wfn.org | Committee Examines Impact and Forces of Globalization

[PCUSA NEWS <pcusa.news@ecunet.org>]

9-February-2000 
00063 
 
    Committee Examines Impact and Forces of Globalization 
 
    Members Vote on Proxies, Visit Carter Center 
 
    by Evan Silverstein 
 
DECATUR, Ga. - As technology and media rapidly transform the world into a 
community in which distance and isolation have been dramatically reduced, 
many worry that human rights and environmental quality will get lost in the 
shuffle of globalization. 
 
     The Committee on Mission Responsibility Through Investment (MRTI) of 
the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is working to help ensure that will not be 
the case. 
 
    Charged with assessing companies' compliance with General Assembly 
policies like environmental protection issues and labor practices, MRTI met 
here Feb. 3-5, reviewing and discussing two papers commissioned by the 
denomination's Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) 
pertaining to globalization. 
 
     In general, globalization refers to the increasing integration of the 
world brought about partly through technological innovations in 
transportation, production and communication. Concern focuses on a 
resulting concentration of power and wealth being obtained by a small 
number of giant international corporations, shifting the wealth of nations, 
states and individual citizens. 
 
    "Our concern is that there is tremendous suffering on the part of a lot 
of people," said the Rev. William Somplastsky-Jarman, associate for MRTI. 
"How do you alleviate that? The other concern is how do you maintain 
environmental standards and protections while all this is going on?" 
 
    Globalization discussions are expected to continue during MRTI's summer 
meeting, July 20-23 in Seattle. ACSWP is requesting comments on the papers, 
and ultimately MRTI will develop a response to ACSWP, which will eventually 
make recommendations to the General Assembly on potential policy. 
 
    The membership of MRTI includes representatives from the Board of 
Pensions and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Foundation, as well as other 
advocacy and advisory groups - the Advocacy Committee on Women's Concerns, 
the Advocacy Committee on Racial Ethnic Concerns and ACSWP - in order to 
enhance the cooperative nature of its enterprise. 
 
    MRTI also combines General Assembly approved social screens with 
shareholder engagement through proxy voting, dialogues with corporate 
executives and filing shareholder resolutions on issues to which the GA has 
spoken. 
 
    Among the shareholder engagements reviewed and supported by MRTI at 
this meeting was a resolution seeking a review by Exxon of the human rights 
and environmental implications of the oil giant's Chad-Cameroon Pipeline. 
The resolution asks Exxon to evaluate, among other things, the 
environmental consequences of the pipeline project, the impact of the 
pipeline on the communities most directly affected, and the impact on 
economic development on the peoples of the two countries. 
 
    Another resolution backed by MRTI asks Loews Corp. - whose subsidiaries 
are engaged in such areas as production and sales of cigarettes - to ensure 
through market testing that its tobacco ads are not youth friendly. 
 
    MRTI also supported a call for General Electric to renounce involvement 
in landmine production. The committee wants GE to be among corporations 
taking a moral stand refusing to supply any parts or information pertaining 
to landmine and cluster bomb production. 
 
    Proxy resolutions MRTI members declined to support include asking 
Philip Morris to develop a report for shareholders over the next year with 
details of how the company intends to address the problem that its products 
cause cancer. Members of MRTI felt other non-shareholder strategies should 
be pursued first. 
 
    Also declined was a resolution asking Abbott Laboratories to create and 
implement a policy of price restraint on pharmaceutical products for 
individual consumers and institutional purchases The committee instead will 
utilize a combination of other approaches to try and keep drug prices at 
reasonable levels. 
 
    Also during the meeting, MRTI: 
 
    * Nominated Palo Alto, Calif., resident Sydney Brown for the annual 
Women of Faith awards. Brown, the daughter of former missionaries in China, 
became increasingly active in economic justice issues when she later moved 
to the United States. The awards will be presented at the Women of Faith 
Awards Breakfast during the 212th General Assembly this summer in Long 
Beach, Calif. 
 
    * Was addressed by Jim Hartzfeld, interface corporation on 
environmental issues and sustainable production, and Jon Gunnemann, 
business ethics professor at Emory University in Atlanta. Janice Mann of 
BellSouth discussed the phone company's human resource efforts 
 
    * Elected as its chair, Sue Rush of Kendall Presbytery and Jim Newland 
of Northeast Georgia Presbytery as vice chair. 
 
    * Held dialogue with Human Rights staff at the Carter Center in Atlanta 
on new initiatives with corporations on Human Rights issues. 
 
    * Was told that successful dialogues were held with Intel and Advanced 
Micro Devices pertaining to international environmental standards for the 
companies and their suppliers; Citigroup on community reinvestment and 
equal credit opportunities; Delphi and Wal Mart on employment standards for 
overseas operations; and Tosco on pollution prevention. 

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