Hi!
A community is made up of the people who live and work in it. In times gone by, it was largely self-contained.
I recall in my community how deviant behavior was accommodated by people taking it upon themselves to find ways to neutralize the behavior of the deviant, in a caring way. It was a creative process that required a few people to work out a solution. It didn’t necessarily involve calling in the police.
Our network is a community – communities are no longer tied to location. As you know, our networked community includes people from Europe.
The disempowerment of people and communities has been a theme in our work. … we work to RE-empower ourselves! Empowerment (becoming healthy) comes from working together to solve the problems that hold us back.
Weyerhaeuser (forest products) is a part of our community. Its behavior has a substantial impact on the people in our community, our health.
As I see it, I am a responsible, mature adult. Deviant behavior that is detrimental to the interests of the community needs to be addressed. AT THE VERY LEAST I can let the person know that his/her conduct is doing harm – – we expect better.
It is particularly important that I act when the harm is obvious, and the Government isn’t doing anything about it. And no amount of lobbying causes the situation to be addressed.
Don Mazankowski is one of two Canadians on the Board of Directors of Weyerhaeuser. Some people will remember Don as a Member-of Parliament.
I telephoned Don to ensure that if I sent an email to the Company, addressed to the Board, that he would receive it.
CONTENTS
(1) COMMENTARY
(2) LETTER TO HENRIK SYSE, CENTRAL BANK OF NORWAY & TO CANADA PENSION PLAN INVESTMENT BOARD, COPIED TO GOVERNMENT OF ONTARIO, DEPT OF NATURAL RESOURCES & to FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL
(3) LETTER SENT TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WEYERHAEUSER
(4) PEOPLE WHO ARE BEHIND THE WORD “WEYERHAEUSER”
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I invite you to copy and paste from the material below, if you have investments in CPP, mutual and/or pension funds. If your mutual or pension money is invested in Weyerhaeuser, ask that it be disinvested. Or send an email to Weyerhaeuser, or forward this email to friends and relatives.
You’ll find some email addresses below.
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(1) COMMENTARY
Many thanks to Cliff Wallace from the Alberta Wilderness Assoc (AWA) for standards by which forest companies become members of the Forest Stewardship Council. I phoned FSC, didn’t get a live person, and so included them by way of cc.
BACKGROUND FOR NEWCOMERS:
Norway has come to our attention a few times:
From our work on genetically-modified organisms – Norway has established a secure underground cold storage vault in the far north to safeguard a supply of seeds (non-gmo!).
The German documentary film-maker, Bertram Verhaag’s “Life Running Out of Control” regarding gmo’s, has segments from Norway (sound practices) and from Canada (not-so-sound!!). We worked with Bertram; his documentaries (“Life..” and “Blue-Eyed, Brown-Eyed”) have been shown on SCN.
We have followed Norway’s work on ethical investing (e.g. they sold off Wal-Mart stocks).
On Feb 22, 2007 we circulated “Norway withdraws support from controversial World Bank fund”, because it forces privatization of water on developing countries.
And I should confess to a family connection: my Mother is an Onarheim (Norwegian Canadian by way of the U.S.). As a student back in the early 1970’s, I worked at Akergruppen in Oslo (ship-building company, taken over by Fred Olsen Lines). I stayed with Onar Onarheim (now deceased) who was Director. I, of course, have fond memories of Norway. The Norwegians in Alberta hold a camp every summer not far from Red Deer. I have attended, a great experience. … In so many ways we are from a place that is larger than our countries of citizenship.
Picking up from there …
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(2) LETTER TO HENRIK SYSE, NORGES BANK AND TO CANADA PENSION PLAN INVESTMENT BOARD, COPIED TO
GOVERNMENT OF ONTARIO, DEPT OF NATURAL RESOURCES & to FOREST STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL
February 28, 2007
TO: Henrik Syse, Norges Bank (central bank of Norway)
CC: Babak Abbaszadeh, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
CC: Government of Ontario, Department of Natural Resources (list at bottom)
Dear Henrik,
The work you are doing in Norway is of great value to people around the globe. You are a leader. Corporations must meet ethical standards if public pension money is invested in them. We hold your actions up to our Governments as the standard we expect of (Canada, in my case). My heartfelt thanks to you, to your colleagues, and to Norges Bank.
