Keynote Remarks: Corporate Human Rights Due Diligence in Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas

Keynote Remarks: Corporate Human Rights Due Diligence in Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas

sgicoalition

By Bennett Freeman

Keynote remarks from the Seventh Generation Interfaith Coalition for Responsible Investment 2022 Conference (October 11, 2022) at Fox Point Lutheran Church in Fox Point, Wisconsin

Thanks to Chris Cox and Frank Sherman for inviting me to address the 2022 SGI Conference. I am delighted to be followed by a panel of four colleagues and friends who are leaders in this field: Pat Zerega, Anita Dorett, Shari Gittleman, and Sam Jones.

Seventh Generation Interfaith’s mission and work—and your faith-based commitment to human rights—is more important and urgent than ever: at a time when the peace of the world has been disrupted by naked aggression and the values of the international community are under attack; at a time when our nation’s democracy has come under assault and our commitment to racial and social justice remains unfulfilled; at a time when even decades of progress in socially and environmentally responsible investment is now not only questioned by skeptics but also confronted by the forces of reaction.

It is a cliché to observe that amidst crisis there is opportunity. But now is such a time of opportunity if we apply our powers of reason to the challenges at hand—and if we keep the faith in our collective mission and work.

Let me describe the broader global context of our theme of corporate human rights in conflict-affected and high-risk areas in ways that I hope will give texture to the challenges we face and help frame the panel discussion. I will focus on challenges facing multinational corporations from both my former responsible investor perspective and broader international relations experience.

Two parallel sets of pressures and expectations, tensions and conflicts, have intensified, converged and in turn challenged multinational corporations:

First, ESG pressures and expectations:

  • Pressures and expectations are mounting from a range of stakeholders, especially institutional investors and employees as well as civil society and local communities.
  • The historic events of the last two and a half years have sharpened the focus on “S” issues—inequality and racial injustice, labor and human rights—even as the climate crisis intensifies.
  • Companies to take stands on controversial social, even political issues (especially not exclusively in the U.S.) as political polarization intensifies.
  • A backlash has gained momentum this year (again especially but not exclusively in the U.S.)  focused both on ESG investing and “woke capitalism” with decades of progress now on the line.

Second, Geopolitical tensions and conflicts:

  • Major democracies have faced challenges of legitimacy and efficacy as some have shown illiberal tendencies that threaten constitutional democracy and undermine civil society/civic space as well as “peace, justice and strong institutions” (in the words of SDG 16) both within and among states.
  • Major autocracies have acted with greater impunity as the major democracies became distracted and the international community has at times faced paralysis, both reflecting and reinforcing the degradation of human rights standards, norms and institutions.
  • China’s mass incarceration, forced labor, invasive surveillance, religious and cultural desecration of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang has been so severe and systematic that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights concluded last month “crimes against humanity” may have been committed.
  • Russia’s invasion of Ukraine violated the principle of not using force to alter national borders and in the ensuing carnage has killed thousands of civilians, committed war crimes and at the same time has not only destroyed much of Ukraine’s infrastructure but also disrupted the global economy.

What is new is not only the parallel, concurrent intensification of both ESG pressures and expectations, geopolitical tensions and conflicts but also the convergence of these pressures and expectations, tensions and conflicts.

This convergence has forced many multinational corporations and institutional investors to weigh tough trade-offs, make hard choices and take public stand in these four situations:

  • U.S. democratic stability and legitimacy—unprecedented intervention by Corporate America/Wall Street before and after the November 2020 presidential election to support a peaceful transfer of power followed by condemnation of the January 6 insurrection and support for voting rights.
  • But dilemmas: taking what may appear to be partisan stands; acting to stem systemic risk for the U.S. economy and global financial system; accepting responsibility to protect American democracy as a cornerstone of the international rules-based order.
  • China/Xinjiang—unprecedented decoupling from Xinjiang cotton suppliers by western apparel brands, now required of U.S. companies and those exporting into the U.S. market by the UFLPA.
  • But dilemmas: willing to make statements as well as take actions; responsibility for employee security in China; balancing commercial interests and ethical values, profits and principles in the world’s largest economy/consumer market.
  • Russia/Ukraine—unprecedented exit of western companies (not just those subject to sectoral sanctions by home country governments) from Russia almost immediately following the invasion.
  • But dilemmas: few companies willing to offer explicit principled, human rights-related rationales for exits; determination of a potential basis to reenter a post-conflict Russia; precedent for other potential situations and scenarios, especially involving China (and a possible attack on Taiwan)
  • Burma/Myanmar—unprecedented brutality by the military dictatorship over the last 20 months since the coup in early February last year followed by the exit of some major multinationals that established operations with the lifting of sanctions and the transition to democracy a decade ago
  • But dilemmas: stay or go; balancing a disinclination to enable the regime through revenue or resources with a commitment to local employees and stakeholders; weighing the elements of “responsible exit” that respect human rights/humanitarian considerations and consequences.

