The Shareholder Commons Unveils New Investor Strategy for Shielding Portfolios from Climate Change and Public Health Threats

Releases two cases demonstrating how investors can preserve long-term, diversified portfolio value by holding companies and executives accountable for the costs they impose on society and the environment

Will Host Webinars on October 11^th and 12^th to Discuss Case Studies' Findings

NORTHAMPTON, Mass., Sept. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Shareholder Commons, a non-profit advocate for diversified shareholders, today released two case studies focused on the harmful impacts of climate change and antimicrobial resistance. The case studies demonstrate the gap between company-first ESG advocacy and portfolio-first system stewardship and prove to investors that measuring financial success on an enterprise-by-enterprise basis will never motivate companies or asset managers to transition to safe greenhouse gas emission and antimicrobial use budgets.

The case studies describe how investors can and should use "guardrails" to hold companies and their executives accountable for their full carbon and antimicrobials footprints, even if doing so reduces enterprise value. Additionally, the case studies demonstrate that only by leveraging this approach can the long-term value of diversified portfolios held by pension funds, foundations, endowments, and other institutions working on behalf of everyday savers be preserved.

Rick Alexander, CEO of The Shareholder Commons, said, "As investors gather for Climate Week, we hope they'll consider these case studies as evidence that they must move beyond the false promise of enterprise value alone as a workable measure of financial success. Investors must unequivocally insist that companies stop behavior that threatens our economy."

The Shareholder Commons will be hosting two webinars to discuss these case studies and the guardrails they propose as an essential investor strategy for preserving long-term, diversified portfolio value. The Shareholder Commons encourages any and all interested parties to attend by following the links below:

• Webinar 1 (U.S. West Coast / Australia / NZ): Tuesday, October 11, 16:00 PST; Wednesday, October 12, 10:00 AEDT / 12:00 NZDT
• Webinar 2 (U.S. East Coast, UK/EU): Wednesday, October 12, 10:00 EDT / 15:00 BST / 16:00 CEST

The Shareholder Commons (TSC) is a non-profit organization that addresses social and environmental issues from the perspective of shareholders who diversify their investments to optimize risk and return. TSC's advocacy focuses on the divergence that often emerges between a company's interest in maximizing its cash flows over the long term and its shareholders' interests in optimizing overall market returns.

TSC's mission is to help diversified shareholders to reprioritize their activism to put social and environmental systems first. Our work demonstrates that shareholders (or managers who represent their interests) have the capacity to force substantive change at companies to improve the economy and thus diversified shareholders' returns. We seek to catalyze the development of shareholder-created guardrails: minimum rules of conduct that level the playing field. For more information, please visit: https://theshareholdercommons.com/

SOURCE The Shareholder Commons