Socially Responsible Investing is one
facet of justice and peace ministry in which the Sisters of St. Agnes
participate. As Coordinator of Justice and Peace and on behalf of the
Congregation, I attend meetings of the Interfaith Center for
Corporate Responsibility and the regional Seventh Generation directed by Fr.
Mike Crosby. I focus on different issue areas: climate change; human rights
(including human trafficking); food & nutrition; water; lobbying &
political spending, etc. Part of the work includes dialogues with companies
and, when needed, filing shareholder resolutions in order to get companies to
move forward.
This fall, an
on-going engagement with Hormel led to a great success! Having had regular
dialogues with Company representatives about its use of antibiotics and also
its use of water, a number of faith-based investors filed a resolution on the
water impacts of its operations. Faced with the possibility of bringing the
resolution to all of its shareholders at the next annual meeting, Hormel agreed
to participate in the World Wildlife Fund’s Ag Water Challenge and to develop a
strong policy on water impacts throughout its supply chain. This example shows
the power of socially responsible investment and the willingness of
corporations to improve their operations for the common good. As a result of
Hormel’s commitments on water, the investors withdrew their resolution.
In addition to
the resolution with Hormel this fall I filed resolutions with seven other
companies: five on lobbying disclosure; one on water impacts; and another on
separation of CEO from Chair of the Board. Thank you for including these
endeavors in your prayers.
No comments:
Post a Comment