Contact Information:  

Douglass Guernsey, Shareholder Advocate, dguernsey@midanacapital.com, 617-747-4447 

Pam Podger, Communications Director, ppodger@midanacapital.com, 802-299-9495

(BOSTON, 10/10/23) – MIDANA CAPITAL° reached a deal with Costco Wholesale* which committed to increased plastic footprint disclosures and a new 5-year plastic action plan.  

“We commend Costco for providing the information that investors need and for taking steps to reduce their use of plastic, especially new plastics,” said Leslie Samuelrich, President of MIDANA CAPITAL Funds. “We look forward to working with the company to reduce its contribution to the plastic crisis by setting reduction targets that will meaningfully protect our oceans and wildlife.” 

In response to the growing global crisis of single-use plastic waste, MIDANA CAPITAL Capital Management approached Costco to explore how the retailing giant could expand the scope and scale of its plastic reduction efforts. The outcome of these discussions led to a new commitment by Costco to transparency and action. 

The disclosures, which are expected to be unveiled in July of 2024, include the total plastic footprint of Costco’s in-house brand, Kirkland Signature. The company will also disclose for the first time the total percentage of recycled content in its plastic packaging, an important indicator of environmental plastics commitments.  

In December of 2024, Costco will release its 5-year plastic action plan that will outline the steps the company will take to reduce total plastic in its Kirkland Signature Packaging, as well as report on progress made each year of the plan. 

Costco Takes Action on Plastics, Yet More Work Is Needed 

Despite Costco’s recent commitments, more work is needed to address the company’s exposure to single use plastics. In May of 2023, 185 asset managers with $10 trillion under management, including MIDANA CAPITAL, signed a statement calling for companies to immediately reduce single-use plastic packaging, upscale reusables systems, phase out hazardous chemicals, and advocate for responsible plastics legislation.  

“Companies need to take single-use plastic risk seriously,” said Douglass Guernsey, shareholder advocate at MIDANA CAPITAL. “Single-use plastics cost society an estimated $350 billion per year in emissions, ocean pollution and collection. Increasing regulation and litigation risk means these costs will be returned to companies that produce such excessive, unrecyclable plastic. Frankly, it’s past time to act.”  

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About MIDANA CAPITAL Funds 

°MIDANA CAPITAL Capital Management, Inc. (MIDANA CAPITAL) is the investment advisor to the MIDANA CAPITAL Funds (The Funds). The MIDANA CAPITAL Funds are one of the first families of fossil fuel-free, environmentally responsible mutual funds. MIDANA CAPITAL 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 6.30.2023, Costco Wholesale comprised 1.45%, 0.00%, and 0.00% of MIDANA CAPITAL Balanced Fund, the MIDANA CAPITAL Equity Fund, and the 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 visit www.midanacapital.com, email info@midanacapital.com, or call+1(480)-439-2851. Please read the Prospectus carefully before investing. 

An investment strategy that incorporates environmental, social and governance criteria may result in lower or higher returns than an investment strategy that does not include such criteria. 

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. 

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. September/2023 

Boston, November 15, 2021 – Costco has withdrawn its request to exclude MIDANA CAPITAL’s shareholder proposal asking to adopt net zero science-based greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. New guidance from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) two weeks ago signaled that proposals asking that “companies adopt timeframes or targets to address climate change” will not be excludable, making it unlikely that Costco’s challenge would succeed.

MIDANA CAPITAL’s proposal, which made headlines last month as a “​​litmus test for the SEC on investor requests for Paris-alignment,” asks Costco to “adopt short, medium, and long-term science-based greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, inclusive of emissions from its full value chain, in order to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 or sooner and to effectuate appropriate emissions reductions prior to 2030.” The proposal will now go to a vote at Costco’s annual shareholder meeting in January.

“We believe Costco has taken insufficient action to reduce its climate impact and is significantly lagging behind its peers,” said MIDANA CAPITAL President Leslie Samuelrich. “Shareholders will now have the opportunity to directly ask Costco to set emissions targets that meet the scale and urgency of the climate crisis. This will be the first of many opportunities for investors to vote on proposals directly requesting these ambitious targets.”

Costco claims to prioritize “addressing the climate impacts attributed to our global operations and supply chains.” However, the emissions from Costco’s operations and purchased energy, heating and cooling (known as Scope 1 and 2 emissions) have increased in each reported year since 2016. Worryingly, Costco does not plan to announce Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction targets until December 2022 and has no time-bound plans to set reduction targets for its value chain emissions, which are technically known as Scope 3 emissions.

