SHARE POWER Campaign –
Public/Private Institution Connection
Making the public/private institution connection...
Who is connected to public and private institutions?
Institutional shareholders include union, public employee or teacher pension funds in your state or city, or your state and city treasury, among others. So if you are a union member, teacher, or public employee invested in a pension, you have a connection. But the connections don't stop there! When it comes to city and state treasuries, nearly everyone has access to these types of shareholders simply by virtue of where they live. Typically, institutional shareholders such as these are susceptible to public pressure, especially if that pressure comes from constituents in their area, creating a significant opportunity to press for change using geographically-based campaigns.
Of course, you are also connected if you are an employee of a public or private institutional investor. SHARE POWER is NOT about demonizing institutions for their connection to companies with human rights concerns, nor is it about demonizing those companies. There is no such thing as a perfect company or a perfect institution. Likewise, there is no such thing as a company or institution that is doing everything wrong. SHARE POWER is about using the power vested in our connections to encourage institutions and companies to improve. As an employee, you have special leverage with the institution you work for, but you may also bear certain risks by confronting your employer with concerns you have about their investments and policies. In such a case, it is up to you to make the judgment about whether or how to raise those concerns.
How is your institution linked to powerful companies?
All told, institutions like those listed above invest trillions of dollars on behalf of their beneficiaries. Obviously, the opinions and decisions of such large shareholders carry a lot of weight with companies. As such, they have the power to raise important issues about the way that these companies are operating, issues that are important to their constituents.When these institutions own companies that are facing social and environmental challenges, they can use shareholder activism to harness their substantial weight as an investor to support important causes and to defend human rights. How? In addition to raising issues directly with the companies they are invested in, all shareholders have a responsibility to vote on a variety of proposals each year, some of them focused on social and environmental issues. Owning stock in a company also creates opportunities for them to initiate or file proposals on issue they are concerned about, either alone or in coalition with other investors. The good news is that there are already a number of large institutional shareholders on our side, who have either joined coalitions that we are part of or voted favorably on the proposals we support. These include some of the largest pensions in the country including CalPERS and the Teachers' Retirement System of New York. Obviously you will not need to target these organizations! Visit the SHARE POWER Forum to find out which organizations are already making progress, and what you can do to help them on their way. We hope that in the course of your campaigning, you will identify additional shareholders who are on our side. We need to keep track of this support and make sure these institutions are acknowledged for their improvements.
Yet many institutions do not use their substantial power as shareholders. Or worse, they (unwittingly or not) use their power in ways that tacitly support the status quo, allowing companies to deny their human rights responsibilities. And because, for the most part, they are not required to publicly report how they are investing, or how they are voting on shareholder proposals, their constituents are often left in the dark. The SHARE POWER Campaign is designed to shed light on how these institutions are using their investment power.
What could your institution do?
There are many ways that your institution can use their investor power in a positive way. They should:- Publicize the way their pensions and other accounts are invested, and how they have voted on socially and environmentally conscious shareholder proposals.
- Vote favorably on, and publicly support existing socially and environmentally conscious shareholder proposals.
- File or co-file socially or environmentally conscious proposals with companies they own.
- Make public their proxy voting guidelines, especially on social, environmental, labor and human rights proposals. Most investors have established such a set of guidelines to direct their voting on shareholder proposals. Sometimes these guidelines explicitly call for voting AGAINST any proposal with a social or environmental agenda! (An excellent example of proxy voting guidelines is provided by the AFL-CIO.)
- Establish socially responsible investment guidelines. Note that establishing socially conscious investment guidelines is a proactive strategy, and not a reactive, divestment-oriented initiative. We are not asking shareholders to divest from–that is, sell–these companies but to use their ownership to push for change. Establishing socially responsible investment guidelines is one way for shareholders to pressure companies, since it encourages companies to take positive steps that will allow them to be considered appropriate investments.
- Learn more about Amnesty's work on shareholder activism
- Read about our past shareholder activism campaigns:
Chevron | Dow Chemical | Internet companies - Review our glossary of useful investment terms
If you want to ensure that the institutional shareholder you're connected to is doing all it can to promote corporate accountability for human rights, follow our step-by-step guidelines to plan a SHARE POWER Campaign.