The trade-offs weighed, choices made and stands taken are not easy for multinationals and investors. They all present dilemmas—commercial and political—that challenge roles and responsibilities of companies and investors. Some of these dilemmas result in zero-sum—not win-win—outcomes that may divide companies’ shareholders and stakeholders, home and host governments.

At stake for multinational corporations and institutional investors is no less than the continuity and efficacy of the rules-based international order on which they fundamentally depend, even if not always acknowledged and embraced. Individual companies and entire industries share a stake in defending and supporting this order at a time when its stability and even legitimacy face severe challenges—and with the global economy and the international community under severe stress.

Human Rights Due Diligence:

I have identified and described these two parallel, converging sets of factors and forces facing multinational corporations: ESG pressures and expectations; geopolitical tensions and conflicts.

Human rights due diligence (HRDD) sits precisely at this convergence of ESG and geopolitical issues. HRDD is an analytical framework and operational approach that has gained traction and momentum over the years, especially in recent months:

  • HRDD’s foundations and precedents—including in conflict and high-risk settings— extend back over two decades to the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (2000) and the first-ever HRIA commissioned by any company in any industry by BP for the Tangguh LNG project (2002).
  • HRDD was consolidated and elevated during the two Ruggie mandates (2005-08 and 2008-11), culminating in the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) and have ever since become the driving force in the field and emerging priority for ESG investors.

Plus, significant work has been spurred by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and undertaken by:

  • Business and Hunan Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) published in the early weeks of the war two timely and useful papers: Advancing business respect for human rights in conflict-affected areas through the UNGPOs; Why conflict must be included in mandatory due diligence laws. The Resource Centre also actively tracks the decisions and actions of international companies to exit Russia whether fully, incompletely or not at all.
  • The Investor Alliance for Human Rights (IAHR) has highlighted conflict risk tools to manage related investment and human rights risks and plays an active role in the new Business for Ukraine (B4U) Coalition together with the Heartland Initiative.
  • The Heartland Initiative has emerged over the last half dozen years as the most visible and influential voice and force in mobilizing responsible investors to address human rights in conflict zones. It is also a co-founder and critical driver of the new Business for Ukraine (B4U) Coalition since its inception early this spring and formal launch in mid-summer.
  • Business for Ukraine (B4Ukraine) called in its Declaration for the foreign companies that have exited Russia to remain out until the conflict is resolved on terms acceptable to an independent, sovereign, democratic Ukraine—and called on companies still partly or fully operating in Russia to leave completely. The Declaration also pointedly called on companies claiming that they remain in Russia to deliver “essential services” to undertake and disclose HRDD to try to justify their stance up against a very high bar of expectation that they exit fully. Companies that have exited are also called on to undertake human rights due diligence to determine whether, when and in what form they may return to a post-conflict—or better a post-Putin—Russia.

Russia’s attack on Ukraine is giving fresh impetus to mandatory HRDD, which in turn is gaining traction and momentum through the EU and beyond. The current political and legislative outlook in the U.S. is conducive only to incremental issue-by-issue progress. Yet we have salvaged Dodd-Frank sections 1502 (conflict minerals) and 1504 (extractive revenue transparency), so there is a basis on which to build while the SEC in the meantime focuses productively on climate-focused disclosure.

