Seventh Generation Interfaith Coalition for Responsible Investing
Engaging corporations in pursuit of social and environmental justice
Today, we hosted our latest webinar for member education on the “Shareholder Resolution Process.” ICCR’s Guide to Filing Shareholder Resolutions is a great tool. We are grateful that Tim Smith of Walden Asset Management and Pat Miguel Tomaino of Zevin Asset Management were able to join us. Their input was a great contribution. Without further ado, here is the video:
This year, SGI members filed resolutions with two midwestern utilities: CMS Energy and WEC Energy Group. Each resolution aimed for the public disclosure of an assessment of the long-term business impacts of limiting global warming to under 2-degrees Celsius, as adopted by the Paris Climate Agreement.
We have great news: both resolutions have been withdrawn as the companies agreed to the main components of the resolutions. Despite the Trump administration’s decision to end the Clean Power Plan, both midwestern utilities rise to meet the challenges of climate change. In fact, CMS announced last week that they reduce carbon emissions by 80 percent and no longer using coal to generate electricity by 2040.
Sr. Ruth Geraets, PBVM of the Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Aberdeen, SD who led the filing of the resolution at CMS Energy said, “My congregation is concerned about climate change and the critical need to reduce greenhouse emissions because our mission calls us to care for creation. As longterm shareholders in CMS, we believe having a strategy in place to meet climate challenges head-on will improve CMS’ competitive position over the long term. We were pleased to see CMS step up to this challenge with its recently announced clean energy breakthrough goals.”
With respect to the dialogue with WEC Energy Group, on behalf of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, Central Pacific Province, Tim Dewane said, “Pope Francis has said, ‘Reducing greenhouse gases requires honesty, courage and responsibility.’ We thank WEC Energy Group for its efforts in this regard so far. We believe they are not only good for the planet, but they are also in the bottom-line best interests of the company, its customers and shareholders.”
“These two utility companies are climate leaders in the Midwest,” said Frank Sherman, Executive Director of SGI. “They recognize that market forces and their customer base are pushing them to exceed federal climate regulations and state renewable portfolio standards. Although they are big companies, utilities have a very local focus and are highly dependent on the social license granted by the communities where they operate.”
Our partners at ICCR shared a press release about this win which can be found here.
When we saw a recent article (Wisconsin groups to get $12M settlement for natural gas price fixing) from the La Crosse Tribune quoting Sr. Sue Ernster, FSPA, we wanted to bring it to the attention of our SGI members. Sr. Sue adds:
FSPA participated in the lawsuit of the manipulation of natural gas pricing by multiple utilities as another way of how we live out our social justice activities and our values. We see this as an effort to help those whose voices are not represented in this and other situations. We are utilizing the resources we have at our disposal to hold those accountable who were responsible for this price manipulation.
Our hope is that participating in litigation settlements such as these, as well as filing shareholder resolutions with companies, demonstrates that people are paying attention, asking questions and holding them accountable for their actions.
In a new series of posts, SGI will offer reviews and suggestions of books related to our work in shareholder advocacy.
For those who want an inspirational primer about shareholder advocacy, Andrew Behar’s The Shareholder Action Guide: Unleash Your Hidden Powers to Hold Corporations Accountable fits the bill. Replete with anecdotes and advice, coupled with references to on-line resources, this book explains the tools and strategies available to empower shareholders. Further, this handbook may well inspire new activist shareholders to demand corporate accountability.
The author leads As You Sow, a nonprofit organization that focuses on environmental and social corporate responsibility. As You Sow focuses on climate change, sustainability, human rights, and environmental health, and it engages, among others, companies like ExxonMobil, Chevron, Southern, FirstEnergy, Duke, Dow, DuPont, Monsanto, HP, Dell, Apple, Proctor & Gamble, and Coca-Cola.
In 15 brief chapters, Behar takes readers through the basics. The first seven chapters include: shareholder responsibilities, how shareholders began to use their power with General Motors in South Africa, defining some limits on shareholder actions, explaining proxy votes, influencing fund managers, and corporate engagements and filing shareholder resolutions. Chapter 8 of The Shareholder Action Guide also tells the story of many campaigns in shareholder advocacy from across the past forty years. It profiles leaders in shareholder advocacy, including a testament to the work of SGI’s founder, the late Fr. Mike Crosby, for his efforts in tobacco. Those involved with SGI will recognize the names of numerous allies referenced in the book, including Tim Smith and Sr. Nora Nash, O.S.F. Subsequent chapters contemporary strategies in shareholder advocacy .
Behar explores how corporations are the most powerful entities on the planet. Sadly, many have had a long record of failing to care for creation, exploiting vulnerable people, and hiding boardroom decision-making. Since, by law, corporations are beholden to their shareholders, some philanthropic trusts, pension funds, and other institutional investors have used shareholder advocacy to press for changes in corporate policy. Behar also underscores the opportunity to engage individual investors, who have largely been silent, mistakenly thinking themselves powerless. The Shareholder Action Guide is designed to inform, inspire, and instruct investors in how to exercise their power to effect meaningful change on critical issues including environmental justice, food sustainability, executive compensation, and worker’s rights. Owners of as little as $2,000 worth of stock in a publicly traded corporation have the power to be heard. This book is a call to action designed to build a movement of active investors. Behar illustrates how investors can stop abdicating their power and act to make a better world.
Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility has announced a summary of its members’ resolutions for filing year 2017.
Seventh Generation Interfaith Executive Director Fr. Mike Crosby is cited in historic shareholder resolution requiring ExxonMobil to report its greenhouse gas emission rates to corporate shareholders.
ExxonMobil management was defeated Wednesday by a shareholder rebellion over climate change, as investors with 62.3 percent of shares voted to instruct the oil giant to report on the impact of global measures designed to keep climate change to 2 degrees centigrade.
ICCR believes the ability to attend annual stockholder meetings in person is a fundamental tenet of shareholder democracy. The annual meeting provides shareholders with a critical accountability mechanism to assess, challenge and evaluate management performance through an open exchange
with board and management.
Nevertheless, there is a growing trend among several high profile corporations – including ConocoPhillips, Comcast, Duke Energy, Ford Motor Company, HP, Intel and Biogen – that would eliminate in-person stockholder meetings in favor of virtual-only (webcast) meetings.
Read the full text of ICCR’s statement in support of in-person shareholder meetings.
Demonstrating strong investor opposition to special interest efforts to weaken key elements of the shareholder resolution process (SEC rule 14a-8), a group of leading investor organizations representing $65 trillion in assets wrote last week to the Trump administration urging support for the SEC’s existing shareholder proposal process, which is providing wide-ranging benefits.
Seventh Generation Interfaith Coalition for Responsible Investing 