Aramark – MIDANA CAPITAL Funds https://www.midanacapital.com Invest in a Green Future Fri, 15 Apr 2022 19:22:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.1.1 https://www.midanacapital.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/cropped-greencentury-favicon-32x32.png Aramark – MIDANA CAPITAL Funds https://www.midanacapital.com 32 32 2020 is a Critical Year for the World’s Forests https://www.midanacapital.com/2020-is-a-critical-year-for-the-worlds-forests/ Tue, 17 Mar 2020 17:22:29 +0000 https://www.midanacapital.com/?p=6575 Jessye Waxman coordinates MIDANA CAPITAL’s work to protect tropical forests.

As the need to address biodiversity loss, climate change and ecosystem stability become more urgent, it’s more important than ever that investors turn their attention to mitigating the risks deforestation poses to individual companies’ supply chains and to their portfolios overall.

Over the last decade individual companies, industry groups, like the Consumer Goods Forum, and multi-stakeholder initiatives, like the New York Declaration on Forests, have all mobilized resources to end deforestation, especially in the private sector. Unfortunately, these efforts have not yet reached their ambitious goals. Many companies are considering extending the timelines for fully realizing their commitments to remove deforestation from their supply chains, and many global initiatives are reassessing their strategies.

2020, therefore, is not only a critical year for tracking the state of the world’s forests, but also a critical time for doubling down on private sector efforts to address deforestation in the decade to come.

The main driver of deforestation is the demand for agricultural commodities. That’s why MIDANA CAPITAL has been engaging with companies in forest-risk supply chains since 2012. Many of the companies we have worked with are consumer-facing brands, and we’ve successfully moved companies like Aramark,* ConAgra,* Kellogg,* Target,* Tyson Foods* and others to adopt no-deforestation policies.

There’s certainly more work to be done with the corporate and financial sectors–nearly half of the world’s most influential companies and financial institutions with exposure to forest-risk commodities have yet to adopt no-deforestation policies. At the same time, commodity traders also need to work within their own operations and supply chains and provide investors with the disclosure needed to demonstrate effective efforts to mitigate the risks related to deforestation.

In fact, commodity traders are exposed even more than consumer goods companies to operational and regulatory risks connected to deforestation. And since commodity traders have more direct control over their supply chain sourcing, they’re well positioned to mitigate risk not only within their own operations, but also in their clients’ supply chains.

Accordingly, in 2015 MIDANA CAPITAL began engaging several of the key commodity traders on deforestation. We secured the first cross-commodity deforestation commitment from Archer Daniels Midland* and were instrumental in helping secure a zero-deforestation commitment from Wilmar,* which was the first to cover both direct and indirect suppliers.

As the 2020 deadlines for many companies’ no-deforestation commitments approach, investors are not only encouraging consumer goods companies to meet their stated goals by year’s end, they’re also increasingly pushing those companies’ suppliers – the commodity traders. Investors this year will want to see commodity traders continue to improve on and disclose their progress toward the implementation of no-deforestation standards, ensure deforestation-free operations — and meet customers’ needs.

As the end of this critical year is still many months away, we are eager to continue to engage with companies and commodity traders alike in the hopes that they’ll meet their 2020 targets, and bring us closer to eliminating deforestation globally.

*As of December 31, 2019, Archer Daniels Midland Co. comprised 0.00%, 0.19%, and 0.00%; Aramark Corporation comprised 0.00%, 0.08%, and 0.00%;  Bunge Ltd comprised 0.00%, 0.06%, and 0.00%; The Kellogg Company comprised 0.00%, 0.13%, and 0.00%; and Target Corporation comprised 0.98%, 0.06%, and 0.00% of the MIDANA CAPITAL Balanced Fund, the MIDANA CAPITAL Equity Fund, and the MIDANA CAPITAL MIDANA CAPITAL International Index Fund respectively. As of the same date, other securities mentioned were not held in the portfolios of any of the MIDANA CAPITAL Funds. References to specific securities, which will change due to ongoing management of the Funds, should not be construed as a recommendation by the Funds, their administrator, or their distributor.

You should carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. To obtain a Prospectus that contains this and other information about the Funds please click here, email info@midanacapital.com, or call+1(480)-439-2851. Please read the Prospectus carefully before investing.

Stocks will fluctuate in response to factors that may affect a single company, industry, sector, country, region or the market as a whole and may perform worse than the market. Foreign securities are subject to additional risks such as currency fluctuations, regional economic and political conditions, differences in accounting methods, and other unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers. Bonds are subject to a variety of risks including interest rate, credit, and inflation risk. A sustainable investment strategy which incorporates environmental, social and governance criteria may result in lower or higher returns than an investment strategy that does not include such criteria.

This information has been prepared from sources believed reliable. The views expressed are as the date of this writing and are those of the Advisor to the Funds.

