As we look back at the genocide and military conflict in Darfur, Sudan during 2007, the Sudan divestment movement in the U.S. has largely succeeded in bringing increased pressure on financial firms and companies involved in Sudan to sever their financial ties to the Government of Sudan.

A few of the many divestment-related news stories from the past year are highlighted below:

Institutional investors in Petrochina, a Chinese oil company with significant oil exploration projects in Sudan, faced shareholder pressure to divest from the company. Save Darfur, a U.S.-based advocacy group launched a campaign targeting Berkshire Hathaway, Fidelity, and Franklin Templeton, three of the largest investors in Petrochina.

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Climate Counts is a new nonprofit organization that has developed a rating system for corporate responses to climate change.

Their corporate scorecard evaluates criteria such as a company’s greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction goals and programs, its reporting on GHG emissions, and its public policy positions on climate change issues.

So far, Climate Counts has only rated a few companies and industries, but their rating system (PDF format) is a helpful starting point for:

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