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NEWS
ADVISORY
April 15 ,2002
ENRON
LESSONS: SHAREHOLDERS NEED TO GET INVOLVED
Green Investors Seek Management
Accountability
For
More Information:
Bart
Naylor [GREEN CAP] bartnaylor@aol.com
703.786-7286
John Osborn [RR&CC
/ Sierra
Club]
josbornmd@yahoo.com 509.939-1290
Sam Mace millicoma64@hotmail.com 360-608-4814
Justin Hayes [Idaho
Conservation League]
jhayes@wildidaho.org 208-345-6933 ext. 24
In
the wake of the Enron corporate collapse, investors
associated with the environmental shareholder organization,
GREEN CAP, will be offering a series of reforming
resolutions at major timber and railroad corporations.
The SEC has approved resolutions for votes at the annual
meetings of the following corporations:
April
16 Weyerhaeuser
(presenter: Sam Mace)
April
17 BNSF
Railroad
(presenter: Bart Naylor )
April
18 Boise
Cascade
(presenter: Justin Hayes)
May
7 Plum
Creek
(presenter: Bart Naylor)
May
7 Georgia
Pacific
(presenter: Bart Naylor)
May
15 Potlatch
(presenter: John Osborn)
"Enron
illustrates a failure of shareholder oversight of
management," said Bart Naylor, director of GREEN CAP, and
former Chief Investigative Officer of the Senate Banking
Committee. "Green shareholders have a critical role to
play in corporate policy--we know that long-term
profitability is better served through enlightened
environmental practices."
The
resolutions were filed according to SEC (Securities and
Exchange Commission) regulations, and survived challenges by
the company management. These resolutions and their
supporting statements are now being considered by
shareholders. The resolutions include reforming elections of
board members, removing barriers to investor influence on
management decisions, and endorsing a set of environmental
principles called the CERES Principles (Coalition for
Environmentally Responsible Economies).
"Our
society is dominated by corporate governments. With 'one
share, one vote,' shareholders' oversight can make a huge
difference in corporate policy--and our everyday lives,"
said John Osborn, president of the Railroads & Clearcuts
Campaign, and conservation chair for the Northern Rockies
Chapter of the Sierra Club.
"With
these resolutions, we are asking shareholders to consider
reforms that make our companies more responsive and lead to
a more enlightened approach to profiting from
environmentally sensitive resources," added Bart
Naylor.
In
2000 and 2001 investors affiliated with GREEN CAP won
resounding victories at Weyerhaeuser, Boise Cascade, and
BNSF Railroad. Management at all three companies
declined to implement the changes.
GREEN
CAP (Corporate Accountability Project) began in 1995 working
to promote shareholder oversight, build bridges with
institutional shareholders, and reform corporate
governance. GREEN CAP is a project of the Railroad
& Clearcuts Campaign, a nonprofit organization working
to champion the public interest in America's railroad land
grants through corporate and public land reform,
environmental protection and restoration, improving rail
transportation, promoting economic health, and righting
historic wrongs.
___________________________________________
SCHEDULING & PROXY INFORMATION
WEYERHAEUSER
Where:
Corporate Headquarters Building, Federal Way,
Washington.
When: 9:00 a.m., Tuesday, April 16,
2002
Weyerhaeuser
Proxy Statement to Shareholders
Shareholder
Resolution / Supporting Statement p. 21-22
RESOLVED:
That Weyerhaeuser stockholders urge the Board of Directors
take the necessary steps, in compliance with state law, to
declassify the Board for the purpose of director elections.
The board declassification shall be completed in a manner
that does not affect the unexpired terms of directors
previously elected."
BURLINGTON
NORTHERN SANTA FE RAILROAD
Where:
at The Fort Worth Club, Horizon Room, 306 West 7th Street,
Fort Worth, Texax:
When: 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17,
2002
BNSF
Proxy Statement to Shareholders
BNSF
Shareholder Resolution: Shareholder
Rights
RESOLVED:
That shareholders urge that the board of directors will
solicit shareholder approval for any "shareholder rights"
plan that might be adopted, and that if this approval is not
granted in the form of a majority of the shares voted, then
any rights plan be redeemed.
BOISE
CASCADE
Where:
Powerhouse Event Center 621 South 17th
Street Boise, Idaho
When: 12 noon, Thursday, April 18, 2002
Boise's
Proxy Statement to Shareholders
(1)
Boise Shareholder Resolution: Board
Declassification
RESOLVED,
that the stockholders of Boise Cascade Corp. urge the board
to take the necessary steps to amend the Company's Bylaws,
in compliance with applicable law, to reorganize itself into
one class. The reorganization shall be done in a manner that
does not affect the unexpired terms of directors previously
elected.
(2)
Boise Shareholder Resolution: Shareholder
Rights
RESOLVED:
That shareholders urge that the board of directors will
solicit shareholder approval for any "shareholder rights"
plan that might be adopted, and that if this approval is not
granted in the form of a majority of the shares voted, then
any rights plan be redeemed.
PLUM
CREEK TIMBER COMPANY
Where:
Washington Athletic Club in Seattle,
When: 9 a.m., Tuesday, May 7, 2002
Plum
Creek Proxy Statement to Shareholders
Plum
Creek Shareholder Resolution: Ceres
Principles
RESOLVED:
That shareholders request the company to endorse the
CERES
principles
as part of its commitment to be publicly accountable for its
environmental impact.
GEORGIA
PACIFIC
Where:
Radisson Riverfront Hotel, 2 Tenth Street, in Augusta,
Georgia
When: 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 7, 2002
George
Pacific Proxy Statement to Shareholders
Shareholder
Resolution / Supporting Statement: CERES Principles
(page 25)
"RESOLVED:
Shareholders request the Company to endorse the
CERES
Principles
as a part of its commitment to be publicly accountable for
its environmental impact.
POTLATCH
Where:
Hotel Lusso, North One Post Street, Spokane, Washington
When: 8 a.m., Wednesday May 15, 2002
Potlatch
Proxy Statement to Shareholders
Potlatch
Shareholder Resolution: Dividends / Weyerhaeuser
Family (page 20)
RESOLVED:
That Shareholders urge the board to prepare a report that
explains past and current dividend policy, and alternative
plans for future dividends. This report should address the
substantial ownership of Potlatch shares by members of the
extended Weyerhaeuser family.
ADDITIONAL
RESOURCES AND INFORMATION:
Change
Corporate America for 33 Cents: A self-help guide to
Shareholder Activism
(Appendix
3 contains cross-links)
Railroads
& Clearcuts Campaign
A
Photographic Essay: Legacy of Congress's 1864 Northern
Pacific Railroad Land Grant
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