RUN A CAMPAIGN >> Recent Resolutions
Shareholder advocacy is a key strategy for socially responsible
investors. Institutions, as shareholders, have the potential
to affect positive shifts in policy through engaging in dialogue
with corporations. When a corporation refuses to discuss
an issue in good faith, shareholders can file a shareholder
resolution which is voted on at the annual general meeting
of the corporation.
Many schools are active in voting proxies
on resolutions filed by fellow shareholders, and over the
last 10 years,
several colleges and universities have filed shareholder
resolutions of their own. In 1997, the University of Washington
co-filed a resolution asking Unocal to submit a report
disclosing the full economic and social costs of doing business
in Burma.
Click
here to find their original resolution, and the University’s
current case for divestment from Sudan. In 2001, Hampshire
College was one of 100 co-filers on a resolution prohibiting
BP Amoco from drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge.
Also
in 2001, Swarthmore College filed a resolution asking
Lockheed Martin to adopt a sexual orientation non-discrimination
policy. To read more about this resolution and Swarthmore's
efforts, click here. Swarthmore has also been active
in
co-filing resolutions over the last several years, urging
corporations
such as FedEx, Dover, and MassCo to include sexual orientation
in their non-discrimination policies.
For a comprehensive
list of resolutions that have been filed by shareholders—including
socially responsible mutual funds, union and state employee
pension funds, religious
organizations, and other concerned individuals—over
the past five years, click
here.
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