BOSTON, MA -­ CERES, The Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies, announced today that after seven years as executive director, Bob Massie has decided to step down in order to give himself more time and room to be treated for chronic Hepatitis C. According to Norman Dean, CERES board chair and executive director, Friends of the Earth, Massie will remain with CERES as senior fellow, and a member of the CERES board, allowing him to contribute his ideas and strategic thinking while giving him the opportunity to recuperate.

"I consider it one of the great privileges of my life to have been given the chance to guide CERES," said Massie." "CERES has a deeply committed board, a superb staff, an ever-expanding coalition, and a powerful mission. Though it is never easy to step away from a responsibility one has loved, this is a good time to do so because the organization is the strongest it has ever been."

"We know this was a hard decision for Bob to make, but we all support his need to recuperate. We¹re looking forward to continuing to work with him in his new role," said Dean. "We have been grateful to work with such an amazing leader and an amazing mind, who conceived of both the Global Reporting Initiative and the Sustainable Governance Project. It¹s rare for any one individual to have had such a profound impact in such a short time. CERES is what it is today because of his vision and perseverance."

The CERES board also announced it has chosen Mindy Lubber, J.D., as executive director. Lubber is a founding board member of CERES, founder of two environmental investment funds, former regional administrator of the environmental Protection Agency¹s New England Office, a leading environmental attorney in New England and most recently a strategic advisor on CERES' Sustainable Governance Project.

"Mindy is an incredible person with proven leadership skills, managerial talents, and several decades of leadership in the environmental law and policy arena. She is uniquely qualified to take over this organization and successfully move its mission forward," said Joan Bavaria, founding chair of CERES and president and CEO, Trillium Asset Management.

"CERES is at an exciting juncture ­ the organization¹s mission to induce corporations to adopt more sustainable and transparent business strategies at the highest level is a crucial mission and I look forward to helping lead this worthy effort" said Lubber. "Given the strength of CERES, the talented staff, visionary board and cutting edge programs, I am embarking on this new role with enthusiasm, confidence and optimism."

"Bob has amazing talent and his writing, speaking and networking abilities are truly breathtaking," said Bavaria. "Working together with the GRI¹s Allen White, they have evolved sustainability reporting from a company-driven to an integrity-driven process and made an impact all over the world."

Denis Hayes, president of the Bullitt Foundation finds a key strength of CERES is its ability to find solutions despite the most contentious obstacles.

"CERES' current work in enlisting corporate board members to make a commitment to addressing climate change is another example of Bob Massie's astonishingly bold thinking," said Hayes. "Knowing that Congress, under the current administration, will do little to address issues such as climate change, Bob¹s direct approach to corporate boards is exactly the kind of creative problem solving that we need and have too little of in this country."

Hayes has known Mindy Lubber for 25 years and they have worked closely on a number of initiatives.

"She is a person of boundless energy, complete integrity and she has several decades of successful experiences building public enterprises and winning legislative, legal and ballot campaigns to better our environment." said Hayes.

Tim Smith, senior vice president and director for socially responsive investing at Walden Asset Management and president of the Social Investment Forum, makes particular note of Bob Massie¹s ability to create networks among diverse and what might appear to be opposing groups.

"He has built a wonderful bridge for the environmental community to business, investors and other non-governmental agencies," said Smith. "At the same time, he has successfully used pressure ­ even public pressure ­ to achieve new environmental standards."

Before her appointment as executive director of CERES, Mindy Lubber, J.D. was president of The LUBBER Group, a practice specializing in environmental law, environmental policy and state and federal environmental regulatory challenges, as well as environmentally responsible investing and shareholder activism.

Before founding her firm, Lubber served as regional administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency¹s New England office during the Clinton/Gore Administration. In that role, Ms. Lubber was the chief environmental law enforcement official for New England. Prior to joining the Administration, Ms. Lubber was the founder, chief executive officer and president of Green Century Capital Management. Ms. Lubber launched two environmental mutual funds (The Green Century Funds), oversaw the investment of the funds¹ assets, and served as chairwoman of the Green Century Board of Trustees.

Lubber was senior advisor and communications director to former Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis. For a decade, Ms. Lubber held leadership positions with the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group (MASSPIRG) including chairwoman of the Board of Directors. She founded the National Environmental Law Center. Lubber serves on the Board of Directors of the Environmental League of Massachusetts and the Charles River Watershed Association.

CERES (www.ceres.org) Formed in 1989 out of an unprecedented partnership among some of America's largest socially responsible institutional investors and environmental groups, CERES, or the Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies, has pioneered an innovative, practical approach to advancing corporate accountability through public reporting and stakeholder engagement. Among its 70 members, the Coalition includes AFL-CIO, Calvert Group, Conservation International, Domini Social Investments, Environmental Defense, Friends of the Earth, Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, National Wildlife Federation, Walden Asset Management, and World Wildlife Fund. CERES is the institutional home of the CERES Principles, a 10-point code of corporate environmental conduct. Over 60 companies have endorsed the Principles including: American Airlines, Bank of America, Ben and Jerry¹s Homemade, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Nike, Sunoco, and Timberland.

In 1997, CERES co-founded the Global Reporting Initiative, an international, multi-stakeholder effort to create a common framework for reporting the economic, environmental and social impacts of corporate activity. The GRI, which in 2002 became an independent organization, incorporates the active participation of businesses, accountancy, human rights, environmental, labor and governmental organizations from around the world.

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