Portsmouth, NH - Citizens Advisers has conducted a follow-up survey to its 2004 examination of environmental regulations on the consumer electronics industry. The research explores the industry's preparedness to meet new European Union directives requiring the phaseout of toxic chemicals by July 2006. Citizens' social researcher Vesela Veleva, Sc.D., who co-authored the survey with Citizens' Suresh A. Sethi, is presenting the findings today at the Take it Back! 2005 conference in Alexandria, VA.

The research team surveyed 34 manufacturers in the electronic component sector of the electronics industry whose stocks are current or former holdings of Citizens' portfolios. The pool included the 26 companies originally surveyed in February 2004.

Highlights of the findings include:

• 82% of respondents stated they would meet the July 1, 2006, European Union directive deadline to phase out from their products six toxic chemicals (lead, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, mercury, penta-BDE and Octa-BDE).
  
• None of the respondents said they would impose a product-wide "price-adder" as a result of the reformulation of their products, although 64% said it might apply to some products.
  
• 27% of respondents said they would phase out restricted chemicals in all markets worldwide.
  
• 78% of respondents said they would go beyond compliance to phase out additional chemicals of concern.

For further information about Citizens' study, please click here.

About Citizens Advisers
Citizens Advisers has been a leader in responsible investing since its founding in 1982. Citizens' mission is to generate superior returns by investing in companies that are fundamentally strong and demonstrate good corporate citizenship. Serving the needs of institutional and individual investors as well as financial intermediaries, Citizens offers domestic and global equity, fixed-income and money market products.

Sentinel Investments

Sentinel Investments

Sentinel Investments is a member of National Life Group and manages nearly $18 billion in mutual funds, insurance portfolios and institutional accounts. Sentinel Funds has a history that dates back nearly 75 years when its flagship fund—Sentinel Common Stock Fund—was launched. Sentinel Investments offers the Sentinel family of mutual funds, as well as retirement plan solutions and institutional investment management. The company is headquartered in Montpelier, VT, with offices in New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco. Sentinel Investments is the unifying brand name for Sentinel Asset Management, Inc., Sentinel Financial Services Company and Sentinel Administrative Services, Inc. Sentinel Funds are distributed by Sentinel Financial Services Company, One National Life Drive, Montpelier, VT 05604, 800.233.4332, sentinelinvestments.com.

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