2019
- Welcomed the decision of the Norwegian Parliament to strengthen the coal exclusion standards of the country’s global Pension Fund according to criteria established by Urgewald. As a result, Norway will cut ties with coal giants like Glencore and RWE.
- Pushed the World Bank subsidiary International Finance Corporation (IFC) to ask client financial institutions to screen their exposures against Urgewald’s Coal Plant Developers List in order to avoid involvement with major coal plant developers.
2018
- Convinced Generali to use Urgewald’s coal research also for excluding companies from insurance business.
- Pushed Munich Re, the world's second largest reinsurer, to announce cuts in its coal insurance business for the first time.
- Convinced Allianz, today the world’s biggest insurance company by assets, to no longer provide insurance for coal power plants or coal mines and to strengthen its coal divestment.
- Urgewald founder Heffa Schuecking was granted Henry Arnhold Fellowship from US foundation Mulago.
- Convinced Italian insurance group Generali to use Urgewald’s Global Coal Exit List for divestment. Generali reduced coal investments by EUR 2 billion.
2017
- Persuaded French company AXA, world’s 3rd biggest insurance company, to use Global Coal Exit List for its new climate strategy. AXA’s coal divestment came to EUR 2.4 billion.
- Published Global Coal Exit List, a database on the global coal industry, during UN climate summit in Bonn. This List is the 1st comprehensive coal divestment tool worldwide for investors, banks and insurance companies.
- Pushed Bayerische Landesbank, state-owned bank of Bavaria, to cancel further funding for highly controversial Dakota Access Pipeline in the USA.
2016
- Convinced Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, no. 1 and 2 in Germany, to blacklist all major mountaintop removal mining companies.
2015
- Persuaded Allianz, the world’s no. 2 insurance company, to divest from coal holdings.
- Convinced Norway’s sovereign pension fund, one of the biggest worldwide, to divest from major coal holdings.
2012
- Achieved final stop to nuclear plant Belene, Bulgaria, by convincing last big financier, German energy giant RWE (2009), and finally also government of Bulgaria to bury the project.
2011
- Shamed Deutsche Bank into investment stop for cluster bombs.
2010
- Kept mining giant Vedanta from setting up poisonous bauxite mine in Niyamgiri, India.
2007
- Stopped 15 international banks in a months-long campaign from financing nuclear power plant Belene in Bulgarian earthquake region. These included Citibank, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and UniCredit.
2000
- Prevented fundings for Maheshwar Dam and resettlement of 50,000 people in India.
1994
- Urgewald founder Heffa Schuecking won Goldman Environmental Prize.
1989
- Published Rainforest Memorandum – documented Germany’s role in rainforest destruction and moved over 1,200 municipalities in Germany to stop using tropical timber in municipal building projects.