Yet HRDD is a stepping-stone to a broader sensibility that should inform our engagement with multinational corporations and large institutional investors alike. The Russia-Ukraine war should encourage a fusion of what they have already known and done for decades—political and geopolitical risk analysis— with the human HRDD that they know and do far less. In my experience working with multinational corporations and institutional investors, I have learned that progress can be made at a pivot point that lies part or mid-way between where they are and where we want them to be. The convergence of political and geopolitical risk analysis with HRDD strikes me as such a pivot point.

Russia’s attack on Ukraine is also giving impetus to a new notion that an even greater responsibility is at stake. The B4U Declaration hit it on the head: “Russia’s attack on Ukraine is an attack on the rules-based international order” on which both the global economy and the international community depend. Multinational corporations have been among the greatest beneficiaries of that international rule-based order over the last three-quarters of a century since its creation amidst the ashes of WWII. Yet at times they appear to take its existence for granted when their trade and investment, innovation and entrepreneurship, markets and customers, all depend on its continuity and vitality. That was at times apparent in the U.S. during the previous Administration when the occupant of the Oval Office appeared neither to understand nor to accept the international community nor many rules of any kind.

I believe that the time has come for companies and investors to explicitly support and defend not only democracy here at home but also the international rules-based order aboard. Support for the rules, norms and institutions of American democracy and support for the rules, norms and institutions of the international community are—pardon the cliché—two sides of the same coin that are indeed necessarily complementary and mutually-reinforcing.

Indeed, support for the international rules-based order may point to a new geopolitical corporate responsibility. While indeed idealistic, it can be activated as a pragmatic agenda that can help multinational corporations and institutional investors address the dilemmas inherent in this convergence of intensified ESG pressures and tensions with geopolitical tensions and conflicts.

Companies and investors can and should:

  • Avoid situations where they cause, contribute or are directly linked to human rights abuses through the UNGPs and heightened human rights due diligence (HRDD)
  • Advocate for the “shared space” of the rule of law, accountable governance and civic freedoms.
  • Demonstrate a sustained commitment to enhance equity, transparency and accountability.
  • Diminish inequality by tackling poverty and ensuring sustainability by arresting the climate crisis.

The elements of this agenda are not entirely or even mostly new, having emerged over the last decade. But while embraced to varying extents by leading companies, none are implemented with the priority and urgency necessary to address the global problems and opportunities that underly them. Moving this agenda forward could bring incremental progress element by element, but transformational progress if moved forward with that priority and urgency.

Yet this rules-based order has faced its own contradictions as some of its original architects and longstanding champions (including the U.S. and UK) have been among those states which have transgressed the sovereignty of others without full support of the international community through the UN (as with the 2003 invasion of Iraq). Moreover, the international rules-based order is perceived by many in the Global South as inherently western despite its universal aspirations and applications.

Finally—to add a further complication and intensification of the dilemmas that multinationals face—the ESG agenda has come under challenge, even attack, especially in recent months in the U.S. The debate extends from the methodological and technical aspects of ESG metrics and investing to the ideological and indeed political underpinnings of the entire corporate responsibility, accountability and sustainability agenda as it has evolved over the last two decades.

The ESG agenda is now on the defensive exactly at a time when we must be on the offensive to meet both the crises and opportunities we face. Let me briefly describe the two distinct prongs that have converged to put the ESG agenda on trial:

The challenge: methodological and technical; valid issues that are critical to acknowledge and address.

  • Data consistency and comparability must be improved; metrics must be clarified, and standards must be aligned; corporate green-washing, blue-washing and white-washing must be exposed and expunged; portfolio construction and fund names must be subjected to the same degree of transparency and accountability as their holdings.
  • We must fix these problems and if we do not rise to this challenge, we will lose the credibility and legitimacy to withstand the more fundamental attack that is the real agenda for some of the ESG critics who are less interested in methodology and more interested in ideology.

The attack: ideological and political; fundamental differences that are essential to counter even if they cannot be entirely reconciled.

