News Archives » iccr
Interfaith Investors to Score Banks November 6th, 2012
The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, an influential investor coalition, will issue scorecards for the seven largest US banks next year, based on factors such as risk management and executive compensation.
The coalition has been influential in the field of corporate governance, pushing on issues such as “say on pay”, an advisory shareholder vote on executive compensation, which was included in the Dodd-Frank financial reform act.
ICCR has sent questionnaires to the seven largest US banks: Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Bank of New York Mellon, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo. Sustainalytics, a provider of environmental social governance research, is partnering on the research.
Reverend Séamus Finn of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate said in the organisation’s annual report: “What is frustrating for many of us is the knowledge that the vast majority of these problems can be avoided by adopting the appropriate risk management safeguards and the requisite checks and balances. With each new scandal we think ‘maybe this time they will get it’, and then we open the morning paper to see that we still have work to do.”
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Engaging Corporations to Stop Human Trafficking October 17th, 2012
Human trafficking – the recruiting, transport, harboring or receiving of persons through force, coercion or fraud – targets vulnerable people who are then exploited through forced labor, bonded (debt) labor, prostitution or other sexual exploitation, or as child soldiers. It is a crime without borders; every country in the world has been touched by human trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit, or destination for victims.
Thus begins an article on human trafficking describing the work of members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR). “Leveraging Corporate Power in the Fight Against Human Trafficking,” explains how ICCR work on conflict minerals, the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, and investor work around the London Olympics has helped to reduce the incidence of human trafficking, and to raise awareness of this heartbreaking issue.
Interested in more information on how corporations can address the issue? Read Corporate Strategies to Address Human trafficking, a joint publication of Christian Brothers Investment Services, ICCR and ECCR.
VOICE Wins Significant Housing Agreement with Bank of America October 12th, 2012
On the evening of Monday October 1st, VOICE (Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement) had a remarkably successful action to push forward mortgage relief for affected homeowners in Prince William County, VA. Following all-day, intense negotiations, last minute accommodations, and a lot of fluid politics, 800+ VOICE leaders packed St Paul United Methodist Church in Woodbridge, VA and emerged with some impressive agreements.
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Oblates Active in ICCR AGM in Boston June 10th, 2012
Simmons College, Boston, MA
The Oblates participated in the Annual General Meeting of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) that met at Simmons College in Boston from June 4-8. The corporate engagements over the last proxy season were evaluated – with successes celebrated, and plans laid for the 2012-2013 season. Areas in which the Oblates are active include: access to finance, extractives, global access to health, water, human trafficking, toxic chemicals, corporate governance and supply chain (labor) issues. John Ruggie, Professor at Harvard’s Kennedy School and the UN Special Rapporteur behind the UN Guiding Principles on Human Rights and Business was honored at a reception Wednesday evening.
The work on the financial services sector continues to be a high priority for ICCR members and has generated significant media attention. Resolutions and statements by religious investors continue to draw attention to the extensive moral and ethical responsibilities that corporate actors in this space assume. The enduring impact of the destruction of nearly 17 trillion dollars of wealth since the near financial meltdown of September 2008 is a clear justification of the need for such vigilance. This work by ICCR members has strongly supported the efforts of numerous homeowners in places like the San Fernando Valley CA and Prince William County in VA to stay in their homes and restore their communities.
Fr. Seamus Finn, OMI and Sr. Judy Byron, OP at ICCR
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The Sisters of ICCR: Genuine Faith in Action May 7th, 2012
The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), a shareholder coalition celebrating over 40 years of social justice advocacy, released a statement on Friday acknowledging the vital role of Catholic women religious in transforming corporate policies and practices in order to create a more just and sustainable world.
