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61 New Companies Join FTSE4Good Index

FTSE Group, the global index provider, added 61 companies to the FTSE4Good global index as a result of its semi-annual review. An additional 61 companies worldwide met the index criteria that assess companies’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices. 27 companies will be removed from the index, as they no longer meet the criteria. The largest number of new companies are from Japan (21). The largest number of deletions are from the U.S. The FTSE4Good criteria, which cover areas of environmental sustainability, developing positive relationships with stakeholders and upholding and supporting universal human rights, have evolved since the index was launched in July 2001. The environmental criteria have been tightened significantly – 23 companies will be removed from the index next week because they no longer meet these criteria. About FTSE4Good Index Series FTSE4Good is a series of real-time indices designed to reflect the performance of socially responsible equities. The series, created and managed by global index provider FTSE Group, covers five markets: UK, Europe, Japan, US and Global. Four tradable and five benchmark indices make up the FTSE4Good index series. A committee of independent practitioners in socially responsible investment, (SRI) and corporate social responsibility (CSR) review the indices to ensure […]

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Distributed Energy Announces Q4, Year End Results

Distributed Energy Systems Corp. (Nasdaq: DESC) announced results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2004, including results for its subsidiaries Proton Energy Systems and Northern Power Systems. Fourth Quarter Highlights: * Reported record revenue for the fourth quarter of $11.4 million and for the year of $22.5 million. Achieved positive gross margin for the quarter of 12%, the first quarter of significant positive margins for the company since becoming a public company. A portion of revenues recognized in the fourth quarter were anticipated for earlier quarters. Accordingly, the fourth quarter was unusually strong. Northern’s business, in particular, is likely to continue to generate significant future revenue variability from quarter to quarter. As of December 31, 2004, total signed backlog for 2005 and beyond was approximately $25 million. * Announced a $1.7 million project award for Northern for an on-site power system at a vegetable oil processing plant for Aarhus United USA Inc. * Announced a $1.9 million project award for Northern’s state-of-the art North Wind 100(R) wind turbines from the Alaska Village Electric Cooperative to supply renewable power for three remote communities. * Announced the award of two additional Connecticut Clean Energy Fund contracts for Proton’s regenerative […]

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Landmark Victory in World?s First Case Against Biopiracy

In a landmark decision today, the European Patent Office upheld a decision to revoke a patent on a fungicidal product derived from seeds of the Neem, a tree indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. The historic action resulted from a legal challenge mounted ten years ago by three Opponents: the renowned Indian environmentalist Vandana Shiva, Magda Aelvoet, then MEP and President of the Greens in the European Parliament, and the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM). Their joint Legal Opposition claimed the fungicidal properties of the Neem tree had been public knowledge in India for many centuries and that this patent exemplified how international law was being misused to transfer biological wealth from the South into the hands of a few corporations, scientists, and countries of the North. The EPO’s Technical Board of Appeals dismissed an Appeal by the would-be proprietors?the United States of America and the company Thermo Trilogy?and maintained the decision of its Opposition Division five years ago to revoke the Neem patent in its entirety. Dr. Vandana Shiva, commented, “Denying the patent means upholding the value of traditional knowledge for millions of women not only in India, but throughout the South. The FREE TREE WILL STAY FREE. […]

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