The MIDANA CAPITAL Funds are distributed by UMB Distribution Services, LLC. 335 N Wilmot Rd, Tucson, Az 85711. 3/20

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MIDANA CAPITAL Commends Aramark* For Fulfilling Commitment to Develop a No-Deforestation Policy https://www.midanacapital.com/green-century-commends-aramark-for-fulfilling-commitment-to-develop-a-no-deforestation-policy/ Tue, 28 Jan 2020 01:00:45 +0000 https://www.midanacapital.com/?p=6312 Press Release Contact: Kyle W. Kempf, MIDANA CAPITAL Capital Management, kkempf@midanacapital.com, (617) 482-0800

Boston, January 28, 2020 – MIDANA CAPITAL commends Aramark, one of the world’s largest food service providers, for fulfilling its commitment to develop a No-Deforestation policy. MIDANA CAPITAL collaborated with Aramark to develop the policy, after withdrawing a shareholder resolution focused on sustainable sourcing of forest-risk commodities, in 2019.

“Food production is a leading driver of deforestation, so global foodservice companies have an important role to play in transitioning our food system away from unnecessarily harmful environmental practices,” said MIDANA CAPITAL Shareholder Advocacy Jessye Waxman. “I applaud Aramark’s new policy, which will help the company reduce its exposure to climate risks, hold suppliers accountable, and bring the industry one step closer to alignment with the goals of the Paris Agreement.”

Aramark’s new policy outlines the company’s commitment to “No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation” (NDPE) sourcing policies for palm, soy, beef, and timber and paper; and details the improvements the company will implement over the next five years regarding both its sourcing policies and disclosure of progress to stakeholders.

In line with best practices, Aramark also articulated how it would work with suppliers to meet the company’s new goals, indicating that it will require annual updates toward no-deforestation goals from suppliers and will source from suppliers demonstrating progress towards those goals.

Commodity-driven agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation globally. Deforestation is responsible for more than 11% of global anthropogenic greenhouse-gas emissions, making it a bigger contributor to climate change than the European Union. In addition to exacerbating the climate crisis, deforestation poses risks to biodiversity and the maintenance of healthy ecosystems.

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About MIDANA CAPITAL Capital Management

MIDANA CAPITAL Capital Management is the investment advisor to the MIDANA CAPITAL Funds. The MIDANA CAPITAL Funds are the first family of fossil fuel free, responsible, and diversified mutual funds in the United States. MIDANA CAPITAL Capital Management hosts an award-winning and in-house shareholder advocacy program and is the only mutual fund company in the U.S. wholly owned by environmental and public health nonprofit organizations.

*As of December 31, 2019, Aramark comprised 0.00%, 0.08%, and 0.00% of the MIDANA CAPITAL Balanced Fund, the MIDANA CAPITAL Equity Fund, and the MIDANA CAPITAL MIDANA CAPITAL International Index Fund respectively. References to specific securities, which will change due to ongoing management of the Funds, should not be construed as a recommendation by the Funds, their administrator, or their distributor.

You should carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. To obtain a Prospectus that contains this and other information about the Funds please click here, email info@midanacapital.com, or call+1(480)-439-2851. Please read the Prospectus carefully before investing.

Stocks will fluctuate in response to factors that may affect a single company, industry, sector, country, region or the market as a whole and may perform worse than the market. Foreign securities are subject to additional risks such as currency fluctuations, regional economic and political conditions, differences in accounting methods, and other unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers. Bonds are subject to a variety of risks including interest rate, credit, and inflation risk. A sustainable investment strategy which incorporates environmental, social and governance criteria may result in lower or higher returns than an investment strategy that does not include such criteria.

This information has been prepared from sources believed reliable. The views expressed are as the date of this writing and are those of the Advisor to the Funds.

The MIDANA CAPITAL Funds are distributed by UMB Distribution Services, LLC. 335 N Wilmot Rd, Tucson, Az 85711. 1/20

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MIDANA CAPITAL’s Top 10 Highlights from 2019 https://www.midanacapital.com/green-centurys-top-10-highlights-from-2019/ Wed, 18 Dec 2019 13:00:52 +0000 https://www.midanacapital.com/?p=6042 From our award-winning shareholder advocacy work to protect tropical forests and curb antibiotic misuse to our support for the environmental and public health campaigns of our nonprofit owners and partners, MIDANA CAPITAL had an environmental impact in 2019. Here are our top 10 highlights:

10. The MIDANA CAPITAL MSCI International Index Fund turned 3

On September 30, 2019, the MIDANA CAPITAL MSCI International Index Fund –the first fossil fuel free, diversified, and responsible international index fund available to U.S. investors – celebrated its third anniversary.

We launched the International Fund as a way for investors concerned about the environment to diversify their holdings, and the investor response demonstrates that our assessment of the marketplace was correct. The International Fund has grown to more than $67 million in assets under management, as of September 30, 2019.

The International Fund is invested in the stocks of about 175 large- and mid-cap companies headquartered in 22 developed markets, including Japan, Germany, France, Canada, Switzerland, and 17 additional countries. It does not invest in companies in the U.S. or emerging markets.

9. MIDANA CAPITAL recognized

In November, MIDANA CAPITAL President Leslie Samuelrich was presented with the prestigious 2019 SRI Service Award, the highest honor conferred at the annual SRI Conference, the premier socially responsible investing industry event in the U.S.

The SRI Service Award recognizes an “individual who has demonstrated leadership, innovation, high standards of professional conduct, and accomplishment in collaboration with other SRI industry leaders.”