I wish to draw attention to the actions of Weyerhaeuser (forestry). They do not meet ethical standards.
An assessment of the corporation should consider their ACTIONS versus the RHETORIC of Weyerhaeuser and the Government of Ontario.
Residents of Grassy Narrows (Ontario) put forward their story at a public meeting last evening. It included photographs of a devastated landscape, the results of clear-cut logging. Humans and animals in the area also suffer the effects of mercury poisoning. Weyerhaeuser is logging on lands that belong to other people, without permission.
It is clear: the fine talk of stewardship and responsible logging practices are simply not true. The web-site www.freegrassy.org has some of the visual images. The one that worked best for me is at :http://freegrassy.org/multi_media/video/ – scroll down to “As Long as the River Flows” and click on “Share the preview online at YouTube”.
If you have investments in Weyerhaeuser, I think you will want to consider the REAL EXPERIENCE of the people and the land at Grassy Narrows.
My Canada Pension Plan money is invested in Weyerhaeuser. I object very strongly and hereby request the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to disinvest from Weyerhaeuser. (as at march 31, 2006, $19 million dollars invested.)
http://www.cppib.ca/files/PDF/Non_Canadian_Equity_Holdings.pdf
The boreal forest in Canada is extensive and critical to putting the brakes on climate change. The actions of Weyerhaeuser and the Government of Ontario show no respect for current residents, let alone the future of our children. The situation has been brought to their attention continuously since 2002 and there has been no action.
There are two Canadians, Don Mazankowski and Richard Haskayne on the Board of Directors of the American Company, Weyerhaeuser. I have sent the letter below to them and to the entire Board of Directors. But as they say, “Money talks”. Citizen action since 2002 has so far met with no response.
(I am amazed by the dedication to peaceful protest by the residents of Grassy Narrows. I am not sure that I could hold my cool so well: the devastation of the land and its people, the failure of the people on the Board of Directors of Weyerhaeuser and the Government of Ontario, make my blood boil, if I may speak truthfully.)
Yours sincerely,
Sandra Finley
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
(on the western prairies)
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cc: Babak Abbaszadeh is with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (Stakeholder Relations).
The CPPIB is familiar with Henrik Syse, the philosopher who guides ethical investing at the central bank in Norway (Norges Bank). babak AT cppib.ca
cc: Government of Ontario, Minister of Natural Resources, Minister Responsible for Aboriginal Affairs, David Ramsay (appointed by Premier Dalton McGuinty in June 2005). david.ramsay AT ontario.ca
cc: Government of Ontario, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources, Gail Beggs. gail.beggs AT ontario.ca
cc: Government of Ontario, MINISTER’S COUNCIL ON FOREST SECTOR COMPETITIVENESS, Secretary/Executive Director Tim Millard, former Deputy Minister of Labour and of the Ministry of the Solicitor General and Correctional Services, and past president of the Ontario Forest Industries Association (conflict-of-interest?).
(Link no longer valid: http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/csb/news/2005/jun13bg_05.html ) tim.millard AT ontario.ca
cc: Forest Stewardship Council, Canada info AT fsccanada.org
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(3) LETTER SENT TO BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF WEYERHAEUSER
I INTRODUCE YOU TO – – no! not WEYERHAEUSER. That is an artificial construct. I introduce you to the PEOPLE (the Board of Directors):
February 28, 2007
Sent by email from web-page: (Link no longer valid) http://www.weyerhaeuser.com/aboutus/contactus/byemail2.asp?CategoryName=Archives
PLEASE SUBMIT THIS TO:
WEYERHAEUSER BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Steve Rogel, Richard Haskayne, Don Mazankowski, Nicole Piasecki, Martha Ingram, John Kieckhefer, Arnie Langbo, Chuck Williamson, Richard Sinkfield, Mike Steuert, Jim Sullivan, and Kim Williams (biographies below)
Hard copy sent to Canadians on Board:
- Don Mazankoski, Sherwood Park, Alberta
- Richard Haskayne, Calgary, AB
Dear All,
RE: forestry practices of Weyerhaeuser, ethical investing
I am prompted by the situation at Grassy Narrows, but my remarks apply generally.
