ELCA NEWS SERVICE
October 4, 2007
ELCA Presiding Bishop Opposes Limiting Shareholders' Rights
07-162-AL
CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), sent a
letter Oct. 1 to Christopher Cox, chair of the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), in opposition to
proposals before the SEC that would reduce or eliminate the
ability of shareholders to participate in the proxy resolution
process, an important tool of the ELCA's work in promoting
corporate social responsibility.
The SEC is a U.S. government agency having primary
responsibility for enforcing the securities laws and regulating
the securities industry and stock market in the United States.
The ELCA Corporate Social Responsibility program seeks to engage
in dialogue with business representatives on the social
implications of company practices and to affect ELCA investment
policy in socially responsible ways. The program carries out its
work on corporate shareholder resolutions with in cooperation
with the ELCA Board of Pensions.
"Our experience of the last 20 years (and longer if we
include the work of our predecessor church bodies) affirms that
the advisory shareholder resolution process is integral to
socially responsible investing and can actually benefit
corporations," wrote Hanson in the letter. "Through this process
we have seen corporations address such complex issues as
greenhouse gas emissions, the effects of HIV in sub-Saharan
African workforces, and predatory lending practices in the
subprime market."
The proposals before the SEC include curtailing
shareholders' involvement in the selection of board members,
allowing corporations to opt out of the shareholder process
altogether, replacing the shareholder process with an electronic
forum, and increasing the percentage of votes required for
resubmitting proposals the corporation initially refused to
consider. Hanson's letter expresses opposition to all of the
above proposals.
"This letter is extremely important because it speaks
strongly to the need to protect the democratic nature of
shareholder participation in policy decisions of companies of
which they are the owners," said the Rev. Rebecca S. Larson,
executive director, ELCA Church in Society. "The SEC proposals,
should they be implemented, would effectively preclude the
ability of all but the largest shareholders to have access to
decisions regarding the policy management of corporations. This
includes but is not limited to corporately responsible social
policy, which is the chief concern of the ELCA and other faith-
based shareholders," she said.
John G. Kapanke, president of the ELCA Board of Pensions,
Minneapolis, also sent a letter to Cox in opposition to the proposals.
---
The full text of the letter and more information about the
issue are at http://www.ELCA.org/advocacy/corporate/sec_proxy.asp
on the ELCA Web site.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