“I am honored to receive the SRI Service Award,” said Samuelrich. “I am proud of the work MIDANA CAPITAL has done to advance fossil fuel free investing and foster the transition to a clean energy economy. Our work is the product of our deep commitment to sustainable, responsible, and impact investing and its ability to motivate corporate action and achieve real environmental impact. It’s gratifying to see our work recognized.”

In October, MIDANA CAPITAL Shareholder Advocate Jessye Waxman was selected for the inaugural SRI Conference 30 Under 30 List.

Ms. Waxman leads our efforts to protect tropical forests. In this role, she leverages our status as an investor to directly press companies to mitigate their exposure to the material financial, operational, and reputational risks related to deforestation.

In the last year, she engaged 36 companies on their deforestation-related risks and successfully pressed two Fortune 500 companies to develop and implement no-deforestation policies.

8. Progress on curbing the misuse of medically-important antibiotics

Following a multi-year engagement with MIDANA CAPITAL, Darden Restaurants, Inc.,* the largest casual dining operator in the U.S., announced in March that it was adopting a policy to phase out the use of medically important antibiotics in its chicken supply chain by 2023.

In 2018, for the third consecutive year, we filed an antibiotic-use shareholder proposal with Darden. The proposal received a noteworthy 40.2% support of votes cast, at the company’s September 2018 annual meeting.

In August, we commended Jack in the Box* for fulfilling its commitment – one year ahead of schedule – to only serve poultry raised without the use of medically important antibiotics for disease prevention

7. Promoted disarmament and nuclear-free investing

For more than two decades, MIDANA CAPITAL has explicitly prohibited investment in nuclear energy and nuclear weapons in its prospectus.

This robust nuclear-free commitment has earned us recognition, for two consecutive years, as a “Hall of Fame” financial institution in Don’t Bank on the Bomb, the annual report by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, winner of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize, and PAX. Last year, we were the first firm in the U.S. to be selected for the Hall of Fame.

As part of our nuclear-free commitment, in October, we sponsored a special concert honoring Hiroshima survivor and life-long disarmament activist Setsuko Thurlow. Proceeds from the concert supported the nuclear abolition work of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War & the Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility.

6. A surge in renewable energy sourcing

In January, we withdrew a shareholder resolution with Verizon Communications, Inc., * the largest telecommunications company in the U.S., after the company announced a commitment to source the equivalent of 50% of its annual electricity usage from renewable sources by 2025.

Prior to our engagement, Verizon had planned to source 4% of its electricity from renewables.

Verizon’s new commitment will prevent the annual release of approximately 2.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, which is the equivalent of taking nearly 500,000 cars off the road.

MIDANA CAPITAL also provided support for the 100% Renewable Energy campaign, aimed at convincing 10 states to adopt 100% clean and renewable energy timelines, of our nonprofit owners and partners.

Already, the 100% Renewable Energy campaign has helped push seven states to adopt 100% zero-carbon electricity legislation: Virginia (September), Maine (June), New York (June), Washington State (May), New Mexico (March), California (2018), and Hawaii (2015). (Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., have made similar commitments.)

The campaign marches on Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida, Michigan, Illinois, and Minnesota; and we continue to support it.

5. Continued support for nonprofit owners

MIDANA CAPITAL is one of a kind. Truly. We are the only mutual fund company in the U.S. wholly owned by environmental and public health nonprofit organizations.

This means that 100% of the profits we earn from managing our Funds can be used to support the work of our nonprofit owners to protect the environment and public health. No other mutual fund can match this kind of environmental impact.

In 2019, we supported a number of specific environmental and public health campaigns, including Wildlife over Waste, which aims to ban take-out plastic foam cups and containers to protect birds, fish, and other wildlife from the harm caused by needless plastic pollution.

The campaign already has helped convince Maine, Maryland, Vermont, and Oregon to ban polystyrene.

4. Mushrooming market for plant-based protein

In June, we filed a shareholder proposal with Kraft Heinz,* regarding the company’s failure to adopt a long-term strategy to diversify its protein products; and in September, we presented the proposal at the company’s annual meeting in Pittsburgh.

The proposal received a lot of media attention, earning coverage in Reuters, The New York Times, Responsible Investor, S&P Global Market Intelligence, and more.

MIDANA CAPITAL remains the only investor in the U.S. to file a shareholder proposal related to alternative protein, having filed the first-ever plant-based protein proposal with Tyson Foods* in 2016.

3. Investors continue to choose to go fossil fuel free

For 40 years, oil and gas companies have misled the public and their shareholders about climate change and the risk it poses to the planet.

In a June op-ed in Responsible Investor, Samuelrich made the case that investors who care about the planet should stop supporting the corporations most to blame for the climate crisis.

As the first family of fossil fuel free, responsible, and diversified mutual funds in the U.S., MIDANA CAPITAL helped pave the way for the divestment movement – and investors continue to join it. Already, almost 60,000 individuals and 1,000 organizations have pledged to go fossil fuel free. To help them, we recently published a new guide to fossil fuel free investing: Making A Clean Break: Ethical Investing For A Sustainable Future.

