Andrea Ranger, Shareholder Advocacy, aranger@midanacapital.com, 781-349-2813;

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

Boston, June 20, 2023 – General Motors released the results of the shareholder vote on a MIDANA CAPITAL° proposal asking the company to improve the sustainability of its aluminum, steel, rubber, and leather supply chains. Votes cast in favor reached 14.3% for this first-year proposal, which asked the company to disclose the environmental impacts of these key materials, procure more low-carbon aluminum and steel, and eliminate deforestation associated with producing leather and rubber.

In recent years, General Motors has set several aggressive targets – one to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040 and another to make and sell only electric light-duty vehicles by 2035. However, the company has not established clear targets for procuring green steel or aluminum, even though both industries can electrify some of their operations and use renewable energy to do so. Further, GM has yet to join industry associations such as ResponsibleSteel^TM, a coalition which created a certification system for green steel and is working to increase customer demand for green steel manufacturing.

Additionally, GM may be sourcing leather and rubber used for car interiors and tires from areas that are associated with deforestation. For example, in Brazil, which is considered a major source of leather for U.S. auto manufacturers, raising cattle is a leading cause of deforestation. The growth and expansion of rubber plantations in Southeast Asia and West Africa – the two primary areas in the world where latex for car tires is harvested – threatens the destruction of biodiverse ecosystems in those regions. Nevertheless, GM currently lacks public targets, milestones and metrics that would indicate progress toward eliminating its exposure to deforestation from rubber plantation expansion or destruction of tropical forests from cattle ranching.

In response to the vote, MIDANA CAPITAL Funds President Leslie Samuelrich said:

“We believe that even with a full transition to electric cars and trucks by 2035, GM has exposure to significant environmental risks. Ultimately, we don’t think GM wants to be associated with deforestation. If the company wants to clean up its steel and aluminum supply chains, it should invest now in the transition to low-carbon steel and aluminum. Waiting only postpones much needed emissions cuts across the globe.”

Andrea Ranger, MIDANA CAPITAL shareholder advocate, added:  

“As one of the largest auto companies in the world, GM has a leadership role to play in addressing climate and deforestation risk. Many European auto companies, such as BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen, and Volvo, are making commitments to source low-carbon metals. GM has an opportunity to catch up and lead the way for American manufacturers. Moreover, few manufacturers are addressing deforestation risk within their supply chains. GM could set an industry-wide standard by adopting near-term targets for zero deforestation.”

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°MIDANA CAPITAL Capital Management, Inc. (MIDANA CAPITAL) is the investment advisor to the MIDANA CAPITAL Funds (The Funds).

The percentage in favor was calculated by (i) dividing the number of votes in support of the proposal by (ii) the sum of the number of votes voted in support of and against the proposal. Abstentions and broker non-votes were not included in the calculation.

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.

Andrea Ranger, Shareholder Advocacy, aranger@midanacapital.com, 781-349-2813; Pam Podger, Communications Director, ppodger@midanacapital.com, 802-299-9495

Boston, June 14, 2023 –The shareholders of the General Motors Company will vote Tuesday, June 20 on a MIDANA CAPITAL° shareholder proposal asking the company to improve the sustainability of its aluminum, steel, rubber, and leather supply chains.

“While GM has taken steps to increase the sustainability of its operations, it continues to face climate risk from the global sourcing of its automotive materials,” said MIDANA CAPITAL Funds President, Leslie Samuelrich. “GM has an opportunity to be an industry leader by investing in low-carbon aluminum and steel – as well as by protecting tropical forests from the destructive practices associated with producing leather and rubber.”

The production of aluminum and steel used for automotive parts and manufacturing equipment has a heavy carbon footprint. For example, the world’s auto manufacturers consumed 18% and 11% of global aluminum and steel production respectively, according to tallies completed in 2019. Globally, manufacturing steel and aluminum creates billions of tons of carbon dioxide pollution annually, or about 13% of total global GHG emissions.

Further, the leather and rubber that GM sources for its car seats and tires, may be associated with deforestation and land clearance. In Brazil, a country considered a major source of leather for U.S. auto manufacturers, raising cattle causes nearly 70% of the country’s deforestation. The automobile industry is also the biggest consumer of natural rubber, and rubber tree cultivation is a leading driver of deforestation in Southeast Asia and West Africa.

