Vermont
5 Companies Headquartered in Vermont
Ben & Jerry’s, Casella, Champlain Investment Partners, NLV Financial, Seventh Generation
Vermont Average CBR Summary
Avg. Company Rating
Avg. Rating Criteria
| Criteria | Risk Level |
|---|---|
| Cancellations | Medium Risk |
| Discriminatory Philanthropy | Medium Risk |
| Employment Protection | High Risk |
Corporate Weaponization
| Criteria | Risk Level |
|---|---|
| Advocacy Bias | Medium Risk |
| Funding | Medium Risk |
| Political Actions | High Risk |
Corporate Governance and Public Policy
State Leadership
State Pension Fund Summary
Vermont has three main public pension systems: The Vermont State Teachers’ Retirement System (VSTRS), the Vermont State Employees’ Retirement System (VSERS), and the Vermont Municipal Employees’ Retirement System (VMERS). These pension assets are managed by the Vermont Pension Investment Commission (VPIC).
- The VPIC board is comprised of 8 voting Commissioners: 1 is appointed by each of the State Retirement Systems; 1 is the State Treasurer or designee; 2 are appointed by the Governor; 1 by the Vermont School Board Association; 1 by the Vermont League of Cities and Towns.
- VPIC discloses its proxy voting records for directly held equities on this website.
- VPIC has not yet published its 2023 voting records.
- According to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, VPIC uses ISS for its proxy advisory services.
- According to a 2024 Annual Report, the VPIC’s general investment consultant is RVK.
The “By Asset Manager” and “Asset Manager Voting” tables show the proxy voting records of the state’s asset managers who manage the pensions’ stock market portfolio through index, exchange-traded, or mutual funds. Since these are externally managed funds, the asset managers typically retain and exercise proxy voting privileges. This data is used to calculate the state’s pro-ESG and anti-ESG scores to see how the state leverages its externally managed funds in proxy voting.
The “State Voting” table shows VPIC’s proxy voting records for directly owned securities through pension fund portfolios. The 1792 Exchange commends the VPIC for publicly disclosing this information online for its pensioners.
Both tables are important to show a comprehensive picture of the state’s proxy voting record.