Doug Ross @ Journal

Al Gore: Eco-profiteer, Savvy Investor, or ...?

A quick recap: Records show that Al and Tipper Gore paid a monthly gas-and-electric bill of $2,400 for their 20-room mansion and related outbuildings. That includes $500 a month for their poolhouse. Gore claimed that he bought "carbon offsets" to make up for his $30K annual energy tab. Where did he buy offsets? From Generation Investment Management, a firm which lists Gore as Chairman. In other words, he paid himself!

Sloan Morganstern provides valuable insight into Generation Investment Management (GIM). According to its website, GIM's investment philosophy integrates "issues such as climate change into investment analysis:"

* Sustainable development will be a primary driver of industrial and economic change over the next 50 years * The global context for business is clearly changing—"Capitalism is at a Crossroads" * Shareholders will be best served by companies who maximize their financial return by strategically managing their performance in this new economic, social, environmental and ethical context

So which companies is Gore's firm investing in?

Morganstern points to GIM's 13F Form filed with the SEC. A little work with Excel, using Sloan's categorization of companies, yields the following:

Company	Invested ($K)	Green?	Description
TECHNE CORP	22309	N	Medical research
GENERAL ELECTRIC CO	19565	N	Global diversified products and services
NORTHERN TR CORP	14333	N	Financial services
UBS AG	14079	N	Financial services
BECTON DICKINSON & CO	13785	N	Medical technology
JOHNSON CTLS INC	13711	Y	Batteries for hybrid vehicles
AFLAC INC	13315	N	Insurance
AUTODESK INC	12712	N	Engineering software
STAPLES INC	11921	N	Office supplies
SYSCO CORP	11085	N	Food services
LABORATORY CORP AMER HLDGS	9935	N	Diagnostic equipment, genomic testing
GREENHILL & CO INC	9473	N	Investments
WATERS CORP	8875	Y	Safer water, food, healthcare products
NUVEEN INVTS INC	7389	N	Investments
METABOLIX INC	5209	Y	Eco-friendly plastics and chemicals
VCA ANTECH INC	4858	N	Pet healthcare services
BLACKBAUD INC	4765	N	Fundraising software
AQUANTIVE INC	4615	N	Digital marketing
WHOLE FOODS MKT INC	4427	Y	Natural, organic food retailer
	206361
Green investments	32222
% of green investments	15.61%

In other words, for all of the talk about 'green' investments, only about 16% of its funds are in companies that Morganstern categorizes as truly 'green'. Or maybe Gore thinks the AFLAC duck is an endangered species.

I'm having a hard time determining whether Al Gore is a craven eco-profiteer, a savvy investor, a blatant hypocrite, or just some combination thereof.


Oven-baked good readin', just like Mama used to make:
Dan Riehl, Bill's Bites, GWH, Hang Right Politics, Pajamas Media, Ranting Stan, Wizbang,
Anti-Strib, David Online, Redstate, Wisdom from the Realm