Opinions: Bristol Bay, not Pebble Mine, is the sound investment pencil – by Jonas Kron (Anchorage Daily News – September 6, 2018)

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Jonas Kron is a senior vice president at Trillium Asset Management, an investment firm that focuses on sustainable and responsible investing.

Our investment firm is in the business of recognizing, understanding and pricing risk. It’s a job that often demands difficult judgment calls, but this one is a no-brainer: Pebble Mine is a bad bet. That’s one reason why the governor of Alaska recently called for a hold on mine permitting.

Today’s smart investors don’t just look at the bottom line. We look for opportunities to promote good corporate behavior through long-term investment strategies that consider social and environmental well-being: in other words, sustainable economic growth that will deliver returns over the long term.

The Pebble Mine, a vast gold and copper mine proposed in the headwaters of southwest Alaska’s Bristol Bay, is the type of project that runs counter to sustainable economic growth. The mine jeopardizes a vast renewable resource –one that provides 14,000 jobs and an abundant source of healthy seafood that helps feed the world.

Ecosystem degradation is of serious concern to investors. That is why my company, along with 28 other investors, has taken a public position against the Pebble Mine.

Alaska’s Bristol Bay is one of the great ecological resources of the world. It is the site of the largest remaining run of wild sockeye salmon, and it produces roughly half of the world’s commercial supply of wild sockeye.

For the rest of this column: https://www.adn.com/opinions/2018/09/06/bristol-bay-not-pebble-mine-is-the-sound-investment/