  • The attack is not only on ESG investing but also on “woke capitalism”—the distorted, pejorative epithet applied to the agenda that has moved forward—incompletely but progressively—over those last two decades. The attackers would take us back half a century to Milton Friedman who infamously but influentially asserted that “there is one and only one social responsibility of business—to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits.”   Half a century may be an understatement; even Milton Friedman accepted the need for basic regulation of business. The attack on ESG—as distinct from the challenge to how ESG is defined and implemented—would take us back to a crude world of markets over people, of private interests over public values, of unfettered capitalism over accountable democracy.
  • We must see the attack for what it is and the stakes for what they are: the role of responsible business and investment in shaping the kind of society and economy, country and world, that we want and that we work so hard to create.

As we undertake human rights risk assessment and due diligence—especially in conflict-affected and high-risk areas—let us do our research and analysis with probity and consistency. But let us not forget that our business is not just minimizing risk to companies and industries, to portfolios and fiduciaries. Let us remember that our business is protecting and promoting rights, saving and lifting lives.

Let me end with my favorite line in the quarter century history of the contemporary business and human rights field. The late great Sir Geoffrey Chandler, former Shell executive and then founder of the Amnesty International UK Business and Human Rights Group, made the business case for human rights more persuasively than anyone in the Nineties. But he was fond of saying “to hell with the business case, it’s about doing the right thing.”  Sir Geoffrey was right then and he remains right now.

Keep the faith and thank you.

A PDF of these remarks is available here. Full coverage of the conference is available here, including video from the conference.

Thanks for joining us for the 2022 Conference

Thanks for joining us for the 2022 Conference

Chris Cox

On October 11, 2022 Seventh Generation Interfaith Coalition for Responsible Investment (SGI-CRI) held its annual conference at Fox Point Lutheran Church, as well as with an option to attend virtually.

Good stewardship requires posing and answering difficult questions, especially concerning business activities in conflict-affected and high-risk areas where the risks are highest to people and planet and portfolios. The World Bank estimates that two-thirds of the world’s poor will live in such areas by 2030, while Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the military coup in Myanmar, and forced labor in the XUAR of China make this an urgent and compelling topic now. It is up to investors and companies to respond to these systemic risks with systemic solutions, putting conflict-sensitive policies and practices into place. With our guests, we delved into those issues.

This year’s theme was Corporate Human Rights Due Diligence in Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas. Business and human rights leader Bennett Freeman opened the event with a keynote speech followed by an expert panel discussion. Chris Cox, our associate director, moderated the panel with:

A video of the full conference can be found here. The event program can be found here.

As well, Frank Sherman received the Fr. Mike Crosby Award at the conference reception.

SGI is very grateful to all of our sponsors of this year’s conference.

Frank Sherman to receive SGI’s 2022 Fr. Mike Crosby Award

Frank Sherman to receive SGI’s 2022 Fr. Mike Crosby Award

Chris Cox

The Board of Seventh Generation Interfaith coalition is pleased to announce that Frank Sherman, the executive director of SGI, has been selected to receive the 2022 Fr. Mike Crosby Award. The award will be presented in a reception at the SGI conference on October 11. The Fr. Mike Crosby Award recognizes a person who has promoted a more just and sustainable world and exemplifies the passion and commitment of our founder, Michael Crosby, O.F.M., Cap.

“We are so happy to honor Frank Sherman,” said SGI Board Chair Cindy Bohlen. “Several board members came forward to nominate Frank to receive this year’s award; once Dan Tretow’s final nomination was shared, Frank’s selection was unanimous. All who have had the privilege of working with Frank understand that he has been the person who has shepherded SGI toward fulfilling Fr. Mike Crosby’s vision. The award is the perfect way to cap off Frank’s role as the Executive Director.”

“I have had the privilege of working with Frank on multiple corporate engagements over the years, said Dan Tretow. “Everyone knows they are working with a wise, educated, pragmatic and sincere individual. And he does not work alone. In each engagement, he partners with experts from partner coalitions, ICCR program directors, Ceres and NGO’s that add credibility and strength to the conversation. He challenges the companies to do better, not for his own sake or for our coalition, but for all of society and the world.”

Frank’s background is unlike many others in our ministry; he sat on the other side of the table for 35 years. Before retiring from the corporate world at the end of 2012, Frank worked in the chemical industry, rising to serve as President of the American affiliate of AkzoNobel, a multinational paint and performance coating company. As part of his duties at AkzoNobel, he acted as a board member and, later, chair of a trade association.