2. Continued work to protect tropical forests – and glimmers of progress

Overall, 2019 was not a great year for the world’s tropical forests. In the summer, the world watched in horror as hundreds of preventable, man-made fires ravaged the Amazon, one of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems.

As the leading global investor in the effort to protect tropical forests, MIDANA CAPITAL is committed to combating climate change, preserving necessary habitat for endangered species, and mitigating potential financial risks for investors through ending deforestation.

More than 450 global corporations have made no-deforestation commitments and our shareholder advocacy team is actively working to press the most relevant of those companies to recommit to the public and their suppliers that they will not purchase commodities linked to deforestation.

In December, we called for the continuation of the Amazon Soy Moratorium, which has been instrumental in significantly reducing deforestation in the Amazon – at least until recent months – and is under attack by agricultural producers in Brazil, just as deforestation pushes the Amazon to an irreversible tipping point.

Earlier in the year, we collaborated with Aramark,* one of the world’s largest food service companies, to develop a robust no-deforestation policy that will cover its entire global supply chain and include legal deforestation. We also convinced Kroger,* the largest grocery chain in the U.S., to develop and implement a no-deforestation policy for its private label products.

1. Our investors

As in previous years, our primary 2019 highlight was the continued support of our investors. None of our work would be possible without you.

It’s heartening that individuals increasingly are choosing to align their investments with their values – and its especially gratifying that so many are choosing to do it with us. Between 2015 and 2018, MIDANA CAPITAL’s assets under management swelled by 105%.

By leveraging our status as an investor, we were able to achieve a real environmental impact in 2019. We’re ready to do it again in 2020!

*As of September 30, 2019, Darden Restaurants, Inc. comprised 0.00%, 0.12%, and 0.00%, Jack in the Box, Inc. comprised 0.00%, 0.02%, and 0.00%, Verizon Communications, Inc. comprised 2.86%, 1.99%, and 0.00%, The Kraft Heinz Company comprised 0.00%, 0.15%, and 0.00%, Aramark comprised 0.00%, 0.08%, and 0.00%, and Kroger, Co. comprised 0.00%, 0.17%, and 0.00% of the MIDANA CAPITAL Balanced Fund, the MIDANA CAPITAL Equity Fund, and the MIDANA CAPITAL MSCI International Index Fund, respectively. Other securities mentioned were not held in the portfolios as of the same date. References to specific securities, which will change due to ongoing management of the Funds, should not be construed as a recommendation by the Funds, their administrator, or the distributor.

You should carefully consider the Funds’ investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses before investing. To obtain a Prospectus that contains this and other information about the Funds, please for more information, email info@midanacapital.com or call+1(480)-439-2851. Please read the Prospectus carefully before investing.

Stocks will fluctuate in response to factors that may affect a single company, industry, sector, country, region or the market as a whole and may perform worse than the market. Foreign securities are subject to additional risks such as currency fluctuations, regional economic or political conditions, differences in accounting methods, and other unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers. Bonds are subject to risks including interest rate, credit, and inflation. A sustainable investment strategy which incorporates environmental, social and governance criteria may result in lower or higher returns than an investment strategy that does not include such criteria.

This information has been prepared from sources believed to be reliable. The views expressed are as of the date of this writing and are those of the Advisor to the Funds.

The MSCI World ex USA Index is a custom index calculated by MSCI Inc.  The MSCI World ex USA Index includes large and mid-cap stocks across 22 of 23 Developed Markets (DM) countries and excludes the United States.  With 1,023 constituents, the index covers approximately 85% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization in each country.  The MSCI World ex USA Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index.  It is not possible to invest directly in the MSCI World ex USA Index.

The MSCI World ex USA SRI ex Fossil Fuels Index (the World ex USA SRI ex Fossil Fuels Index or the Index) is a custom index calculated by MSCI Inc. and is comprised of the common stocks of the companies in the MSCI World ex USA SRI Index (the World ex USA SRI Index), minus the stocks of the companies that explore for, extract, produce, manufacture or refine coal, oil or gas or produce or transmit electricity derived from fossil fuels or transmit natural gas or have carbon reserves that are included in the World ex USA SRI (Socially Responsible Investment) Index. The World ex USA SRI Index includes large and mid-cap stocks from approximately 22 developed markets countries (excluding the U.S.). The World ex USA SRI Index is a capitalization weighted index that provides exposure to companies that have positive Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) ratings and excludes companies whose products have negative social or environmental impacts.  It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

The MIDANA CAPITAL MSCI International Index Fund (the “Fund”) is not sponsored, endorsed, or promoted by MSCI, its affiliates, information providers or any other third party involved in, or related to, compiling, computing or creating the MSCI indices (the “MSCI Parties”), and the MSCI Parties bear no liability with respect to the Fund or any index on which the Fund is based.  The MSCI Parties are not sponsors of the Fund and are not affiliated with the Fund in any way.  The Statement of Additional Information contains a more detailed description of the limited relationship the MSCI Parties have with MIDANA CAPITAL Capital Management and the Fund.

