Newsline: Weak commitment to human rights factors into decision to divest from Cisco Systems

[CoBNews <CoBNews@brethren.org>]

Newsline: Church of the Brethren News Service, News Director Cheryl

Brumbaugh-Cayford, 800-323-8039 ext. 260, cobnews@brethren.org

Weak commitment to human rights factors into decision to divest from

>Cisco Systems

(Jan. 13, 2011) Elgin, IL -- Boston Common Asset Management, LLC,

has divested of its holdings in Cisco Systems, Inc., stock due in 
part to

the company's weak human rights risk management and poor response to

investor concerns. Cisco's deceptive announcement of vote results on

proxy items at the 2010 annual shareholder meeting has raised further

alarm about the company's commitment to transparency.

Boston Common is one of the investment managers for Brethren Benefit

>Trust (BBT) and the Brethren Foundation.

Since 2005 Boston Common has led a growing coalition of investors,

representing over 20 million Cisco shares, in asking Cisco management

to ensure its products and services do not stifle human rights. Cisco 
has

testified before federal lawmakers twice since 2006 over questions on 
its

human rights record, including its marketing of equipment to the 
Chinese

>Ministry of Public Security.

"Boston Common's decision to divest comes after years of campaigning

Cisco for greater transparency and accountability on key human rights

and business development concerns," stated Dawn Wolfe, associate

director of environmental, social, and governance research at Boston

Common Asset Management. "Freedom of expression, privacy, and

personal security are all critical elements in maximizing network 
traffic.

Politically and socially repressive policies related to speech and 
privacy

has a chilling effect on users and violates universally recognized 
human

rights. When pressed for details on how Cisco addresses these risks,

>they come up short."

At the Nov. 18, 2010, annual meeting of shareholders, Cisco did not 
answer

yet another request for engagement with shareholders. This followed a 
Sept.

30, 2010, letter to independent board member and Stanford president 
John

Hennessy requesting his assistance in establishing a meaningful 
dialogue

between Cisco and shareholders on human rights. Similar to previous

attempts to engage the board as a whole, Hennessy did not respond to 
the

>request.

"As technology becomes more prevalent in the world, we expect human

rights-related concerns will become more, not less prominent," said 
Nevin

Dulabaum, president of BBT, a long-time shareholder of Cisco Systems

and active participant in the investor-driven human rights campaign. 
"For

all its talk about the 'human network' and adherence to the United 
Nations

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Cisco has not demonstrated in 
any

concrete way that it fully recognizes its potential impact on human 
rights

>around the world."

Boston Common's ESG Team recommended the removal of Cisco Systems

from its portfolios because of strong reservations about its human 
rights

performance and poor shareholder engagement on the issue.

"The voice of shareholders fall on deaf ears at Cisco," stated Wolfe. 
"About

a third of Cisco Systems shareholders voting their proxies have 
supported

our proposal over the years, voting in favor of greater disclosure on 
issues

of censorship and privacy. Cisco's deceptive tallying practices in 
2010 do

not change that. The investor coalition will march ahead, and perhaps 
one

day Cisco will wake up and realize how dedicated these shareholders 
are to

the company's success. Until then, significant questions remain about 
its

ability to manage risks it is reticent to recognize."

The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to

continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out 
its faith

in community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist 
faith

traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It 
celebrated its

300th anniversary in 2008. It counts some 123,000 members across the 
United

States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in 
Nigeria, Brazil,

>the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and India.

(Brethren Benefit Trust provided this release from Boston Common Asset

>Management.)

># # #

>For more information contact:

>Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford

>Director of News Services

>Church of the Brethren

>1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120

>800-323-8039 ext. 260

>cobnews@brethren.org