I am hoping that the two Canadians on the Board of Directors, Don Mazankowski and Richard Haskayne, will clearly present the view of Canadians to you.
Canada Pension Plan money belongs to Canadians. Many of us challenge investment in unethical companies. The Norwegians have a large investment fund – royalties from off-shore oil and gas. I am asking both the CPPIB and Norges Bank to disinvest from Weyerhaeuser.
It is not “socially responsible” to
- clear cut forests in Canada (or anywhere else)
- use monoculture tree planting as a replacement for “forest”
- cause the degradation of water supplies through your forestry practices
- cut forests that belong to other people
- contribute to mercury poisoning, when you would not do that to your own families, and especially when climate change and water issues must be addressed by all people, around the globe.
That “the Government allows it” is not an excuse for unethical behaviour.
That “we are responsible to the shareholders” is not an excuse, either.
And please don’t feed me untruths. Your practices are well documented in pictures.
http://freegrassy.org/multi_media/video/
– scroll down to “As Long as the River Flows” and click on “Share the preview online at YouTube”.
I invite you to consider the long-term consequences of your actions:
- deforestation is a contribution to concentrations of greenhouse gases.
- you contribute to the break-down of law and order. Surely that is not difficult to understand. When citizens see that corporations (you) are not regulated when you should be, that you are above the law, respect for the rule of law is undermined. When the society is not ruled by law (good government), people take the law into their own hands. What other recourse is there? It becomes an eye-for-an-eye, a tree-for-a-tree. That is NOT where we want to go.
The need for me to address you directly is a consequence of your behavior in forestry, and of the failure of the Government to perform its regulatory job. More and more people will deal directly with you, unless there is change. At least, that seems to me to be the common sense of the situation.
Why should I sit upon my hands and do nothing when we are urgently in need of a change-in-direction in Canada? Clear-cutting, monoculture here … examples of what is sustainable in other jurisdictions (Switzerland for example). It is not only the tropical forests that play an essential role in climate change; the boreal forests of Canada are critical. And still this goes on. At some point, I say “enough”.)
A private citizen could not get away with what you do. The only reason that you, the Board of Directors, are not in jail is because you hide behind an artificial construct called Weyerhaeuser.
I will speak frankly: a huge number of Canadians see the Americans as war-mongers, bullies in the world. Through your actions (Steve, Richard, Don, Nicole, Martha, John, Arnie, Chuck, Richard, Mike, Jim, and Kim), and even though two of you are Canadians, you contribute to bad feelings between nations. Your actions reinforce the negative stereo-type of “Americans”.
Greed is associated.
I am not likely to notice that Steve does good work with the Boy Scouts. My sense is that you are seen as part of the problem, not part of the solution to climate change, water quality and justice. More precisely: that is how I view you.
Respectability is like religion. Going to church on Sunday doesn’t make you a spiritual being.
Money doesn’t make you respectable, or a person of influence. It’s all in your behavior.
I recommend that you take immediate action regarding Grassy Narrows.
Yours truly,
Sandra Finley
(contact info)
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(4) PEOPLE WHO ARE BEHIND THE WORD “WEYERHAEUSER”
Steve Rogel, Dick Haskayne, Don Mazankowski, Nicole Piasecki, Martha Ingram, John Kieckhefer, Arnie Langbo, Chuck Williamson, Dick Sinkfield, Mike Steuert, Jim Sullivan, and Kim Williams.