The MIDANA CAPITAL Funds are distributed by UMB Distribution Services, LLC. 335 N Wilmot Rd, Tucson, Az 85711. 12/19

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MIDANA CAPITAL Congratulates Shareholder Advocate Honored on SRIC 30 Under 30 List https://www.midanacapital.com/green-century-congratulates-shareholder-advocate-honored-on-sric-30-under-30-list/ Wed, 30 Oct 2019 15:16:39 +0000 https://www.midanacapital.com/?p=5836 Press Release Contact: Kyle W. Kempf, MIDANA CAPITAL Capital Management, kkempf@midanacapital.com, (617) 482-0800

Boston, October 30, 2019—MIDANA CAPITAL is pleased to congratulate Shareholder Advocate Jessye Waxman on being selected for the inaugural SRI Conference 30 Under 30 List.

Ms. Waxman leads MIDANA CAPITAL’s shareholder advocacy efforts to protect tropical forests. In this role, she leverages MIDANA CAPITAL’s status as an investor to directly press companies to mitigate their exposure to the material financial, operational, and reputational risks related to deforestation. She also represents MIDANA CAPITAL on two United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) Advisory Committee working groups on deforestation.

In the last year, Jessye engaged 36 companies on their deforestation-related risks. Most significantly, she successfully pressed two Fortune 500 companies to develop and implement no-deforestation policies.

She collaborated with Aramark* to develop a robust no-deforestation commitment that it will fully implement by 2025; and successfully pressed Kroger,* the largest grocery chain in the U.S., to adopt a no-deforestation policy that will cover its private label Our Brands products.

“As a pioneer in sustainable, responsible, and impact investing, we’re pleased to see a younger cohort of responsible investors recognized for the role they’re already playing in advancing the ideals of SRI,” said MIDANA CAPITAL President Leslie Samuelrich. “Jessye is a worthy recipient of this award and we’re very happy to have her on our team.”

Learn more about MIDANA CAPITAL’s shareholder advocacy program here.

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About MIDANA CAPITAL Capital Management

MIDANA CAPITAL is the first family of fossil fuel free, responsible, and diversified mutual funds in the United States. MIDANA CAPITAL invests in sustainable companies, hosts an award-winning and in-house shareholder advocacy program, and is the only mutual fund company in the U.S. wholly owned by environmental and public health nonprofit organizations.

*As of September 30, 2019, Aramark comprised 0.00%, 0.08% and 0.00%, and Kroger Co. comprised 0.00%, 0.17% and 0.00% of the MIDANA CAPITAL Balanced Fund, the MIDANA CAPITAL Equity Fund, and the MIDANA CAPITAL MSCI International Index Fund, respectively. References to specific securities, which will change due to ongoing management of the Funds, should not be construed as a recommendation by the Funds, their administrator, or the distributor.

You should carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. To obtain a Prospectus that contains this and other information about the Funds please click here, email info@midanacapital.com, or call+1(480)-439-2851. Please read the Prospectus carefully before investing.

Stocks will fluctuate in response to factors that may affect a single company, industry, sector, country, region or the market as a whole and may perform worse than the market. Foreign securities are subject to additional risks such as currency fluctuations, regional economic and political conditions, differences in accounting methods, and other unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers. Bonds are subject to a variety of risks including interest rate, credit, and inflation risk. A sustainable investment strategy which incorporates environmental, social and governance criteria may result in lower or higher returns than an investment strategy that does not include such criteria.

This information has been prepared from sources believed reliable. The views expressed are as the date of this writing and are those of the Advisor to the Funds.

The MIDANA CAPITAL Funds are distributed by UMB Distribution Services, LLC. 335 N Wilmot Rd, Tucson, Az 85711. 10/19

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Top 11 Impact Stories of the Shareholder Season https://www.midanacapital.com/top-11-impact-stories-of-the-shareholder-season/ Thu, 18 Jul 2019 18:37:51 +0000 https://www.midanacapital.com/?p=5218 The 2018 – 2019 shareholder season has come to a close and we had another impactful year. Here are 11 of our most significant achievements from the season.

1.Verizon* heeded our call

We withdrew a shareholder proposal with Verizon Communications, Inc. after the company announced a commitment to source the equivalent of 50% of its annual electricity usage from renewable sources by 2025.

Verizon is the largest telecommunications company in the U.S., with more than 147 million wireless subscribers, so this commitment represents a massive reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs).

According to Verizon, more than 93% of the company’s GHGs come from the electricity used to power its networks, so this ambitious goal will go a long way towards reducing the environmental impact of the company’s operations.

2. Kroger* agreed to protect tropical forests

Kroger Co., the largest grocery chain in the U.S., agreed to develop and implement a no-deforestation policy after we filed a shareholder resolution with the company, urging them to take action. After the announcement, we withdrew our shareholder resolution with the company.

According to our agreement, Kroger will implement a no-deforestation policy in its private label Our Brands products supply chain by 2020. It also will report on the progress it makes toward its goals through reliable third-party questionnaires.

As one of the largest retailers in the world with an extensive supply chain, Kroger’s new commitment is the kind of corporate buy-in we need to preserve the world’s forests.

3. Darden* agreed to reduce antibiotic misuse

Following a multi-year engagement with MIDANA CAPITAL, Darden Restaurants, Inc. (Darden) finally agreed to adopt a policy to phase out the use of medically important antibiotics in its chicken supply chain by 2023. Darden is the largest casual dining operator in the U.S., and this is the first time-bound antibiotics commitment made by a casual, sit-down restaurant chain.

