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Community Investing Achiever in the Social Investment Forum 1% For Community campaign since 2002. Calvert Foundation Advisor of the Year in 2004. Learn more!

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Success in the sustainable investment movement

Successes resulting from your participation in the larger sustainable investment movement come in a multitude of forms. For example, our collective shareholder action victories have led to companies improving their reporting and policies on labor practices and greenhouse gas emissions. Our community investing has meant the difference between abject poverty and enough food, jobs, and housing for millions of people. And portfolio screening criteria has incrementally reduced access to capital for irresponsible companies while shaming them. Meanwhile we are all helping good forward-thinking companies solve social and environmental problems and grow.

Here are just a few of the hundreds of similar examples of what the socially responsible investing movement has accomplished.

2011 Examples

Sustainability Reporting: Last year, sustainable and responsible investors sponsored a shareholder proposal requesting Layne Christensen, a water infrastructure and mineral exploration company to begin the process of sustainability reporting. The resolution was supported by a record-breaking 60 percent of the vote. Despite the majority vote, company management rebuffed attempts by investors to discuss the importance of sustainability reporting and to find common ground. As a result the proposal was re-filed in 2011. In a surprising turn of events, management recommended that shareholders vote "For" this resolution, resulting in overwhelming support of 93 percent! Moreover, in advance of the meeting an inaugural report was posted on their website, "A History of Sustainable Value."

2010 Examples

Reducing greenhouse gas risks: A majority (53%) of shares at Massey Energy were voted in favor of a measure filed by the New York City's Comptroller's Office urging the company to adopt quantitative goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The vote was one of the highest ever for a climate-related resolution, and came in the wake of an April mining disaster that killing 29 miners in West Virginia.

Sexual orientation anti-bias policy: Almost half of shares of Gardner Denver were voted in favor of a measure filed by Trillium Asset Management calling for the company to adopt a sexual orientation anti-bias policy. In the resolution, Trillium highlighted the fact that 87% of Fortune 500 companies have already adopted written nondiscrimination policies prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. With such a high percentage of shares voting "FOR" the measure, it is highly likely the company will comply.

Climate change reporting: A resolution filed by Calvert Investments with grocer Kroger (NYSE: KR) garnered 40.7% support. The resolution asked Kroger to issue a report on how the company will assess and manage the impacts of climate change on the corporation, specifically with regards to its supply chain. The high vote demonstrates shareholder concern about climate risk even at companies that are not major direct GHG emitters. It also shows that the climate disclosure guidance issued by the SEC in February 2010 parallels the type of disclosure investors are seeking from companies.

2009 Examples

Climate Change: 2009 featured 68 climate change shareholder resolutions. 31 of these resolutions were withdrawn after the companies agreed to positive climate-related commitments. Perhaps the greatest climate change shareholder resolution success was filed at IdaCorp (a utility holding company) requesting that the company establish greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction goals and to report on its plans to meet them. The resolution won 52% of shareowners' votes, marking the first time in U.S. history that a resolution addressing climate change has won a majority vote. Since the vote, not only has IdaCorp developed GHG reduction goals, it also put out a request for proposal for a wind farm and submitted a smart grid proposal to utility regulators. 

Say on Pay: More than 100 "Say on Pay" resolutions were filed in 2009, including many that won a majority of the vote, leading to new executive pay policies. Both Apple and Lexmark agreed to allow shareholders to hold non-binding votes on the firm's executive compensation in 2010.

Better SEC policy on environmental, social, and governance shareholder resolutions: The sustainable and responsible investing movement scored one of the most significant victories in years when the SEC announced it was reversing policy instituted during the Bush administration. The Bush administration policy limited the scope of shareholder resolutions that could be submitted to companies. No longer will companies be allowed to automatically exclude resolutions seeking information on the risks of environmental, human rights, and other social issues.

Bisphenol A (BPA): The chemical BPA, often found in the lining of cans and water bottles has been linked to cancer, diabetes, developmental damage and heart disease in animals. Nonetheless, the FDA maintained that the chemical is safe. Shareholder advocacy efforts led by Green Century Funds led to both Sunoco and Whole Foods restricting the use of the controversial chemical BPA in their products, marking a major success for shareholder advocates and citizens.

