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Fr. Finn Speaking at Islamic Forum at Harvard University April 24th, 2014
Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI has been invited to present a paper on Shared Risk and Shared Responsibility at the Eleventh Harvard University Forum on Islamic Finance in April. The theme of the conference was Takaful and Alternative Cooperative Finance: Challenges and Opportunities. Takaful is an Islamic cooperative insurance system.
See here for conference details.
Investors Call for Stronger Financial Commitments from Brands and Retailers to Aid Victims of Rana Plaza April 24th, 2014
On the one-year anniversary of the tragic garment factory building collapse in Bangladesh, a global investor initiative reminds companies of their corporate responsibility to protect, respect and remediate human rights violations throughout their supply chains.
A global coalition of 134 institutional investors representing over $4.1 trillion in managed assets and led by the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) today released a statement marking the one-year anniversary of the collapse of Rana Plaza in Bangladesh. The Missionary Oblates are closely involved in the investor initiative urging companies to use their influence to improve work and safety conditions in Bangladesh.
Rana Plaza was one of the worst workplace disasters in history, resulting in the deaths of over 1,100 garment factory workers who were forced to work in the building even though they had left the building the day before because of major cracks in a wall. The tragedy underscored the need for heightened vigilance on the part of apparel companies for potential human rights risks in their global supply chains, particularly when they source from low-cost producing nations such as Bangladesh.
The investor initiative comprises responsible institutional investors from a dozen countries who actively engage the companies in their portfolios to promote corporate responsibility on critical environmental and social issues, including the human rights risks of trafficking and slavery. The coalition was convened by ICCR after the Rana Plaza disaster to urge apparel brands and retailers sourcing from Bangladesh to use their collective influence to help institute system-wide changes that will ensure the future safety of apparel workers.
Investors point to several key achievements over the last 12 months, many of which emerged through the formation of the multi-stakeholder initiative the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety, which includes trade unions and apparel brands and retailers, with an independent chair from the International Labor Organization.
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Faith-based and Socially Responsible Shareholders Call on Google to Pay Fair Share of Taxes April 8th, 2014
The Missionary Oblates co-filed with ethical investor Domini Social Equity fund, in a shareholder resolution calling on the multinational firm Google to pay its fair share of US taxes. NEI Investments LP, Robert Burnett, and Investor Voice, SPC joined as co-filers. Google recommended a vote against the shareholder proposal, which argues that “Google’s tax practices have come under scrutiny in the United Kingdom and France, leading to regulatory pressures and reputational damage.” The shareholder proposal cited as one of its arguments for the proposal, a Bloomberg article headed “Google cuts billions off its tax bill each year by sending profits through Ireland to a mailbox in Bermuda.”
The proposal stated, “Although most Google engineers are US-based, where much of product development takes place, Google’s intellectual property is held in Bermuda, which does not levy corporate taxes.” It went on to state: ‘Tax haven’ jurisdictions are characterized by low tax rates, financial secrecy and light regulation. Tax havens facilitate financial opacity and illegal activities including tax evasion and money laundering.”
The proposal has received coverage in The Sunday Times in London and the Independent.ie an Irish news source. Although it is not expected to pass, the proposal will once again attract attention to Google’s low tax outlay against multibillion revenues.
Transparency and Reputation: There Is No Place to Hide April 8th, 2014
Reputation, brand and image are very important priorities for corporations, organizations and institutions. These characteristics and the products and services that they provide are closely related. Because we are now able, in most instances, to put a quantitative value on reputation, brand and image, they are considered as important to overall worth as the products and services that a corporation offers.
Welcome to the age of globalization, the worldwide web, social media and the 24/7 news cycle.
Read the blog on Huffington Post…
The Oblate Garden In Washington Enters its Third Year April 7th, 2014
Gail Taylor, farmer at the 391 garden, and David Grosso, At-Large Member of the Washington, DC Council at the April 5th opening of the garden.
Supporters of the vegetable garden at the Oblate House in Washington, DC met on April 5th to mark the start of the third season of planting. The lead gardeners, Gail Taylor and Zachari Curtis, came together with volunteers, neighbors, supporters of urban gardening in DC, members of the local oblate community and DC Councilman David Grosso. Also in attendance were: Black Belt Justice Center, DC Greens, Green Girls Go, Dreaming Out Loud, the Green Scheme, Damien Ministries.
The project was initiated three years ago with the support of the local oblate community and the province administration, and has delivered a variety of rich and wholesome vegetables in the first two years of operation. The land previously was used primarily for recreational purposes, and the farmers have worked hard to improve the soil quality so it can be used for farming.
The project is one of a number of neighborhood vegetable initiatives established by people committed to producing food for people in the city, particularly for underserved neighborhoods.
Councilman David Grosso has introduced the DC Urban Farming and Food Security Act to make more urban vegetable gardening initiatives possible. This legislation will provide access to city lots and tax incentives designed to make the business model more attractive to entrepreneurs, with the result that healthy, locally grown vegetables would be more accessible to District residents. All of the groups attending the April 15th event are committed to mobilizing support for the legislation.
