Green Century Capital Management, advisor to the environmentally responsible Green Century Funds, found record-breaking support for environmentally-focused shareholder proposals they brought to major energy corporations this spring.

Green Century identified key environmental issues in the practices of ExxonMobil, Southern Company. Ultra Petroleum, ConocoPhillips, and First Energy, and pressed them on these issues at their company annual meetings. The shareholder resolutions won average support of over 30 percent.

Unlike electoral campaigns, shareholder proposals make a big impact with considerably less than a majority vote. According to Green Century, “when nearly one in three shares are voted in support of an environmental resolution, this sends a very clear message to the company that a meaningful portion of its owners are demanding action on an issue.”

Among the environmental issues Green Century advocates for are tar sands, coal ash, and hydraulic fracturing, or natural gas extractions that use millions of gallons of water and require managing and disposing of a large quantity of toxic chemicals.

Their resolution encouraging Ultra Petroleum to report on the environmental impact of its hydraulic fracturing operations received an unprecedented 42% of the vote, which doubled the vote on the proposal in the past year. Learn more about Green Century's advocacy campaigns.

ExxonMobil* shareholders gathered in Dallas last week for the company's annual meeting where they had the opportunity to vote on a proposal asking the company to come clean on the risks it faces as a result of its controversial investments in the Canadian oil sands. Extraction and conversion of oil sands into usable fuel is energy-intensive and environmentally damaging, requiring clear-cutting of the Boreal Forest, extensive water use, and the creation of massive amounts of toxic waste.  Green Century Capital Management (Green Century) is pleased to report that 27 percent** of the shares voted supported our proposal.  We believe this is a very strong vote for an environmental proposal, especially at a major oil company.  With the vote, shareholders sent a clear message to the company that a meaningful portion of its investors are watching this issue closely and demand increased disclosure.

If ExxonMobil had gotten its way at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), shareholders would not have had a chance to voice their opinion on this important issue.  Earlier this year, ExxonMobil asked the SEC to allow the company to exclude the proposal from its proxy ballot.  Green Century argued that ExxonMobil had failed to provide sufficient information on its oil sands operations to satisfy investor concerns and the SEC sided with Green Century.

Learn more about Green Century's advocacy campaigns.

Last year, we filed a similar proposal and over 26 percent** of shares voted at ExxonMobil were cast in support of our resolution.  With over one in four shares voted supporting this proposal two years in a row, we believe it is time for ExxonMobil to come clean on its oil sands operations and respond to its investors. 

We will continue to press the company to do just that.      

Investors in the environmentally responsible Green Century Funds help support Green Century's efforts to expose the risks of tar sands mining and our other campaigns to advocate for greater corporate environmental responsibility.  To learn more about investing in Green Century's mutual funds, please click here or telephone 1-800-93-GREEN.      

Kristina Curtis

President, Green Century Funds

info@greencentury.com

www.GreenCentury.com

May 17, 2011 FirstEnergy Shareholders Send Message On Coal Ash A proposal asking FirstEnergy Corp. to report on its efforts to reduce the environmental and health hazards of coal ash stored in ponds, landfills and mines got about 36 percent of the vote today at the company's annual meeting.

"This is a very strong vote, and we believe it sends a clear message to the company that its shareholders are very concerned about this issue and require increased transparency,” commented Larisa Ruoff, director of shareholder advocacy for Green Century Capital Management, which filed the proposal, along with the Adrian Dominican Sisters, an international congregation of approximately 800 vowed religious women with over 30 years of commitment to, and practice of, socially responsible investing (SRI).

“Over half of FirstEnergy’s generation capacity comes from burning coal, yet the company fails to provide investors meaningful information about how it prevents harmful environmental impacts and mitigates coal ash-related risks,” said Christopher Matthias, of the Adrian Dominican Sisters.

Coal ash is a byproduct of coal-fired power plants that contains arsenic, mercury, lead, and other toxins left after combustion or filtered out of smokestack scrubbers. The health, environmental, and financial risks of managing coal ash came to light in December 2008 when a dam holding back a 1.1 billion gallon coal ash pond belonging to the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) burst and covered over 300 acres with toxic sludge.  TVA has estimated spill-related costs at $1.2 billion and has been the target of over 50 lawsuits since the spill.  

