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Find out which companies you own through your mutual funds! Check out Calvert Group's Know What You Own research tool. Write or call companies which you do not own for environmental reasons; let them know why you have divested. Click here for a sample letter. Get involved in shareholder resolutions. Not all SRI funds engage in shareholder activism or resolutions, so find out first how active your fund is. Encourage your fund to become more pro-active, if you discover that it merely screens out stocks. If your fund does engage in shareholder activism, think about some of the (potentially) "dirty" stocks you may hold as a personal investment. Don't sell them, necessarily; but inform FoE or your SRI fund about which stocks you own. Active SRI funds and environmental groups such as Friends of the Earth often file shareholder resolutions with egregious companies, asking the corporation to clean up its act. Such activist groups need to identify primary filers (stockholders) to help them propose the resolutions. Another option is for you, as an individual investor (owning at least $2000 worth of stock for at least a year), to propose shareholder resolutions yourself. An even more effective strategy is to get your entire pension fund, as an institutional investor owning (potentially) hundreds of shares of stock, to file a shareholder resolution. Make sure to coordinate closely with experienced shareholder activists, as efforts need to be well-coordinated with other activists, and legally strong. Think about other ways in which you are institutionally invested. Think about your other managed assets, like mutual funds or trusts. Consider also how your church, civic organization, community theater troupe, sports club, etc. invests its assets. You might suggest to the treasurer or comptroller of your organization that he/she consider a socially responsible mutual fund or asset manager. Think about your bank, your insurance provider. In the same way that your pension fund takes your money and invests it elsewhere, your bank likewise invests your savings. Try this easy five-minute exercise: Walk into your bank's local branch and ask to see a copy of its latest Community Reinvestment Act Performance Evaluation. (It's a public disclosure document.) Every bank is mandated to reinvest in its own community, including low-income constituencies. On the first few pages, you will find the profile of the bank and the community; then you’ll find it's rating -- outstanding, satisfactory, needs improvement, and substantial non-compliance. What is yours like? To find socially and environmentally responsible banks, click here. |
