Mainebiz

W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 11 N OV E M B E R 2 , 2 0 1 5 qualify was put into capital improve- ments at the mill. N O T E W O R T H Y N O R T H E R N & E A S T E R N MaineStream Finance in Bangor was awarded a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institutions Fund to pro- vide loans to people who have lim- ited access to affordable credit. The Scratchpad Accelerator, a pilot program of the University of Maine in Bangor in collaboration with the Maine Technology Institute in Brunswick, selected CourseStorm, Orono; Double Blue Analytics, Orono and Brunswick; Tip Whip LLC, Old Town; and L&K Manufacturing, Bangor to participate in a seed ac- celerator. Each will receive up to $25,000 from MTI. The U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded a $1 million collaborative research grant to the University of Maine in Orono to study pioneering farming technology and practices. P olitical leaders and businesses are taking action in the lead up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris this December, which aims to come to a legally binding and international agreement on climate change. In mid-October, 81 of the world's largest companies, including Apple Computer, Google, Walmart and Coca-Cola, joined a White House initiative to curb greenhouse gas emis- sions and to invest in clean energy. e numbers behind the compa- nies are huge: together, companies backing the "American Business Act on Climate" have a $5 trillion market capitalization, $3 trillion in annual revenues and employ 9 million people, according to Fortune magazine. e Obama Administration also set up a Twitter account called @FactsOnClimate to push environ- mental reform. Universities have been divesting their endowment portfolios from fos- sil fuel-related companies for a while. Unity College did so a couple years ago, and was followed by College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor and oth- ers. Nobleboro native Chloe Maxim co-founded Divest Harvard, and won an award from the Maine Women's Fund for her eff orts in 2014. Refusing to divest can carry a social and fi nancial toll. Trillium Asset Management estimated this spring that Harvard Management Co. lost at least $21 million over the past three years by ignoring calls to divest fossil fuels and retaining investments in coal, oil and gas reserve companies that showed diminishing returns. But divesting fossil fuels can be more complicated than it sounds, according to Suzanne Uhl-Melanson, a certifi ed fi nancial planner and principal at Uhl-Melanson Investor Services in Waterville. e company in October launched a new service to help clients consid- ering divesting from fossil fuels. She noted that can be diffi cult, because the majority of equity mutual funds have holdings in energy companies, notably in oil and coal. She suggests to her clients both divesting from fossil fuels in existing portfolios and rebuilding their portfo- lio to be greener using a mix of mutual funds, stocks and individual bonds. Last December Mainebiz wrote about the divestment movement, and how many colleges and other institu- tions have resisted doing so out of concern they would reduce diversifi ca- tion in their portfolios and potentially compromise return on investment. A challenge, the article no ted, is that there is no standard index that excludes fossil fuel stocks. While petroleum and chemical companies are usually grouped in the energy sector, coal usually is lumped into basic materials. And recently, there have been ques- tions about how to measure corporate sustainability pledges, and how to assure they are carried out. Volkswagen found out the hard way how damaging the reputation of being a polluter can be when it was discovered the company had rigged emissions tests on some of its diesel vehicles. B I Z M O N E Y B Y L O R I V A L I G R A Businesses act on climate change, divest fossil fuel investments * 98.8% of long-term, of long-term, leadership participants leadership participants graduated from high school over the past 11 over the past 11 years vs. 76.9% of like- resourced peers statewide. resourced peers statewide. $15,000 AND UP Citizens Bank • Bank of America Charitable Foundation • Consigli Construction $10,000 TO $15,000 Harold Alfond Foundation Harold Alfond Foundation • The Greg H. Altman Foundation • Jan and Scott Searway • The Cummings Fund of the Maine Community Foundation The Cummings Fund of the Maine Community Foundation • Elmina B. Sewall Foundation • Sam L. Cohen Foundation Sam L. Cohen Foundation • TD Bank $5,000 TO $10,000 Poland Spring • E.T.'s Landscape Maintenance E.T.'s Landscape Maintenance • FairPoint Communications • UNUM • Lavallee Brensinger Architects • Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust Morton-Kelly Charitable Trust • Robert and Dorothy Goldberg Charitable Foundation • Stephens Community Healthcare Foundation Community Healthcare Foundation • The H. W. Wilson Foundation • Virginia Hodgkins Somers Foundation • Paul G. White Interior Solutions Paul G. White Interior Solutions • Maine Magazine Maine Magazine Maine • Purdy Powers & Company • Susan and Jack Thomas • Allagash Brewing Company Allagash Brewing Company • Bangor Savings Bank • Best Buy Foundation • Cianbro • Fisher Charitable Foundation • Hannaford Hannaford • Mrs. Karen Hanson • Helen & George Ladd Charitable Corporation • Machias Savings Bank • Mr. and Mrs. Richard O'Leary Mr. and Mrs. Richard O'Leary • Tambrands Procter & Gamble • Speedway Children's Charities • Alliance Press Alliance Press • Pulp + Wire • Pratt Abbott Thank you to our 2015 statewide partners who helped economically disadvantaged Maine youth build a permanent foundation for achievement. FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA Friends of Camp Susan Curtis @CampSusanCurtis The programs of Camp Susan Curtis are operated by the Susan L. Curtis Charitable Foundation, a Maine 501(c)(3) since 1971. The programs of Camp Susan Curtis are operated by the Susan L. Curtis Charitable Foundation, a Maine 501(c)(3) since 1971. The programs of Camp Susan Curtis are operated by the Susan L. Curtis Charitable Foundation, a Maine 501(c)(3) since 1971. The programs of Camp Susan Curtis are operated by the Susan L. Curtis Charitable Foundation, a Maine 501(c)(3) since 1971. www.susancurtisfoundation.org • Because every child matters for the future of Maine.

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