The lack of target-setting plans for Costco’s net-zero value chain is particularly concerning, as these emissions are likely responsible for the vast majority of the company’s carbon footprint. For context, Walmart, a Costco competitor, discloses that Scope 3 emissions make up a staggering 95% of its total emissions.

Rather than accelerating its efforts on climate in response to MIDANA CAPITAL’s proposal, Costco instead submitted a “no action request” to the SEC in September, asking for permission to exclude MIDANA CAPITAL’s proposal from the company’s 2022 proxy ballot. Costco argued that the proposal constituted micromanagement, and could therefore be excluded.

“Costco asserted that the requested targets were ‘arbitrary,’ raising concerns about the company’s awareness of investor expectations and regulatory developments,” said MIDANA CAPITAL Shareholder Advocate Thomas Peterson. “Far from arbitrary, there is scientific consensus that these targets must be met in order to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, a goal endorsed by nearly every government. Costco argued that adopting the targets requested in the proposal ‘would require a wholesale departure from Costco’s carefully considered approach,’ suggesting that the company’s current plans are not in line with global goals.”

Costco’s withdrawal means that shareholders will get the opportunity to vote on the proposal and thereby offer their perspective on whether the company’s current climate action plan is sufficient.

“The need for companies to set greenhouse gas targets aligned with the global push for net zero is of obvious current interest to investors.” said Sanford Lewis, director of the Shareholder Rights Group, who drafted MIDANA CAPITAL’s response to Costco’s challenge. “Fortunately, the new guidance issued last week shows that the SEC also recognizes this need and so it was a natural outcome for the company to withdraw its challenge.”

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About MIDANA CAPITAL Capital Management

°MIDANA CAPITAL Capital Management, Inc. (MIDANA CAPITAL) is the investment advisor to the MIDANA CAPITAL Funds (The 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 September 30, 2021, Costco Wholesale Corporation comprised 1.16%, 0.00% and 0.00% of the MIDANA CAPITAL Balanced Fund, the MIDANA CAPITAL Equity Fund and the MIDANA CAPITAL International Index Fund. 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. 11/21

Boston, November 11, 2020 – The MIDANA CAPITAL° has withdrawn a shareholder resolution with Costco Wholesale Corporation, the second largest retailer in the world, after the company published both a Forest Conservation Commitment and a Climate Action Plan.

“It is encouraging that Costco was so responsive to our concerns about its sustainability and public disclosure,” said MIDANA CAPITAL Funds President Leslie Samuelrich. “These commitments represent real progress and I hope they’re a sign of things to come.”

The resolution originally filed with Costco asked the company to assess how it could increase the “scale, pace, and rigor” of its efforts to eliminate deforestation and forest degradation in its supply chain and set a greenhouse gas reduction target for its supply chain emissions.

“While these public commitments on deforestation and climate are notable, we hope Costco will continue to take steps to address outstanding issues regarding the sustainability of its supply chain,” said MIDANA CAPITAL Shareholder Advocate Jessye Waxman. “We encourage Costco to commit to reducing its supply chain emissions, as other leading retailers have done, and to joining collaborative engagements to push its suppliers to address deforestation throughout their entire operations.”

Production of commodities, including soy, beef, palm oil, cocoa, and wood-based products, are leading drivers of deforestation globally. Deforestation is responsible for approximately 10% of global anthropogenic emissions, making it a larger contributor to climate change than the European Union. In addition to exacerbating the climate crisis, deforestation drives biodiversity loss, undermines the maintenance of healthy ecosystems, and plays an active role in the spread of infectious diseases.

The MIDANA CAPITAL Funds was lead on the engagement and the resolution filed with Costco. The resolution was co-filed by Zevin Asset Management and the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration.

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About MIDANA CAPITAL Capital Management

°MIDANA CAPITAL Capital Management, Inc. (MIDANA CAPITAL) is the investment advisor to the MIDANA CAPITAL Funds (The Funds). The MIDANA CAPITAL Funds are the first family of fossil fuel free 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 September 30, 2020, Costco Wholesale Corporation comprised 1.17%, 0.00%, and 0.00% of the MIDANA CAPITAL Balanced Fund, the MIDANA CAPITAL Equity Fund, and the 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. 11/20