Issue: Environmental Justice
Environmental justice is a concern about the cultural, economic and environmental impacts of corporate behavior on local communities, especially disadvantaged communities. CBIS believes that environmental justice is a basic right of all people and our role as a faith-based investment advisor challenges us to promote and advance these rights with corporations.
While the Church has always worked on environmental justice issues, the topic is gaining greater recognition among the public as communities feel the full effects of globalization as corporations more rapidly impact their communities. Some examples of environmental justice concerns include: Higher cancer rates in communities located near power plants; increased Asthma among poor children living in certain neighborhoods in New York; and the destruction of local historical artifacts by corporations as they build stores or manufacturing plants. We expect that corporations we own will work with local communities to minimize the harmful impacts of their operations.
Environmental justice has been used to refer to the right to know about specific environmental impacts affecting neighborhoods and communities. For example, there are such things as Right-to-Know laws so that people can find out about the chemicals to which they may be exposed in their daily living. It also concerns the establishment in one's neighborhood of projects, such as projects or businesses that are believed to be dangerous, unsightly, or otherwise undesirable.
Strong communities are starting to work with shareholders to encourage companies to disclose information about local environmental impacts, evaluate project impacts in both the short and long term, engage with civil society and non-governmental organizations in advance of the project, and involve all stakeholders in the decision-making process.
Church Teaching: Catholic social teaching has a long and rich history of preserving the rights of communities. According to Pope John XXIII, “Working together as community for the common good embraces the sum total of all those conditions of social life which enable individuals, families, and organizations to achieve complete and effective fulfillment.”
Select Proxy Voting Guidelines:
Ž We support resolutions asking companies to examine their operations in light of their impact on sustainability and biodiversity in ecologically unique or sensitive areas.
Ž We support resolutions asking companies to respect the right of local communities to control local natural resources and to fully participate in business decisions impacting their lands.
|
|
|
