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Socially Responsible Investment

Investors take on toxic product risks

This year’s US voting season is witnessing a major push against companies associated with toxic product risks, the number of related resolutions having been filed jumping from three in 2004-2005 to 17 in 2006-2007.

This includes a resolution filed at DuPont in which shareholders asked the company to issue a report on the feasibility of phasing out use of Perfluorooctanoic Acid and the development of safer substitutes.

Shareholders at Apple, the computer company, requested a report on the practicality of eliminating persistent bioaccumulative toxic chemicals from the company’s products.

In response to this activity, the Investor Environmental Health Network (IEHN) has released a Fiduciary Guide to Toxic Chemical Risk – a guide for institutional investors on the financial dimensions of toxic chemical risk.

Richard Liroff, IEHN executive director, said: “Poor corporate management of toxic hazards can increase risks for investors. Regulatory controls are tightening around the globe … [and] corporate efforts to minimize or avoid exposures, or to offer safer alternatives, can benefit corporate bottom lines and reward investors”.

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