The document discusses the essential components of socially responsible companies, focusing on shareholder advocacy and corporate engagement for environmental sustainability and social equity. It highlights various initiatives by companies like Best Buy and Coca-Cola regarding recycling and labor rights issues, particularly concerning forced child labor in Uzbekistan. Key takeaways include the importance of accounting for environmental impacts and having a robust code of conduct to protect workers' rights.

1. Basic Components of a Socially Responsible Company by Conrad MacKerron

2. Our Mission Use the power of financial markets to promote positive change in corporate social and environmental policies

3. Shareholder Advocacy – Mobilizing Financial Markets for Social Change Corporate Engagement Shareholder Proposals Proxy Voting

4. Blue Chip Engagement More than 50 corporate engagements moving companies towards greater environmental sustainability and social equity.

5. Traditional Measures of Corporate Responsibility Quality of management Compliance with laws Honest accounting Financial soundness Product quality

6. Two Critical Omissions Environmental Stewardship Human Capital

7. Key Components of Environmental Stewardship Policies and practices to promote: Materials Efficiency Reduced Toxics Reduced Waste Extended Producer Responsibility

8. Key Components of Human Capital Policies and practices to deter Labor Rights Forced Labor Child Labor Slave Labor

9. Apple’s Commitment to As You Sow

10. Best Buy’s Commitment to As You Sow The largest U.S. electronics retailer began to offer electronic waste recycling at all of its 1000+ stores in February They expect to collect 50 million pounds of electronics in 2009

11. Bottle and Can Recycling Coca-Cola agreed to recycle 50% of bottles and cans sold by 2015 Nestle Waters agreed to recycle 60% of plastic bottles sold by 2018

12. CFLs and Mercury In dialogue with GE, Home Depot, Lowe’s and Wal-Mart to encourage: -No worker exposure to mercury at factory level -Labeling on mercury content -Labeling on safe cleanup procedures if bulbs break

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15. Uzbek cotton Every fall, over 1 million Uzbek children are taken out of the classroom and into the fields—by government mandate— to pick cotton. Wal-Mart called for a boycott on Uzbek cotton; Target, Gap Inc., Levi’s & Co., Marks & Spencer, and Tesco have all made public statements and taken steps internally to eliminate Uzbek cotton from their supply chains.

16. Extractives ditto

17. Pros / Cons of Action Build brand value Cost of changing systems

18. Key Take Aways Account for environmental impact of all phases of product life cycle

19. Key Take Aways Develop and implement Code of Conduct to ensure worker’s labor rights

20. Resources Leadership/Company Actions Social and Environmental Policy Consulting Code of Conduct for Uzbekistan For all C&A suppliers the C&A Code of Conduct is binding. It strictly states that child labour is unacceptable for C&A. Already in December 2007 C&A obliged all of its global suppliers in written form not to use cotton fibre from Uzbekistan in the manufacturing of C&A products. Furthermore, C&A has requested all suppliers worldwide to clearly state the origin for cotton fibre which is used within any C&A merchandise.