While others in retirement might have hesitated, Frank made a wholehearted commitment to Fr. Mike when he was asked to help with some engagements focused on the risk of transport by rail and engagements concerning deforestation. Frank’s agreement to help resulted in his leadership in the process of creating a board of directors, re-naming SGI, and incorporating the organization. When Fr. Mike was diagnosed with cancer, Frank led the strategic planning process to envision how SGI might move from a founder-led organization to a member-led organization and was named executive director in July 2017. From the beginning, Frank has given his time freely to SGI, seeking no remuneration for his work.

Amid questions about the future of SGI following Fr. Mike’s untimely death, in his actions, Frank guaranteed growth from seeds that Fr. Mike planted.

During his tenure as the Executive Director of SGI, Frank has worked to fulfill SGI’s mission to build a more just and sustainable world for those most vulnerable by integrating social and environmental values into corporate and investor actions. Father Mike Crosby’s vision to use the shareholder voice toward a more just and sustainable world for those most vulnerable has been realized and continues to grow thanks in large part to the dedication of Frank Sherman.

Please join us in congratulating Frank.

SGI’s 2022 Conference: Corporate Human Rights Due Diligence in Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas

SGI’s 2022 Conference: Corporate Human Rights Due Diligence in Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas

Chris Cox

Good stewardship requires posing and answering difficult questions, especially concerning business activities in conflict-affected and high-risk areas where the risks are highest to people, the planet, and portfolios. The World Bank estimates that two-thirds of the world’s poor will live in such areas by 2030. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the military coup in Myanmar, and forced labor in XUAR, China make this an urgent and compelling topic now. It is up to investors and companies to respond to these risks with systemic solutions, putting conflict-sensitive policies and practices into place.

SGI’s 2022 Conference: Corporate Human Rights Due Diligence in Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas will take place on October 11th at 4:30PM CT. We are delighted to announce that our keynoter will be Bennett Freeman, Associate Fellow in the International Law at Chatham House.

Following our keynote, our associate director, Chris Cox, will moderate a panel with leading experts:

In the conference, we hope to explore these questions:

  • Do socially responsible investors need to respond to human rights issues in their portfolio? Can they just write a screen?
  • What human rights issues should a responsible investor respond to and how?
  • How would a responsible investor ask one of their money managers to do this?
  • What is heightened human rights due diligence for investors and companies? How does an investor or a company go about doing it?
  • How do investors and companies assess human rights and geopolitical risks of emerging markets, informed by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs)?
  • How can investors and companies respond to state-sponsored actions that undermine the rules-based order necessary to safeguard the international community and the global economy?
  • With 500 companies withdrawing operations from Russia, has a new standard been set for corporate responsibility and a stakeholder economy?

Conducting heightened due diligence helps companies and investors to identify and mitigate human rights risks, while simultaneously addressing the potential material risks – legal, operational, and financial – associated with areas impacted by conflict. Join us for a conversation on the difficult questions investors must ask of their portfolio companies and themselves when seeking to be rights-respecting stewards in an increasingly conflicted world.

Individual tickets for in-person attendance are $75 per person, and individual tickets for virtual participations are available at $50 per person. You can purchase individual tickets for the Conference here. The conference will be hosted at Fox Point Lutheran Church, located at 7510 N Santa Monica Blvd. in Fox Point, WI, 53217.

More information about the Conference can be found here.

SEC Finalizes Pay Versus Performance Disclosure Rules

SEC Finalizes Pay Versus Performance Disclosure Rules

Chris Cox

Last Friday (August 25), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted final rules implementing the “pay versus performance” disclosure requirement, completing a 12-year journey to fulfill a provision of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.

Under the rule, U.S. public companies must provide a new table in their annual proxy filings that contains executive compensation and financial performance measures covering a period of up to five years. While this new rule does not mandate any action that will narrow the pay disparity between executives and workers or reduce wealth inequality in the U.S., the rule requires companies to provide data comparing executive pay to financial performance. This table and the new figures will provide investors some clearer information for the mandatory (advisory) “Say on Pay” votes in every company’s proxy.