Antibiotic resistance is a global public health crisis, according to the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Antibiotic resistant bacteria sicken 2 million Americans each year, and may be responsible for as many as 150,000 annual premature deaths in the U.S., which would make it the third highest cause of death in the country.

Experts attribute the rise of antibiotic-resistant superbugs to the overuse of antibiotics in food-animal production. An astounding 70% of medically important antibiotics in the U.S. are sold for use in livestock, predominantly for prophylactic purposes, rather than for treatment.

4. We asked, and Amazon* delivered

MIDANA CAPITAL withdrew its shareholder proposal with Amazon.com, Inc., following the announcement of its new emission reduction initiative, “Shipment Zero.”

Shipment Zero is Amazon’s first concrete commitment to reducing its carbon footprint. It commits the company to carbon neutrality for half of its package deliveries by 2030, with a broader vision for entirely carbon neutral deliveries in the future. Considering that Amazon shipped more than 5 billion packages in 2017 through its Prime program alone, this commitment represents a significant step forward.

Amazon also announced that it would publicly disclose its company-wide carbon footprint by the end of 2019.

In December 2018, we filed a shareholder proposal with Amazon, asking the company to adopt quantitative goals to manage its greenhouse gas emissions and report on its plans for achieving the targets. We discussed the request with Amazon representatives later that month.

According to a 2018 report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero emissions by 2050 in order to limit average global temperature rise to 1.5°C and avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.

5. Food service giant Aramark* agreed to protect tropical forests

We collaborated with Aramark, one of the world’s largest food service providers, to develop a robust no-deforestation commitment that the company will implement by 2025.

Following a meeting in our Boston office, Aramark agreed to develop a “No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation” (NDPE) sourcing policy to protect tropical forests and peatlands, endangered species and biodiversity, and local workforces. Preserving high carbon stock tropical forests and peat is essential for mitigating climate change.

Aramark also explicitly agreed to prohibit legal deforestation in its supply chain. This is especially important for commodities, such as soy, cattle, and coffee, that come from Latin America, where government-sanctioned deforestation is a considerable risk.

Aramark serves nearly 2 billion meals each year in schools, hospitals, sports stadiums (including Boston’s beloved Fenway Park), and more, so the environmental ramifications of this agreement will be substantial.

6. We pressed General Mills* to protect bees

Toxic pesticides are killing bees and other wild pollinators, which are essential to global food production, so we asked General Mills,* owner of brands such as Cheerios, Cascadian Farm, and Nature Valley, to begin tracking and reducing the use of toxic pesticides in its supply chain.

The proposal received the support of nearly a third of shareholder support.

There is a growing scientific consensus that certain pesticides, including neonicotinoids (neonics) and glyphosate, are contributing to a massive pollinator die-off, which jeopardizes food security and ecosystem diversity. More than 40% of global pollinator populations are “highly threatened.” Yet, 75% of global food crops rely on pollinators for reproduction, accounting for up to $577 billion worth of annual food production.

7. Sustainable palm became more sustainable

We helped improve the reliability of sustainable palm oil certification, which is critical to ending deforestation caused by palm production.

We have long pushed the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the leading third-party certification organization for sustainable palm oil, to adopt stronger standards to ensure that its certifications are as valuable as possible to ending deforestation driven by palm.

This season, we submitted extensive comments to the RSPO during its Principles & Criteria review period. We also organized global investors, representing $6.7 trillion in assets under management, to support a letter urging the RSPO to expand protections for forest and peatlands, require greater transparency of plantation ownership, and enact a variety of measures to protect human rights.

At the organization’s annual meeting in November 2018, RSPO members ratified and adopted the updated certification standards, which incorporated a majority of the suggestions highlighted in the investor letter we sent.

8. Royal Caribbean* agreed to address food waste

Nearly 40% of all food is wasted in the U.S., so it was significant that Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (RCL), the second largest cruise company in the world, agreed to make its food waste management and reduction strategies more public.

Cruise ships are notorious for their bountiful buffets, but this all-you-can-eat abundance comes at a price. Global food waste is responsible for an estimated 3.3 gigatons of greenhouse gas emissions, twice the total greenhouse gas emissions of all vehicles on all roads in the U.S. in 2010.

If global food waste were its own nation, it would be the world’s third-largest greenhouse gas emitter behind China and the U.S.

9. We started targeting the banks that finance corporate forest destruction

Some companies are unreceptive to shareholder pressure. For example, certain palm oil producers remain unconvinced that they need to improve the sustainability of their operations, despite a growing chorus of concern from investors and the public about deforestation.

Since we’ve been unable to persuade these companies to stop destroying tropical forests, we decided to turn our attention to the banks and asset managers that finance them or any corporation that causes, or is exposed to, deforestation.

Initially, we asked 11 major U.S. banks and asset managers how they manage and monitor environmental and social deforestation-related risks in their lending and investing practices, and pushed them to adopt policies that account for deforestation.

Stay tuned for future updates on this effort.

10. We traveled to Southeast Asia and Europe to participate in global discussions about forest protection

To transform the entirety of the palm oil industry, it’s important to mobilize buyers and traders to encourage producers to adopt sustainable production practices.