Weyerhaeuser in Canada (Link no longer valid) http://www.weyerhaeuser.com/aboutus/whereweoperate/wyincanada.asp
BOARD OF DIRECTORS (Link no longer valid) http://www.weyerhaeuser.com/aboutus/leadership/seniormanagement.asp#refreshTop
Steven R. Rogel, CEO
Steven R. Rogel was elected Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Weyerhaeuser Company on April 20, 1999. Prior to assuming the title of chairman, Rogel served as president and chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors since December 1, 1997.
In 1966, he began his career with St. Regis Paper Company, where he worked until 1970. From 1970 to 1972, he was assistant manager at St. Anne-Nackawic Pulp and Paper in Nackawic, N.B., Canada. He joined Willamette in 1972 as technical director at the company’s operations in Albany, Ore. He was named president and chief executive officer of Willamette in 1995, and served in that position until joining Weyerhaeuser Company in December 1997. Rogel received his Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering in 1965 from the University of Washington in Seattle. He completed the executive education programs at Dartmouth College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1982 and 1989, respectively. He serves on various boards, including the American Forest & Paper Association and the World Forestry Center. He is a director of the Kroger Company, Union Pacific Corporation, Vice President of Administration for the Western Region Boy Scouts of America and co-chair of the Wood Promotion Network.
Directors—Terms to Expire in 2009
Richard F. Haskayne, 71, a director of the company since 2000, is chairman of TransCanada Corporation (gas transmission and power generation) and was chairman of Fording Inc. (coal and industrial minerals) from 2001 to 2003.
He was chairman of NOVA Corporation from 1991 to 1998 until the company merged with TransCanada Pipelines. He was chairman of the board of MacMillan Bloedel Limited from 1996 to 1999 and is also a director of Encana Corporation. He was chairman, president and chief executive officer of Interhome Energy Inc., the parent company of Interprovincial Pipe Line and Home Oil from 1986 to 1991. In 1997, he was appointed an officer of the Order of Canada. In addition, he is director emeritus of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and board of governors chair emeritus of the board of the University of Calgary (after serving as chair from 1990 to 1996).
Donald F. Mazankowski, 70, a director of the company since 1997, is a business consultant. He was a Member of Parliament, Government of Canada, from 1968 to 1993, served as Deputy Prime Minister from 1986 to 1993 and as Minister of Finance from 1991 to 1993. He also is a director of the Power Group of Companies; Shaw Communications, Inc.; Great West Life Assurance, Investors Group; Yellow Pages Group; Canadian Oilsands Trust and Atco Ltd.
He is a past member of the board of governors of the University of Alberta and is past chairman of the Institute of Health Economics and of the Canadian Genetic Diseases Network.
Nicole W. Piasecki, 43, a director of the company since June, 2003, is executive vice president of Business Strategy & Marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, The Boeing Company. She was vice president of Commercial Airplanes Sales, Leasing Companies from 2000 until January 2003; the Boeing Commercial Airplanes sales director for the Americas from 1997 to 2000; and served in various management positions in sales, marketing, and business strategy for the Commercial Aircraft Group from 1991 when she joined The Boeing Company as a customer engineer on the 777 airplane program until 1997. She is also a director of Coal Valley Company; YWCA; World Trade Center Seattle and is a fellow of the British American Project.
Directors—Terms to Expire in 2008
Martha R. Ingram, 70, a director of the company since 1995, has been chairman of Ingram Industries, Inc. (book distribution, inland barging and insurance), since 1995 and a member of its board since 1981. She was its director of public affairs from 1979 to 1995. She is also a director of Ingram Micro, Inc.; and AmSouth Bancorporation. In addition, she serves on the board of Vassar College, and is chairman of the board of trust of Vanderbilt University. She also serves as chairman of the board of the Nashville Symphony Association, is on the board of the Nashville Opera, the Nashville Ballet and the Tennessee Repertory Theatre and is former chairman of the board of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. Mrs. Ingram was also chairman of the 1996 Tennessee Bicentennial Commission.
