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KLD Launches Global Climate 100 Index

In response to growing demand from institutions and individuals for investment strategies that address global warming, KLD Research & Analytics, Inc., based in Boston, Mass. has launched the Global Climate 100 Index. This is the first global index focused on solutions to climate change. The Index is made up of large and small companies that KLD expects to offer near-term solutions to global warming through renewable energy, alternative fuels, clean technology and efficiency. Says Thomas Kuh, Managing Director of KLD Indexes, industry momentum indicates strong demand for the Global Climate 100 Index. This year, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTERS) created their Green Wave Initiative, committing $1.5 billion to investments in innovative and responsible environmental companies. The Investor Network on Climate Risk, a group of pension funds and other institutional investors, launched a program to raise awareness about the financial risks posed by climate change. “Pension funds are concerned about the financial risks associated with climate change,” said Kuh. “As fiduciaries with a long time horizon, they are looking for new strategies to integrate these factors into their investments. The Global Climate 100 looks ahead to show investors where the opportunities […]

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Western Wind to Acquire Windridge California Site

Western Wind Energy Corp.(TSXV:WND) announced it will purchase the California Windridge generating plant for $1 million. “Execution of the Windridge agreement provides Western Wind Energy entry into commercial revenue production,” the company said. Windridge has been generating electricity from 38 wind turbines since 1984. It is part of the Tehachapi wind area, the largest aggregated wind park in the world, home to almost 5,000 wind turbines. Western Wind says it intends to re-power the Windridge site using new wind turbines with the goal of increasing production output more than tenfold. The deal gives Western Wind a 100% interest in the wind turbines, electrical equipment, and the underlying fee simple land at the site in Tehachapi, California. It also includes the power contract that exists between Windridge and Southern California Edison Co., subject to approval from that company. The vendor will receive a five-year convertible debenture of about $345,000, carrying eight per cent annual interest, convertible into shares of Western Wind Energy at $1.65 per share.

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Timberland to Consolidate Caribbean Operations

The Timberland Company (NYSE: TBL) announced it plans to consolidate its Caribbean manufacturing operations. It will close its manufacturing facility in Isabela, Puerto Rico at the end of 2005 and expand manufacturing volume in its Dominican Republic facility to achieve greater operational efficiencies. Timberland will incur one-time pre-tax restructuring costs of approximately $2.5 million in the third quarter of 2005, $3.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2005 and $0.5 million in the first quarter of 2006 to cover severance, retirement enhancements, outplacement services and asset disposal costs associated with implementation of this strategy. The efficiencies of this approach are anticipated to yield cost savings of approximately $4 million in 2006, with benefits weighted toward the second half of the year, and annual cost savings of approximately $5 million in subsequent years. The Company’s tax benefit from its Puerto Rico operations under Section 30A of the Internal Revenue Code, approximating $4 million annually, expires at the end of 2005. Timberland does not anticipate an increase in its overall effective tax rate of 34.0% in 2006, however, due to expected benefits from global tax initiatives. Jeffrey B. Swartz, Timberland’s President and CEO, said “This has been a difficult decision for us, […]

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Behind the Scenes, Greening Our U.S. Parks

When you visit U.S. national and state parks this summer, you’ll be happy to know they are managed by a company that thinks like you do. Xanterra is the largest national and state park management company in the U.S. – serving over 17 million people a year who visit U.S. parks.Its 8,000 employees operate 33 hotels and lodges with over 5,000 guest rooms, 50 retail stores, 64 restaurants and 1,800 campsites in national and state parks like Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon, and Zion. Xanterra’s efforts cover the full range of sustainability concerns from energy and waste reduction to green procurement, from serving sustainable food to using renewable energy. In its first sustainability report, published this year, president Andrew Todd says, “Whether we provide comfortable rooms through efficient lighting and heating systems, operate a clean-burning transportation system or serve food that does not deplete ocean fisheries or harm ecosystems, I know that we can exceed guest expectations while maintaining environmental priorities.”Some of its notable activities to protect our parks are: * reduced fuel emissions at the Grand Canyon to almost zero by switching from fuel oil to propane fuel. The new boilers release literally 80 times less CO2 and run […]

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