Insight
Signs of accelerating global warming make it clear that controlling man-made GHG emissions must be a priority if we are to limit the most disastrous impacts of climate change. The longer we wait to control greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the more difficult and expensive our task will be, with devastating impacts on vulnerable communities.
ICCR’s Climate Crisis group works to identify climate challenges and opportunities facing the private sector. Investors collaborate to develop strategies to reduce corporate carbon footprints and accelerate an equitable and just transition to a green economy.
ICCR members seek to move companies in key industries to reduce their contributions to the greenhouse gas emissions that are responsible for climate change. We do this by pressing companies for a phasing out of fossil fuels, and a phasing in of low-carbon, renewable energy sources. We also engage the oil & gas sector on the need for transition planning for a 2degree C or less world.
A just transition to a decarbonized economy can address the interconnected issues of climate change, racial injustice, public health, and economic inequity. Investors believe the transition must create an inclusive, stakeholder-driven economy, where those most impacted by the transition — workers and local communities — are central in its design.
Current Initiatives:
Through a combination of dialogue and the filing shareholder resolutions, ICCR’s members are pressing companies to phase out of fossil fuels, and transition to low-carbon, renewable energy sources.
Our Impact
Norfolk Southern left its “clean coal” trade group
Duke set a goal to achieve net-zero GHG emissions by 2050
of 2022 Paris-aligned climate lobbying resolutions were withdrawn for agreement.
of 2022 resolutions calling for adoption of science-based GHG targets were withdrawn for agreement.
Climate-focused resolutions won majority votes in 2023
Climate Change & Environmental Justice Staff Contacts
To learn more about our program, reach out to our staff:
Christina is responsible for strategic development and evaluation of investor actions in the areas of climate change and environmental justice.
Phone:(332) 279-4905
Email:elasdon@iccr.org
Tracey is the campaign manager for ICCR’s work on Paris-aligned corporate climate lobbying.
Phone:(332) 249-2288
Email:trembert@iccr.org
Pedro works primarily on the Just Transition Campaign and provides some additional support for Climate Lobbying.
Phone:(332) 249-2253
Email:pglatz@iccr.org
Emmy provides support and conducts research for ICCR’s Methane, Just Transition, and Climate Lobbying campaigns.
Phone:(332) 249-2252
Email:ehammond@iccr.org
Climate Change & Environmental Justice Resources
Publications, blogs, investor statements, comment letters, webinar recordings and press releases related to investor action on climate change and environmental justice.
Proxy voting is an essential part of investors’ fiduciary duty and stewardship. The proxy voting data of the largest asset managers offers useful insights into how they exercise their oversight of managements’ decision-making, reveals how they align their recognition of material risk with their asset owner clients and how they address significant environmental, social and […]
During the 2025 proxy season, ICCR’s members continued to press their portfolio companies for changes in policies and practices to mitigate harmful environmental and social impacts. While engagement progress most often results from ongoing dialogues with companies, when dialogues stall or become unproductive, investors may file shareholder proposals as a means of escalation. What follows […]
ICCR has been publishing the Proxy Resolutions and Voting Guide annually since 1974 as a way to educate and build support for member proposals. In it, you will find all ICCR member-sponsored proposals for 2025 corporate proxies along with a preliminary overview of the proxy season and short features from proponents about their engagements on key […]
ICCR Climate Crisis Issue Brief Three, November 2024 Major U.S. banks must play a pivotal role in a just transition to a net-zero carbon economy through their lending and investment practices. Investors concerned with the financial risks of the climate crisis look to evaluate the pledges, financing activities, and progress toward alignment with the Paris […]
On August 22, 2024, ICCR sent this letter to board members of the Business Roundtable calling out conflicts arising from an amicus brief it filed opposing the SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rule.
ICCR Climate Crisis Issue Brief Two, August 2024 The decarbonization of the energy utility sector is a top priority for investors in the ICCR network. Investors are increasingly concerned about the expensive proposed “solution” put forward by major gas utilities to achieve “sustainability” of their networks, and should consider engaging companies on truly sustainable alternatives […]
ICCR Climate Crisis Issue Brief One, June 2024 The transition to carbon-neutral economies will require a vast quantity of minerals. In essence, we must shift from a fossil fuel-intensive economy to one based on minerals, which are needed to harness and store the energy in natural systems. Due to their importance in new technologies, economic […]
This presentation explains the foundational elements of climate lobbying, from investor expectations and enterprise risk, to examples of leading corporate practices.
The Investor Environmental Health Network and Clean Action Production have released a report on the importance of corporations in addressing environmental justice. Environmental justice is an increasingly material issue for companies, and therefore an important issue for investors to track.
ICCR’s guiding principle is that sustainable corporations must look beyond the next earnings report to account for the full impact of their businesses on society and the environment, and must view the well-being of all of their stakeholders ― including their workers and the communities where they operate ― as integral to their long-term success. […]
On January 21, ExxonMobil ($XOM) filed suit in Texas against two shareholders in an attempt to block a shareholder proposal urging the company to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to disclose new plans and timetables for these reductions. ICCR released the following statement.
On January 18 and 19, 2023, ICCR hosted a Just Transition Roundtable to provide a forum for utility companies and a broad range of stakeholders to share their perspectives on a just and equitable energy transition. This report aims to document lessons learned through hosting the Roundtable as well as needs and recommendations shared by participants.