John I. Kieckhefer, 61, a director of the company since 1990, has been president of Kieckhefer Associates, Inc. (investment and trust management) since 1989, and was senior vice president prior to that time. He has been engaged in commercial cattle operations since 1967 and is a trustee of J.W. Kieckhefer Foundation, an Arizona charitable trust.
Arnold G. Langbo, 68, a director of the company since 1999, was chairman of Kellogg Company (cereal products) from 1992 until his retirement in 2000. He joined Kellogg Canada Inc. in 1956 and was elected president, chief operating officer, and a director of Kellogg Company in 1990. He served as chief executive officer of Kellogg Company from 1992 to 1999. He is also a director of Johnson & Johnson and Whirlpool Corporation and serves on the board of the International Youth Foundation.
Charles R. Williamson, 58, a director of the company since October 2004, was the executive vice president of Chevron Texaco Corporation (international oil company) from August, 2005 until his retirement on December 1, 2005. He was chairman and chief executive officer of Unocal Corporation (oil and natural gas) until its acquisition by Chevron Texaco Corporation in 2005. He served as Unocal Corporation’s executive vice president, International Energy Operations from 1999 to 2000; group vice president, Asia Operations from 1998 to 1999; group vice president, International Operations from 1996 to 1997; and held numerous management jobs including positions in the United Kingdom, Thailand and the Netherlands since joining Unocal in 1977. He was a director of Unocal Corporation and former Chairman of the US-ASEAN Business Council.
Directors—Terms to Expire in 2007
Steven R. Rogel, 63, a director of the company since 1997, has been chairman of the board since 1999. He has been the Company’s president and chief executive officer since 1997. Prior to joining the Company, he served as the president and chief executive officer of Willamette Industries, Inc. from 1995 to 1997 and as its president and chief operating officer from 1991 to 1995. He is a director of the Kroger Company and Union Pacific Corporation, and serves on the National Executive Board Boy Scouts of America. He is also former Chairman of the American Forest & Paper Association, and the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, Inc.
Richard H. Sinkfield, 63, a director of the company since 1993, is a senior partner in the law firm of Rogers & Hardin in Atlanta, Georgia, and has been a partner in the firm since 1976. He was a director of United Auto Group, Inc. (automobile retailer) from 1993 to 1999 and its executive vice president and chief administrative officer from 1997 to 1999. He also is a director of Central Parking Corporation. He is a former director of the Metropolitan Atlanta Community Foundation, Inc. and the Atlanta College of Art. He is a trustee of Vanderbilt University, a member of the executive board of the Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America and was a member of the board of governors of the State Bar of Georgia from 1990 to 1998.
D. Michael Steuert, 57, is senior vice president and chief financial officer for Fluor Corporation where he is responsible for the company’s global financial processes. Prior to joining Fluor in 2001, Steuert served as senior vice president and chief financial officer at Litton Industries Inc. He also held financial management positions at Gencorp Inc. and TRW Inc. Steuert earned both bachelors and masters degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and has attended post graduate training at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business.
James N. Sullivan, 68, a director of the company since 1998, is the retired vice chairman of the board of Chevron Texaco Corporation (international oil company) where he was a director from 1988 to 2000. He joined Chevron Texaco in 1961, was elected a vice president in 1983 and served as its vice chairman from 1989 to 2000.
Kim Williams, 51, was appointed a director to fill a vacancy effective Oct. 1, 2006. She recently retired from Wellington Management where she had served as a senior vice president and partner since 1995. In her 26 years in the investment management business, Williams established strong credentials as a financial analyst with more than 20 years experience covering industries including paper and forest products, publishing, metal and mining, and home improvement. During her career, Institutional Investor Magazine repeatedly recognized Williams as a “Best of the Buy Side” analyst.
Williams began her career as an investment analyst with the Imperial Chemical Industries Pension Fund in London, England in 1979. She also worked at Loomis, Sayles and Co., Inc. in Boston before joining Wellington in 1986.
Williams holds a masters in economics from the University of London.