Title: ELCA Presiding Bishop Opposes Limiting Shareholders' Rights 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.
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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 news@elca.org http://www.elca.org/news ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog