Smithfield Foods, the recipient of several NCF-led proposals asking for improvements to its sustainability reporting, recently appointed its first-ever Chief Sustainability Officer. The appointment follows numerous sustainability related improvements undertaken by Smithfield following the submission of NCF's first sustainability reporting proposal to the company in 2003, including the completion of facility level reports illustrating the company's sustainability impacts from "farm to fork".

By Brian Dumaine, assistant managing editorJanuary 28, 2010: 9:47 AM ET

(Fortune Magazine) -- Quick: which nation builds the most wind turbines? If you guessed America, with its blustery Great Plains dotted with whirring GE blades, you'd be wrong. In 2009, China became the planet's largest producer.

What's going on here? While America was digging itself out of its financial crisis, China quietly positioned itself to become a leader in what promises to be the largest emerging industry of the 21st century: green tech.

Leading investors hailed the SEC's landmark decision to issue interpretive guidance clarifying what public companies should disclose to investors regarding climate risks and opportunities. The Nathan Cummings Foundation and numerous other investors have been requesting such guidance for a number of years in light of the issue's potentially significant implications for their investments.

A story about the NCF-funded Global Warming Litigation Project has received front-page coverage in The New York Times. The project's director, Matt Pawa, has been clear that these suits could never have been brought without the early and sustained support they've received from the Foundation.

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A whistleblower represented by the Government Accountability Project was named the 2009 Public Employee of the Year by The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency) for disclosures she made in an effort to ensure that post-Katrina reconstruction in the Gulf Coast was performed properly. Maria Garzino is a civil engineer with the US Army Corp. of Engineers. With GAP's help and support she blew the whistle on the Corps., demonstrating that its failure to oversee work done by private contractors created serious questions about the reliability of New Orleans's rebuilt pumping system, which prevents flooding. In particular, one contractor was allowed to install defective, largely untested hydraulic pumps in New Orleans canals and all efforts to raise concerns about the work were blocked by the contractor and the Corps. OSC vindicated Ms. Garzino's claims, which she made at great personal and professional risk.
For more details, see attached press release . . .

Exhibition In the Bag
January 28- April 23, 2010 at the Nathan Cummings Foundation
Viewing hours: Monday to Friday 9am- 5pm by appointment only.
Please call 212-787-7300, Ext. 206.

In the wake of last year’s near collapse of the financial system, big bonuses for Wall Street executives have drawn the attention of both investors and the press.  A recent Fortune article on CNNMoney.com explores some of the concerns about Wall Street’s “eye-popping paychecks” and outlines why investors like the Nathan Cummings Foundation remain concerned about Wall Street compensation practices despite recent attempts at reform.

Among our many other grantees selected this year for their leadership, creativity, and impact: Hadar Susskind (Jewish Council on Public Affairs); Daniel Sokatch (Progressive Jewish Alliance & SF Federation); Rabbi David Saperstein (Religious Action Center); Nigel Savage (Hazon); Rabbi Jill Jacobs and Mik Moore (Jewish Funds for Justice); Jeremy Ben Ami (J-Street Education Fund) and Rabbi Eli Kaunfer (Hadar).

In the wake of a letter coordinated by the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR) and signed by more than 40 institutional investors, including the Nathan Cummings Foundation, the SEC has announced plans to focus on climate change disclosure requirements. Institutional investors like NCF have long argued that increased disclosure of climate related risk is necessary for improved investment decision making.