“FirstEnergy’s ash storage practices at the Little Blue Run dam expose the company to significant financial and regulatory risks due to environmental and health hazards caused by coal ash,” said Ruoff. Every day, up to 3.2 million gallons of coal ash waste is sent to the Little Blue Run Dam facility.

“At the same time, FirstEnergy’s public disclosure on this issue is insufficient. The company does not provide information on the efforts it is taking to reduce environmental and health hazards associated with the coal ash it produces.  As a result, investors cannot make informed decisions regarding to whether the company is adequately managing coal ash related risks,” she continued.

FirstEnergy, headquartered in Akron, Ohio, says it's an environmental leader and points to its accomplishments on its Web site. It is a diversified energy company with ten electric distribution companies that make up the nation's largest investor-owned electric system.

Last month, shareholders in Ameren Corporation voted on a similar proposal where over half of the shares voted supported the resolution calling for increased transparency and accountability.  Later this month, shareholders at Southern Company* will have the opportunity to vote on the issue as well.

Green Century Capital Management (Green Century) filed a shareholder proposal at ExxonMobil* to ask the company to disclose more information about its controversial investments in the Canadian oil sands. Extraction and conversion of oil sands into usable fuel is energy-intensive and environmentally-damaging, requiring clear-cutting of the Boreal Forest, extensive water use, and the creation of massive amounts of toxic waste.  Not to our surprise, Exxon objected to including our proposal on its agenda for its annual meeting and on its proxy ballot.  Exxon asked the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to allow it to exclude our proposal.

The SEC sided with Green Century in determining that ExxonMobil had not in fact provided sufficient information on its tar sands operations to satisfy investor concerns. This decision clears the way for Green Century to raise the issue of tar sands to the company's board of directors, top management, shareholders and the media at the company's 2011 annual meeting in late May.

Learn more about Green Century's advocacy campaigns.

Last year, we filed a similar proposal and over 26 percent** of shares voted at ExxonMobil were cast in support of our resolution.  We believe that vote sent a very strong message to the company that a significant portion of its shareholders are concerned about the issue.  This year we will continue to press ExxonMobil to respond and we will work hard to convince more of Exxon's shareholders to support our resolution.     

We will report back to you with the results. 

Investors in the environmentally responsible Green Century Funds help support Green Century's efforts to expose the risks of tar sands mining and our other campaigns to advocate for greater corporate environmental responsibility.  To learn more about investing in Green Century's mutual funds, please click here or telephone 1-800-93-GREEN.      

Kristina Curtis

President, Green Century Funds

info@greencentury.com

www.GreenCentury.com

The Securities and Exchange Commission has rejected attempts by ExxonMobil and Southern Company to keep certain transparency proposals off their 2011 annual meeting proxy ballots, according to Green Century Capital Management.

Green Century, which manages the environmentally responsible Green Century Mutual Funds, filed a shareholder proposal at ExxonMobil requesting the company increase disclosure on its investments in the Canadian oil sands. According to Green Century, Canada's oil sands are the second-largest oil resource in the world, but extraction and conversion are energy intensive and environmentally damaging. The process requires clear-cutting the Boreal Forest, extensive water use and creates large amounts of toxic waste.

Green Century also filed a shareholder proposal at Southern Company, requesting the company to increase transparency on its efforts to reduce the environmental and health hazards associated with coal ash. Coal ash is the byproduct of coal-fired power plants, and contains arsenic, mercury, lead and other toxins left after combustion, or filtered out by smokestack scrubbers.

"We are thrilled the SEC sided with investors and recognized neither company has adequately responded to our concerns," said Larisa Ruoff, director of shareholder advocacy for Green Century. "In the absence of meaningful disclosure, investors have no way of fully assessing the risks and rewards from investing in various companies. Shareholders need assurance that companies are candidly disclosing these risks and are adopting best management practices to minimize them," she continued.

According to Green Century, similar proposals were voted on at both companies during their 2010 annual meetings, with 26% of ExxonMobil shareholders and 21% of Southern Company shareholders voting for such transparency.

As of December 31, neither ExxonMobil or Southern Company shares were held by Green Century Funds.