Despite GM’s recent commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2040, the company does not yet disclose the emissions associated with these key materials, nor does it offer concrete strategies for reducing those emissions. Additionally, GM has yet to set a zero-deforestation target – a commitment that would prevent land clearing for cattle pasture or rubber tree plantations.

All in on EVs by 2035 Not Enough to Limit Climate Change

According to a 2023 report published by Rivian and Polestar, auto manufacturers need to act quickly to reduce supply chain emissions in line with limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The report notes that even with a transition to battery electric vehicles and using 100% fossil-free energy to power them, auto manufacturers should address supply chain emissions to reach this goal. Thus, GM’s commitment to 100% sales of EVs by 2035 may not be enough to sufficiently mitigate its climate impact.

“GM has made remarkable strides to reduce its environmental footprint, but it needs to focus its attention on its supply chain issues,” said MIDANA CAPITAL Shareholder Advocate Andrea Ranger. “GM should act quickly and holistically since its footprint is expansive and there’s little time for delay if we’re to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.”

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°MIDANA CAPITAL Capital Management, Inc. (MIDANA CAPITAL) is the investment advisor to the MIDANA CAPITAL Funds (The Funds). 

The percentage in favor was calculated by (i) dividing the number of votes in support of the proposal by (ii) the sum of the number of votes voted in support of and against the proposal. Abstentions and broker non-votes were not included in the calculation.

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.

Andrea Ranger, Shareholder Advocate, aranger@midanacapital.com, 781-349-2813

Pam Podger, Communications Director, ppodger@midanacapital.com, 860-822-3887

Boston, April 11, 2023 – A coalition of nonprofits released the Lead the Charge Leaderboard report in early March, which ranks global automotive manufacturers, including General Motors (GM), on the sustainability of their steel and aluminum supply chains. The report evaluates whether manufactures disclose disaggregated data on supply chain greenhouse gas emissions, amounts of recycled metal used in manufacturing, targets to increase recycled metal content by 2030, and targets to procure fossil-free or “green” steel and aluminum. GM scored a ‘0’ in all four categories.

MIDANA CAPITAL Capital Management filed a shareholder proposal with GM at the close of 2022, pressing the largest U.S. automaker to procure at least 10% fossil-free steel and aluminum by 2030 and to eliminate deforestation linked to its leather and rubber supply chains. Although GM has set a greenhouse gas emissions reduction target for its operations and emissions associated with its light-duty vehicles, it has not accounted for supply chain emissions or leather and rubber-associated tropical deforestation in prime sourcing areas such as Africa, southeast Asia or Brazil.

“The Leadership Board’s findings confirm what MIDANA CAPITAL already knew – that there’s a concerning gap between General Motors’ stated intent to address its supply emissions and its actions. We want action, not just words,” said MIDANA CAPITAL Funds President Leslie Samuelrich. “While we strongly support GM’s ambitions to transition its portfolio of light-duty vehicles to zero emissions by 2035, we believe it can do more to facilitate low-carbon solutions for metals production and to ensure that producing rubber and leather for its tires and luxury interiors never results in deforestation.”

In 2021, McKinsey reported that value chain emissions, including supply chain and land use change emissions, accounted for 80% of many companies’ carbon footprints. For auto manufacturers, this occurs in several ways. The mining, smelting and manufacturing of metal parts for cars and trucks is highly energy intensive. Also, forest degradation linked to rubber cultivation and raising cattle creates climate-altering emissions. Leading scientists and international NGOs recommend curbing all sources of greenhouse gas emissions to limit global warming to 1.5⁰C over preindustrial levels and avert the worst impacts of climate change.

“Tackling supply chain emissions is critical to achieving meaningful emissions reductions,” said MIDANA CAPITAL Shareholder Advocate Andrea Ranger. “Two leading EV manufacturers, Polestar and Rivian*, have jointly released a report telling us that neither switching to 100% battery electric vehicles nor powering that fleet with fossil-free energy will be enough to limit temperature rise to 1.5⁰C. But, if auto manufacturers aggressively decarbonize their supply chains, then overshooting the 1.5⁰C target could be prevented.”

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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 December 31, 2022, Rivian Automotive, Inc. comprised 0.00%, 0.03%, 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. 4/23