As a result, I hope that this makes Rosanna Landis Weaver’s work for As You Sow a little easier as she annually prepares a report on “The 100 Most Overpaid CEOs.” Previously, she had to dig through the not-so-transparent data in the “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” (CD&A), a required part of a company’s annual proxy statement, to generate her figures. Theoretically, the new rule will allow for a more straightforward means of comparison. (Worth noting: Year after year, the report uncovers overpaid CEOs who underperform on “Total Shareholder Return.”)

As You Sow, The 100 Most Overpaid CEOs, 2022

Some will take issue with the new disclosure rule as it is all about financial performance. Rightfully, socially responsible investors may be concerned because these new required charts do not include non-financial disclosure (i.e., human rights performance or emissions reduction). However, the rule does not preclude a company from including that information.

The new rule may draw companies to better tell their story, rather than bury shareholders in legalese. At the end of the day, the rule is not just about filling out the table, but that companies devote time to develop a narrative that helps investors understand how pay and performance align.

Even after this rulemaking, the SEC has yet to finish the implementation of Dodd-Frank. Perhaps we may see the SEC finalize the long-delayed provision for a clawback rule for accounting missteps mandated by Dodd-Frank. And we may be light years from reducing pay disparity and acting on wealth inequality, but better disclosure is a small step in the right direction.

What Happened on Tuesday?

What Happened on Tuesday?

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By Frank Sherman

The busy news cycle didn’t give enough attention to the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) by President Biden this past Tuesday, representing the single largest action ever taken by Congress and the U.S. government to combat climate change. It has been a long time coming since the first Congressional hearings on the topic in 1988. Not that Congress hasn’t tried. There have been plenty of false starts on legislation to tackle GHG emissions; however, various forces profiting or otherwise benefiting from the fossil fuel economy have prevailed…..until Tuesday.

While the size of the package is a fraction of the Build Back Better Act passed by the House in November, the emissions reduction components are nonetheless robust and effective. The climate solutions and environmental justice provisions in the $369-billion package will impact nearly every corner of the US economy. Given the unanimous opposition to the bill by Republicans and the slimmest of margins in the Senate, the Democratic reconciliation bill also contains some financial support for the fossil fuel sector, but, as a whole, it represents a major step forward in the fight to preserve a livable planet.

What does $369 billion buy you (EarthJustice)?

  • Accelerates the clean energy transition and lowers energy costs by…
    • Expanding access to clean energy by making clean energy tax credits more accessible and extending them by 10 years.
    • Creating jobs and increases our country’s energy security by investing $60 billion in manufacturing solar panels, batteries, and other clean energy technologies in the U.S.
    • Providing funding for low-income families to electrify their homes, including $9 billion in home energy rebate programs.
    • Removing barriers to community solar.
  • Helps transition the transportation sector away from fossil fuels by…
    • Proving tax credits for electric vehicles;
    • $3 billion for the U.S. Postal Service to electrify its fleet;
    • $1 billion for clean school and transit buses, garbage trucks, and other heavy-duty vehicles, prioritizing communities overburdened by air pollution; and
    • $3 billion to clean up air pollution at ports by installing zero emissions equipment and technology.
  • Supports communities of color and low-income who face disproportionate harms from pollution and the climate crisis with…
    • $3 billion for community-led projects;
    • $315 million for air monitoring; and
    • Reinstatement of the Superfund Tax.
  • Advance practices that make farming climate-friendly with…
    • $20 billion to help farmers and ranchers shift to sustainable practices like crop rotation and cover crops; and
    • $300 million for research into the climate impact of agricultural practices.
  • Support natural climate solutions with…
    • $2.6 billion in coastal resilience grants to fund projects;
    • $1 billion to ensure federal agencies can conduct robust environmental and NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) reviews;
    • $250 million to implement endangered species recovery plans; and
    • $50 million to advance protections for mature and old-growth forests.

Individuals will see these benefits with a 30% tax credit for installing residential solar panels; up to $7,500 tax credit for purchasing an electric vehicle; up to $14,000 credits for home energy efficiency upgrades, including up to $8,000 to install a heat pump; and an average savings $1,800 per year on energy bills and make their costs more stable and predictable compared with volatile fossil fuel prices.