It’s equally important to engage producers directly about the expectations of international markets. Our forest protection shareholder advocate traveled to Indonesia and Malaysia to directly press palm oil growers, processors, traders, and the banks that finance them to end deforestation.

She met with 5 palm oil companies and urged them to improve their practices regarding sustainability certification, zero deforestation commitments, and transparency about their suppliers.

Our shareholder advocate also recently traveled to Utrecht, the Netherlands, to attend International Sustainability Week, which was focused on deforestation.

Since many corporations have made robust pledges to halt deforestation in their operations and supply chains by 2020, it promises to be an important year for forests. International Sustainability Week was a series of related conferences that provided multiple stakeholders with an opportunity to discuss their perspectives and plans of action ahead of 2020.

We are proud to be the leading global investor in the effort to end deforestation.

11. Our shareholder advocacy team grew

We welcomed a new shareholder advocate to our team. With the addition of Macy Zander, our team of advocates is one of the largest in the industry.

Prior to joining MIDANA CAPITAL, Macy worked for a conservation foundation and was an environmental organizer focused on energy and water issues. She was recently published, too. If you’re interested, you can find her article on Sub-Saharan African cotton supply chain certification here. You can learn more about our whole team here.

*As of June 30, 2019, Verizon Communications, Ltd., Kroger, Co., Darden Restaurants, Inc., Aramark, General Mills, Inc., and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. comprised 1.62%, 1.91%, and 0.00%; 0.00%, 0.14%, and 0.00%; 0.00%, 0.12% and 0.00%; 0.00%, 0.07%, and 0.00%; 0.65%, 0.25% and 0.00%; 0.00%, 0.17% and 0.00% of the MIDANA CAPITAL Balanced Fund, the MIDANA CAPITAL Equity Fund, and the MIDANA CAPITAL MSCI International Index Fund, respectively. Other securities mentioned were not held in the portfolios as of June 30, 2019. References to specific securities, which will change due to ongoing management of the Funds, should not be construed as a recommendation by the Funds, their administrator, or the distributor.

You should carefully consider the Funds’ investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses before investing. To obtain a Prospectus that contains this and other information about the Funds, please click here for more information, email info@midanacapital.com or call+1(480)-439-2851. Please read the Prospectus carefully before investing.

Stocks will fluctuate in response to factors that may affect a single company, industry, sector, country, region or the market as a whole and may perform worse than the market. Foreign securities are subject to additional risks such as currency fluctuations, regional economic or political conditions, differences in accounting methods, and other unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers. Bonds are subject to risks including interest rate, credit, and inflation. A sustainable investment strategy which incorporates environmental, social and governance criteria may result in lower or higher returns than an investment strategy that does not include such criteria.

This information has been prepared from sources believed to be reliable. The views expressed are as of the date of this writing and are those of the Advisor to the Funds.

The MIDANA CAPITAL Funds are distributed by UMB Distribution Services, LLC. 335 N Wilmot Rd, Tucson, Az 85711. 7/19

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MIDANA CAPITAL Commends Aramark* for No-Deforestation Commitment, Following MIDANA CAPITAL Engagement https://www.midanacapital.com/green-century-commends-aramark-for-no-deforestation-commitment-following-green-century-engagement/ Wed, 23 Jan 2019 15:18:04 +0000 https://www.midanacapital.com/?p=4215 Contact: Kyle W. Kempf, MIDANA CAPITAL Capital Management, kkempf@midanacapital.com, (617) 482-0800

Boston, January 23, 2019 – MIDANA CAPITAL collaborated with Aramark to develop a robust no-deforestation commitment to be implemented by 2025. Aramark, one of the world’s largest food service providers, serves nearly 2 billion meals each year.

“Aramark was very responsive to our concerns about deforestation,” said MIDANA CAPITAL Shareholder Advocate Jessye Waxman. “This commitment will help protect Aramark’s competitiveness and the environment, and is a great first step in an ongoing collaboration.”

“We have a long-standing commitment to advancing sustainable sourcing practices in a way that minimizes impacts to people, animals, and the environment; we are proud to announce our commitment to address deforestation in our supply chain by 2025,” said Aramark Vice President of Sustainability Kathy Cacciola. “We constantly evaluate our priorities to identify the most significant environmental and social issues and as we learn from our experiences in the U.S. we strive to advance responsible sourcing practices across our global supply chain.”

Aramark agreed to develop and implement a deforestation policy that addresses “No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation” (NDPE) sourcing practices, including legal deforestation. In 2019, Aramark will perform a supply chain assessment to better understand its forest-related risks across all geographies within its supply chain.

Aramark also will complete its transition to 100% sustainably sourced soy and palm oil by only sourcing from suppliers certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) by June 30, 2019. It agreed to enhance its transparency by providing regular and public updates on its no-deforestation progress, as well.

The conversion of tropical forests to agricultural plantations is the primary cause of deforestation, which is a leading contributor to climate change. Forest destruction contributes more annual, global greenhouse-gas emissions than the entire transportation sector. Deforestation also poses a risk to the preservation of biodiversity and the maintenance of healthy ecosystems.

