalition of activists, investors and others concerned with the environment. Such panels typically try to make sure that executives effectively handle conservation efforts, new environmentally friendly ventures like wind power, compliance with environmental regulations and related business risks.

Shareholders are more active on environmental issues, too. The number of investor proposals related to the environment nearly doubled between 2004 and 2008, RiskMetrics Group Inc. says. Many proposals urge increased board attention to the issue.

That’s definitely encouraging news. If we’re going to keep the earth from becoming one giant hazy, drought-plagued trash heap, we’ve got to have companies on the same page as the rest of us. Of course, just having an ‘environmental board’ doesn’t mean the company is doing any good, so we’ve got to keep on campaigning for environmental responsibility and holding companies accountable for their actions.

Link [Wall Street Journal] via [On Earth]
Photo credit: Business Week

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