October 2016 - Volume 14, Issue 4  

Shareholder Advocacy News

By Pat Zerega, Senior Director of Shareholder Advocacy, Mercy Investment Services 

Investors Encourage U.S. Chamber Members to Support EPA's Clean Power Plan

The Adrian Dominican Sisters joined more than 60 investors and organizations last August in sending letters to about 60 companies that are on the board or are prominent members of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Since President Obama announced the Clean Power Plan in August 2015, the Chamber was reportedly taking major steps to organize broad-based strategies to block the new regulations.
 
The investor letter urged companies such as Chevron, ExxonMobil, Google, and Procter & Gamble to use their leverage as members of the Chamber to encourage the organization to step back from its campaign against the Environmental Protective Agency's Clean Power Plan and publicly distance their companies from the Chamber's current actions.
Engagement with Coca-Cola Fosters Sustainability Progress

A long-standing dialogue with the Coca-Cola Company that at first focused on human rights issues quickly included the company's policies around use of water and the human right to water.
 
The company's global beverage business is highly dependent on water, yet often its bottling partners operate in communities where many people lack access to clean drinking water. For its system of independent bottling companies around the world, Coca-Cola's goal is to replenish, by 2020, 100 percent of the water they use in their bottling operations and the surrounding communities.
 
At a January 2016 meeting, Coca-Cola reported that it had already met this goal at the end of 2015, five years ahead of schedule. However, company representatives also noted that they are falling short of their goals for source water protection and, after an audit of operations, are issuing a new guidance document for their bottlers. They also discussed progress toward sustainability goals for their agricultural supply chain that include both water and climate change criteria. Coca-Cola hopes to source 100 percent of its top 20 agricultural products sustainably by 2 020.

Nestlé's Cocoa Plan Promotes Gender Equality, Improved Education
 
Through its Cocoa Plan, Nestle is now addressing communities and gender issues. The company's recent Creating Shared Value report notes that more than 1 million women in Asian and African farming communities have benefited from the company's efforts toward gender balance. Nestle is working to ensure that women farmers have equal access to farmer training support.
 
Another component of the Cocoa Plan is helping women farmers increase their income and make their voices heard in the community. Within the company's management structure, women now hold 34 percent of leadership roles. The goal is to be a gender-balanced company by 2018.
PBS Highlights work of ICCR and Faith-Based Investors

PBS recently aired Faith Groups and Corporate Responsibility, which highlighted the work of the Adrian Dominican Sisters' partner, the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility. View the video here.


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