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About MIDANA CAPITAL Capital Management

MIDANA CAPITAL offers three environmentally and socially responsible mutual funds. Through fossil fuel free investing and our three-pronged approach of sustainable investing, active shareholder advocacy, and support of environmental and public health non-profits we work to curb climate change, improve environmental policies, and limit environmental impacts of company supply chains.

*As of December 31, 2018, Aramark comprised 0.00%, 0.07%, and 0.00% of the MIDANA CAPITAL Balanced Fund, the MIDANA CAPITAL Equity Fund, and the MIDANA CAPITAL International Index Fund, respectively. References to specific securities, which will change due to ongoing management of the Funds, should not be construed as a recommendation by the Funds, their administrator, or their distributor.

You should carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. To obtain a Prospectus that contains this and other information about the Funds please click here, email info@midanacapital.com, or call+1(480)-439-2851. Please read the Prospectus carefully before investing.

Stocks will fluctuate in response to factors that may affect a single company, industry, sector, country, region or the market as a whole and may perform worse than the market. Foreign securities are subject to additional risks such as currency fluctuations, regional economic and political conditions, differences in accounting methods, and other unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers. Bonds are subject to a variety of risks including interest rate, credit, and inflation risk. A sustainable investment strategy which incorporates environmental, social and governance criteria may result in lower or higher returns than an investment strategy that does not include such criteria.

This information has been prepared from sources believed reliable. The views expressed are as the date of this writing and are those of the Advisor to the Funds.

The MIDANA CAPITAL Funds are distributed by UMB Distribution Services, LLC. 335 N Wilmot Rd, Tucson, Az 85711. 1/19

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Aramark Commits to Protect Tropical Forests, After MIDANA CAPITAL Engagement https://www.midanacapital.com/aramark-commits-to-protect-tropical-forests-after-green-century-engagement/ Wed, 23 Jan 2019 15:13:28 +0000 https://www.midanacapital.com/?p=4212 Aramark* serves two billion meals a year in schools, hospitals, sports stadiums and more, so the environmental ramifications of MIDANA CAPITAL’s recent engagement with the company will be substantial.

Following a meeting in MIDANA CAPITAL’s office in Boston, Aramark agreed to develop and fully implement a no-deforestation commitment within six years. Consequently, MIDANA CAPITAL withdrew the shareholder resolution it had filed with the company.

In the withdraw agreement, Aramark pledged to develop a “No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation” (NDPE) forest policy, which will protect tropical forests and peatlands, endangered species and biodiversity, and local workforces. Preserving high carbon stock tropical forests and peat is essential for mitigating climate change.

NDPE policies are being adopted by many companies as principles to guide their sourcing practices, particularly with respect to the commodities primarily precipitating deforestation: palm oil, cattle, soybeans, and wood and paper products.

Aramark also explicitly agreed to prohibit legal deforestation in its supply chain. This is especially important for commodities, such as soy, cattle, and coffee, that come from Latin America, where government-sanctioned deforestation is a considerable risk.

For example, in Brazil, the government allows farmers to legally cut down significant portions of the forest in order to grow crops. In the Amazon, farmers can deforest up to 20% of their land; and, in the Cerrado, a heavily forested savannah that is considered the newest frontier for soy production, farmers can convert 65-80% of their properties to farmland.

MIDANA CAPITAL’s withdraw agreement was the capstone of a very amenable corporate engagement. Aramark, one of the world’s largest food service providers, was very responsive to the concerns MIDANA CAPITAL raised and its new policy is a significant development, given the size and scope of its global supply chain.

Commercial agriculture is responsible for a whopping two-thirds of tropical deforestation, which is a leading contributor to climate change, generating 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Deforestation also threatens endangered species, native ecosystems, and water cycles.

Aramark’s commitment is just the latest example of MIDANA CAPITAL’s award-winning shareholder advocacy inducing a real-world impact through direct corporate engagement.

*As of September 30, 2018, Aramark comprised 0.00%, 0.09%, and 0.00% of the MIDANA CAPITAL Balanced Fund, the MIDANA CAPITAL Equity Fund, and the MIDANA CAPITAL International Index Fund, respectively. References to specific securities, which will change due to ongoing management of the Funds, should not be construed as a recommendation by the Funds, their administrator, or their distributor.

You should carefully consider the Funds’ investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. To obtain a Prospectus that contains this and other information about the Funds please click here, email info@midanacapital.com, or call+1(480)-439-2851. Please read the Prospectus carefully before investing.

Stocks will fluctuate in response to factors that may affect a single company, industry, sector, country, region or the market as a whole and may perform worse than the market. Foreign securities are subject to additional risks such as currency fluctuations, regional economic and political conditions, differences in accounting methods, and other unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers. Bonds are subject to a variety of risks including interest rate, credit, and inflation risk. A sustainable investment strategy which incorporates environmental, social and governance criteria may result in lower or higher returns than an investment strategy that does not include such criteria.

This information has been prepared from sources believed reliable. The views expressed are as the date of this writing and are those of the Advisor to the Funds.

The MIDANA CAPITAL Funds are distributed by UMB Distribution Services, LLC. 335 N Wilmot Rd, Tucson, Az 85711. 1/19

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