Dive Brief:
- More than 200 members of Hollywood’s top union, the Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), are urging their pension plan to divest from fossil fuels, according to a Tuesday press release from climate nonprofit Stand.earth.
- A-list actors Jane Fonda, Don Cheadle and Mark Ruffalo were among signatories to an open letter asking the SAG-Producers Pension Plan’s trustees to excise more than “$100 million [invested] directly in fossil fuel companies” from its portfolio.
- The SAG-Producers Pension Plan is SAG-AFTRA’s retirement plan and oversees over $5 billion in assets. The actor-led “Retire Big Oil” campaign also asks the fund to reinvest “at least 10%” of the divested funds in “climate-safe, socially responsible funds” within five years.
Dive Insight:
The letter — whose signatories also include Rosario Dawson, Laurence Fishburne and Mark Hamill — said the pension fund’s fossil fuel investments are “not just bad for the planet but for the wallets of every member of [the] union.” The actors told the plan’s trustees that fossil fuels have been the worst performing sector of the economy over the past 10 years, based on S&P Global’s sector index data.
The actors are asking that the retirement fund divest from all fossil fuel companies, including those working in extraction, pipelines and related businesses. The letter said SAG-AFTRA’s members depend on the fund in their retirement “and fossil fuel investments are hurting their ability to retire well.”
Cheadle — known for roles in “House of Lies,” Marvel’s “Avengers” and more — said in the release that he has “seen how fossil fuel pollution hits Black and Brown communities first and worst.”
“It makes no sense for the SAG pension to fund an industry driving these injustices,” Cheadle said. “Divesting from Big Oil isn’t only the right thing to do morally, it’s also financially responsible for workers and retirees as the world rapidly moves toward clean energy.”
The SAG-Producers Pension Plan has more than 65,000 participants, and the Retire Big Oil campaign will join the Climate Safe Pensions Network, which is coordinated by Stand.earth.
The campaign comes after January saw wildfires rage across more than 50,000 acres of Los Angeles, costing more than an estimated $250 billion in damages and economic loss, forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate and leading to at least 29 deaths.
Stand.earth Executive Director Todd Paglia said in the release that the actors’ pension plan has “the opportunity to lead in securing a sustainable future for its members” as the city rebuilds and wildfire risk intensifies.
“This fossil fuel divestment call is coming from working artists and creators who are the foundation of the labor union,” Paglia said. “Together, we’re urging SAG-AFTRA to align its investments with the values we fight for on- and off-screen: sustainability, justice, and long-term security.”
The Global Fossil Fuel Divestment Commitments Database tallies 1,667 institutions who have divested from fossil fuels with an approximate $40.76 trillion collective asset value. Faith-based organizations make up 35.9% of the divesting institutions, followed by educational institutions (16%) and pension funds (12%), according to the database.
