California Treasurer Announces the Green Wave Environmental Initiative
On February 3, 2004, California State Treasurer Phil Angelides announced the new Green Wave Environmental Investment Initiative, and called on the state’s two largest pension funds to commit $1.5 billion to invest in cutting-edge clean technologies and environmentally responsible companies. The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) have an estimated combined value of over $250 billion and own nearly 160 million square feet of office space. Angelides’ four-pronged initiative calls on the two pension funds to use their financial clout to prod corporations to provide meaningful, consistent, and robust reporting of their environmental practices, risks, and potential liabilities; to target private investment in environmental technologies; to invest in environmentally responsible companies; and to determine whether their real estate investments are using clean energy and energy efficiency and conforming to green building standards. CalPERS' board of directors voted in March 2004 to make an initial investment of $200 million in environmentally sensitive technologies. CalSTRS followed in June, approving an initial $250 million.
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