SHAREHOLDERS VOICE ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS SHAREHOLDERS VOICE ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS The number of investors' resolutions seeking climate-change policies by corporate boards, the number withdrawn and the average percentage of shareholders voting in favor of them: Year Filings Withdrawals Avg. vote 2008 57 25 24% 2007 43 15 22% 2006 31 14 18% Source: Ceres With an environmentally-friendly Obama administration coming to power, a new green business coalition — led by Nike, (NKE) Starbucks, (SBUX) Levi Strauss, Sun Microsystems (JAVA) and Timberland (TBL) — is calling for stronger policies to slash global warming and to create a clean-energy economy. The coalition called BICEP, or Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy, includes consumer-product companies involved for years in business and environmental issues. BICEP officials say retailers, their supply chains and the larger economy will be hurt by global warming's potential effects. So BICEP is proposing more aggressive policies for: •Greenhouse gases. Tougher federal targets for greenhouse gas reduction, including 25% by 2020 and 80% by 2050. •Renewable energy. Federal regulations requiring that 20% of electricity come from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar by 2020, and 30% by 2030. •Coal-fired plants. Federal laws limiting the building of new coal-fired power plants that do not capture carbon emissions. Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres, a coalition of environmental groups and large investors managing $7 trillion in assets, says she expects to see legislation using BICEP proposals. Lubber, a former Environmental Protection Agency official, says lawmakers need to hear that green energy "can be good for the economy." According to the United Nations Environment Programme, the global industry for renewable energy will create millions of jobs as it grows from $148 billion today to $600 billion in 2020. Global warming "is of critical importance" to Starbucks and other companies, says Ben Packard, Starbucks vice president of global sustainability. Even small temperature changes will hurt agricultural regions worldwide. By 2010, Starbucks aims to cut energy use by 25% in its 15,000 worldwide stores, to make sure 50% of all store energy is renewable and to adopt green building standards for new stores. Sarah Severn, Nike's director of corporate social responsibility, says that Nike, among other green practices, has cut carbon emissions by 18% from 1998 to 2005 and has phased out SF6 global-warming gas from all Nike shoes with air-cushioning units. Guidelines: You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference. Read more