Our green team researched 401(k) investment options and learned that most current offerings have "D"/"F" ratings for fossil fuel exposure. Fossil fuels have been the worst-performing sector over the past 15 years. We launched several employee petitions over the last two years to ask for competitive fossil fuel-free 401(k) options. In response, our Benefits team is currently performing formal due diligence to add Sphere, a refreshingly fossil-free retirement investment option!
Project Goals
Influence policy and decision-making
Raise awareness and shift mindsets within the organisation
Reduce the organisation's environmental footprint
Focus Area
Business & Finance
What gave you the courage to start?
Out of all the things that our green team could work on, this one felt like it should have 1) the most impact because of the amount of money potentially tied up in fossil fuels and 2) the least to do with the company's bottom line. Employee retirement investments are employee money, not company resources. We hoped that this would be an easy ask!
The Outcome
The fact that our company is formally considering adding the fossil-free Sphere fund is major progress. We will know later in the year whether they've officially decided to add the fund to our main lineup. But we've also educated other employees about this hidden source of fossil fuel exposure that is tying up their retirement investments and started people thinking about moving their banking and other investments as well.
The Impact
The work is still in progress, but sharing our journey with green teams at other companies is helping push the conversation forward about climate-friendly retirement investment options there. No Benefits team wants to go out on a limb, but they don't want to be left behind either. So we're helping each other across companies to shepherd the work along.
The Biggest Challenge
The way 401(k) fund lineups are decided is not transparent. Investment managers and third-party advisors drive the options that are offered and they are largely based on historical defaults (read: heavily fossil-fuel-exposed). The Benefits team manages the process and it's hard for someone outside that department to understand how decisions are made, what is being weighed, much less have a say. Even when employees are directly asking for it, the response can vary from slow to ouright resistant.
The Biggest Learning
Very few people can do so much. I have been working on this for two years now, at times by myself. The amount of money that can potentially be moved is in the hundreds of thousands without even touching my own company's bottom line or operations. As employee activists in very small numbers, that's the amount of fossil fuel resources (in some companies, it's much more!) we can put at risk with persistent effort.
Most Enjoyed
I'm now connected to a whole network of employee activists (and college savings investment activists who are parents and grandparents) that help me see the wave that we are creating. I feel less alone in my climate anxiety because I'm standing on the shoulders of those who have been doing this for decades already, and I'm actively working with others who also believe big changes like this are possible.