The IRA represents major progress by Congress, but more action will be needed for the US to meet its 2030 target of reducing emissions by 50-52% below 2005 levels (Rhodium Group). This restores some credibility to the US to maintain global leadership on climate change. The effort is by no means over. Eve with the IRA enshrined as law, we must advocate, and ask our portfolio companies to do the same, with federal agencies and states, as well as Congress, to pursue additional actions to close the emissions gap.

You may have missed it, but Tuesday was a great day for people and planet.

Both Chair and CEO? Formula for Disaster

Both Chair and CEO? Formula for Disaster

Chris Cox

The Guardian recently revealed new problems from Travis Kalanick’s tenure as WeWorks CEO and chair of the board. Combining the two roles often leads to disaster. It is actually an old storyline:

Boards and investors want CEOs who hunger for improving the company. Boards want to hire winners. But the chair serves a different role, representing the shareholders and other stakeholders. Only an exceptional leader could fill both the role of CEO and chair. Surprisingly, a combined CEO and chair position led over  40% of S&P 500 companies in 2021. Too many boards, like the residents of Lake Wobegon, seem to think their CEOs “are all above average.”

One person holding both titles brings about conflicts of interest. The board guides, evaluates, and compensates the CEO. Legal & General’s Clare Payn describes it this way: “the CEO role is a full-time strategic role; the chair role is to manage the board.” She continues, “It’s like marking your own homework if you hold both roles.”

In our view, the best practice is that the chair should be an independent director. Most well-governed entities have checks and balances in place to ensure accountability and not vest excessive authority in one person or office. Throughout history, we have seen what happens when one person or institution is delegated too much power.

The practice of a combined chair and CEO is uncommon in Europe. In fact, UK Corporate Governance Code recommends that a CEO should not become chair of the same company. Without the formal guidance, investors must make the push in the U.S. Separate chair and CEO resolutions were the second-most voted proposal type in the 2021 proxy season (with 44 voted proposals in the January 1-June 30 period).

For the 2022 proxy season, SGI members co-filed this resolution at Exxon Mobil, Meta (Facebook), and Bristol-Myers Squibb. And the Conference Board suggests that it is making a difference outside of the S&P 500: “The trend toward CEO-board chair separation, previously more pronounced among smaller businesses in the Russell 3000, is extending to the S&P MidCap 400.”

To learn more about SGI’s work in corporate governance, please, visit here.

Photo credit: Mark Zuckerberg F8 2018 Keynote | Anthony Quintano | FLICKR (CC BY 2.0)

Making the Investment Policy Statement Your Own

Making the Investment Policy Statement Your Own

Chris Cox

Building on our webinar about the revised USCCB Socially Responsible Investing Guidelines, SGI’s subsequent member webinar invites us to evaluate our investment practices and policies as expressed in an Investment Policy Statement (IPS). For some this may seem a dry document about asset allocation and expected returns. In fact, the Investment Policy Statement sets forth a set of goals for your institution. It can and should speak to what your institution stands for.

We were joined by:

We want to thank all of our members and guests for attending our webinar. We would greatly appreciate if you would take a quick minute to fill out our questionnaire, here, regarding your experience.

Slides are available here.

Laudato Si’ Week 2022: How SGI Members Contribute to Structural Change

Laudato Si’ Week 2022: How SGI Members Contribute to Structural Change

Chris Cox

By Frank Sherman

“Each of us – whoever and wherever we may be – can play our own part in changing our collective response to the unprecedented threat of climate change and the degradation of our common home.”

Pope Francis, October 2021

The global Catholic Church celebrates Laudato Si’ Week 2022 over May 22-29 to mark the seventh anniversary of Pope Francis’ landmark encyclical on care for creation. It is meant to be a celebration, showing the world how much the Church has changed in these seven years by inspiring millions of Catholics to bring the whole human family together to protect our common home.

There are several resources available to participate in the week-long celebration including the Laudato Si’ Week website and the 7 Laudato Si’ Goals with online and offline activities as well as resources for prayer, study and action. The events will focus on biodiversity, responding to the cry of the poor, divestment, education, and eco-spirituality. The Catholic Climate Covenant is hosting an online discussion on Tuesday, May 24th at 12 p.m. CT to spotlight U.S. diocesan efforts to uplift Laudato Si’ (register here).

