(Source: PRNewswire)BOSTON, Aug. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Investors engaging with U.S. and Canadian companies on the financial risks and opportunities from climate change achieved major breakthroughs in the 2009 proxy season, including a first-ever majority vote (51.2 percent) with IDACORP, an electric utility in Idaho, asking it to establish greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals. A record 68 climate-related shareholder resolutions were filed by investors this year, of which 31 were withdrawn after the companies agreed to positive climate-related commitments. Six of the 28 resolutions that went to a vote achieved 30 percent or greater support, including one filed with coal company Massey Energy that received 45.6 percent support, or $458.1 million in shares.

Among the key highlights of the 2009 proxy season, with further details being provided below:

   --  Following a 51.2 percent majority vote in May, IDACORP agreed to adopt       GHG reduction goals by year's end, issued its first RFP (request for       proposal) for a wind farm and submitted a smart grid proposal to       utility regulators;   --  Chevron, which investors had placed on a Climate Watch List last       spring, agreed in May to develop and disclose a business plan setting       an annual GHG emissions reduction target for its operations, and to       track emissions from its products;   --  NV Energy (formerly Sierra Pacific Resources), after agreeing to       provide expanded disclosure of its strategy to address climate change,       announced it would increase its renewable energy generation and       abandon a 1,500-megawatt coal plant;   --  Citigroup agreed to establish a due diligence process for mountain top       removal (MTR) coal mining related loans and to consider shareholder       input in the development of that process; and    --  Pulte, the nation's largest homebuilder, agreed to establish       quantitative emissions reduction goals for its operations.   

"Investor pressure is prompting more companies to see the value of making their businesses more climate-friendly," said Mindy S. Lubber, president of Ceres, a leading coalition of investors and environmental groups that helped coordinate this year's shareholder filings along with the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR).