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February 03, 2000
Friends of the Earth Launches On-line Guide to Shareholder Activism
A web-based handbook from the national environmental group provides strategy and resources for
shareholder activists.
SocialFunds.com --
Investors who play an active role in socially responsible shareholder advocacy control nearly $1
trillion in assets, according to a recent report by the Social Investment Forum, a professional
organization promoting socially responsible investments. An on-line handbook launched by Friends of
the Earth provides a valuable resource for investors and others new to this growing stimulus for
corporate responsibility.
 Friends of the Earth (FoE) is a national
environmental organization dedicated to preserving the planet for future generations, with
affiliates in 63 countries comprising the largest international environmental network in the world.
Last week, FoE launched the web-based guide titled, "Confronting Corporations Using Shareholder
Power: A Handbook for Socially-oriented Shareholder Activism."
"Improving corporate
behavior is a key factor in improving environmental quality," said Michelle Chan-Fishel,
Coordinator of FoE's Green Investments program. "Through this handbook, FoE hopes to empower
investors to exercise ownership responsibility, to advocate for better corporate behavior, and to
use their investments as a vehicle for building a more just and sustainable world."
The
handbook is based on the proceedings of a June 1999 shareholder activism training sponsored by FoE,
the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), the Coalition for Environmentally
Responsible Economies (CERES), and the Social Investment Forum (SIF). The collective wisdom of
these organizations, all intimately involved in shareholder activism over the years, resulted in
this timely on-line resource.
Chan-Fishel added a substantial amount of information to
flesh out the handbook and make it more user-friendly, and several experts in the field
peer-reviewed the final work. "Our target audience is socially responsible investors, mission-based
institutional investors, and public interest groups who provide technical assistance in shareholder
dialogues," said Chan-Fishel.
FoE's experience in shareholder activism goes back ten
years, beginning with their work with Exxon shareholders after the 1989 Valdez disaster. They have
filed resolutions and participated in company dialogues on a range of different issues, from
environmental liabilities to corporate governance, and are presently filing or co-filing
resolutions at DuPont, Enron, McDonald's, Exxon-Mobil, and Maxxam.
This year, FoE is
also providing technical assistance to filers on genetically engineered foods, and on establishing
social and environmental guidelines at investment banks. They are working with other environmental
groups to publicize the slate of 80-odd environmental resolutions up for vote this coming proxy
season. But the highlight of their shareholder activism work this year is their on-line handbook.
The handbook provides a practical and useful guide for socially responsible or
values-based investors on the practice of shareholder activism as a tool for social change. Broken
down into concise chapters that load easily and explain issues and procedures in user-friendly
English, the handbook leads the reader through establishing dialogue with companies, drafting a
resolution, soliciting votes, and other basics of shareholder activism.
Although FoE is
primarily an environmental organization, their handbook addresses social resolutions more
generally, with examples from environmental, human rights, community rights, and labor-related
efforts. There are moments when FoE's environmental activist roots show through, such as when they
suggest that colleagues may perceive shareholder activists as working too closely "with the enemy,"
but for the most part their approach is very balanced.
Although it is quick to point out
that social resolutions have never in history achieved a "technical win" at any shareholder
meeting, forcing the company to take action by a majority vote, the handbook is a positive
framework for social change. It provides years of experience and evidence showing that sustained,
strategic shareholder activism has helped social investors meet their goal of influencing corporate
culture and social performance.
"The most pressing issue that shareholders have to take
up with companies is stakeholder relations," said Chan-Fishel, "the way a company deals with
communities, workers, people who work on behalf of the environment, etc. A company with healthy
stakeholder relations tends to demonstrate superior social performance. At its core, stakeholder
relations are really about the sharing of or abuse of corporate power."
With the 2000
proxy season only months away, this important on-line resource is well-timed and well-placed to
reach a large number of investors, and encourage them to voice their concern as corporate owners.
www.foe.org
©
SRI World Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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