Also coming next week are annual shareholder meetings for some of America’s biggest corporate greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters including ExxonMobil, Chevron and Amazon. Amazon received a record 20 shareholder resolutions, 4 of which were filed by SGI members. ExxonMobil received 8 proposals, half of which were filed by our members while SGI members filed 2 of the 7 proposals at Chevron.  

Many of these proposals asked for more climate disclosure, GHG reduction targets or transition plans. One such proposal filed with both Exxon and Chevron asks for an audited report assessing how applying the International Energy Agency’s “Net Zero by 2050” pathway would affect company financial statements, including carbon prices, retirement obligations and capital expenditures. Companies must adequately reflect the impacts of the climate crisis and the clean energy transition in their financial reporting if shareholders are to have confidence that their capital is being effectively allocated and assets do not become stranded. This is especially crucial for companies like Exxon and Chevron, whose business strategy appears to be built on continuing growth in demand for hydrocarbons for the next several decades.

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report delivered a sobering message: we’re already experiencing the devastating impacts of climate change and continuing the current trajectory equals catastrophe. Governments, businesses and civil society must do more before it’s too late. So as your communities and organizations celebrate the progress made in the past 7 years, SGI members are doing their part to impact the structure drivers of climate change through corporate engagements.

SGI joins Major U.S. Companies and Investors To Urge Congress to LEAD on Climate

SGI joins Major U.S. Companies and Investors To Urge Congress to LEAD on Climate

Chris Cox

SGI participated in a delegation of more than 100 large companies and investors to meet with key lawmakers of both parties this week to ask them to LEAD on Climate 2022. It was a united call for Congress to pass an ambitious package of federal clean energy, transportation, infrastructure, and advanced manufacturing investments.

Best Buy, bp America, Gap, General Mills, HPand Microsoft were among the major U.S. employers, innovators, and manufacturers spanning all sectors of the economy participating in this advocacy event. Representatives from the participating organizations met with lawmakers and Congressional staff on Wednesday, May 11, and Thursday, May 12, in virtual forums. 90 meetings were scheduled over this two-day period.

View the full list of LEAD on Climate 2022 participants here.

This fourth annual business advocacy event gives leading companies and investors the opportunity to make the strong economic case for federal climate action, elevating their calls for clean energy and environmental justice investments that will bolster the nation’s competitiveness, lower energy costs, strengthen domestic supply chains, and confront the threat of the climate crisis. U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, Siemens Corporation’s Barbara Humpton, PSEG’s Ralph Izzo, and Hannon Armstrong’s Susan Nickey participated in a virtual roundtable and media briefing as part of LEAD on Climate 2022 on May 11th.

Representing SGI in the meetings, associate director Chris Cox said, “Fr. Mike Crosby began making the moral and business case for addressing climate change decades ago. It’s an honor to continue this work in pressing for environmental justice, as the harms of climate fall most heavily on the poor, those on the periphery.”

Organized by the sustainability nonprofit Ceres, LEAD on Climate 2022 features companies and investors that collectively count more than $1.6 trillion in annual revenue and $4.6 trillion in assets under management, and that employ more than 3 million people in all 50 states. The event comes at a critical time when Congress considers major investments in clean energy, transportation, and infrastructure, as well as the advanced manufacturing and supply chain capabilities to support it, either through a budget reconciliation deal or a bipartisan energy package.

Specifically, companies and investors are calling for Congress to:

  • Meet the urgency and scale of the climate crisis with ambitious federal investments to accelerate the transition to affordable, secure, domestic clean energy.
  • Seize the economic opportunities to lead the world in clean energy manufacturing and deployment to create jobs, spur innovation, strengthen supply chains, and reduce costs and price volatility for businesses and consumers. 
  • Tackle inequity by targeting climate and clean energy investments in disadvantaged, rural, and frontline energy communities.

This is the second year that SGI has supported Ceres’ LEAD on Climate. With the midterm elections quickly approaching, the window is closing for the last, best chance of getting significant federal climate and clean energy investments passed in time to meet our climate, energy, and economic security goals.

Click here to watch the full recording of the roundtable and media briefing.