2008 Examples

SHAREHOLDERS LAUD FORD AS FIRST U.S. AUTOMAKER TO SET “CLEARLY DEFINED GOAL” FOR A MAJOR CUT IN GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS: Religious, Pension Fund Shareholder Resolutions Key to Step Taken by Ford

DETROIT AND NEW YORK CITY///April 9, 2008///Religious and other institutional investors joined today with Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F) in announcing that Ford is the first U.S. auto company to spell out how it plans to reach the goal of reducing by at least 30 percent the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from its new vehicle fleet by 2020. The decision by Ford to publish its emission target came in the wake of climate-related shareholder resolutions put forward by members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) and the Investor Network on Climate Risk Network (INCR) organized by Ceres.

As a result, related Ford shareholder resolutions have been withdrawn by: the Sisters of St. Dominic of Caldwell, NJ and other members of ICCR, which is a group of nearly 300 religious institutional investors representing over $100 billion in invested funds; and the Connecticut State Treasurer’s office, which is active in INCR, a $5 trillion network of investors that promotes better understanding of the financial risks and opportunities posed by climate change. Connecticut holds 565,246 shares of Ford with market value $3,668,446.54 (as of April 7, 2008). ...more at www.iccr.org. 

United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investment

The United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) in represents assets approaching $10 trillion (2008)! With signatories from more than 200 investment organizations in 25 countries, the appeal is clear and compelling. 

But are the Principles driving real change? The UNPRI’s Working Capital Report ( July 2007), and the report from the UNPRI’s Awareness to Action Roundtable ( October 2007) provide answers to this question. Both offer evidence that incorporating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria into investment practices has motivated companies worldwide to embrace ESG reporting, analysis, and policies.

2007, another banner year for sustainable investing

Shareholder resolutions and other advocacy campaigns in 2007 are organized and sharply focused on routing out excesses in executive compensation, reducing climate crisis risks, political contribution disclosure, diversity and employment practices, and sustainability reporting.

Some examples specific issues include executive compensation at Aflac and Pfizer; GMO and cloned food labeling at Safeway; indigenous rights at ConocoPhillips; and financing of cluster munitions at AXA Group. Did you know that we have one billion cluster bomblets already and it is reported that up to 80% of them do not work properly. And those that do, end up killing or injuring mostly civilians. Your tax dollars at work.

In 2007 Coca-Cola announced several substantive commitments related to environmental sustainability for product packaging that respond to requests in shareholder proposals filed in recent years. Click here for full story.

2006 major sustainable investing shareholder victories

In a record-breaking proxy season, our success included large shareholder votes and/or actual corporate policy changes for:

• Requiring greater corporate disclosure of political contributions: 
  Significant success at Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Southern Co., General Mills; and additionally Citigroup, American Financial Group, Clear Channel, Verizon, and Home Depot saw strong support.
• Requiring corporations to doing more to address climate change:
  In a continuing effort, shareholders had successes at Anadarko, Alliant, Great Plains, WPS, MGE, General Motors, Standard Pacific, and Dominion Resources.
• Manufacturers across several industries adhering to global labor standards throughout their supply chains. Twenty-three resolutions were filed pushing companies to develop, implement, and monitor a code of conduct for all operations and suppliers based on conventions of International Labor Organization and United Nations:
  Progress was made at Avon, Chico's, Ford, Limited Brands, Mattel, and Timberland, and others.
• Adopting stronger, standardized, and audited sustainability reporting practices:
  AT&T, Black&Decker, and Chesapeake Energy and six other companies agreed to action in this area so resolutions were withdrawn. Nine other proposals that went to a vote received over 20 percent support at such companies as Safeway, Wendy's, and Dean Foods.

The movement's assets invested in community development financial institutions such as community banks and credit unions, microcredit, and pooled funds increased significantly. This meant economic opportunity and empowerment for tens of thousands of individuals and families who were before faced with a life of endless poverty and exclusion.

Other successful notable campaigns

In 2005 Nike transformed from one of the "arch-villains" of cheap labor exploitation to a trendsetter in public accountability. Due to public, NGO, and social investment movement pressure, NIKE now provides a complete listing of its global contract manufacturers (more than 700) in a special section of their web site. They are open about the challenges in monitoring and enforcing their labor standards.

Responding to social investment movement concerns, Illinois Tool Works committed to send an inspection team to China to monitor and assess its plants and suppliers for human rights compliance.

Johnson & Johnson agreed to disclose its political donations.