Christian Brothers Investment Services Leads Investor Coalition to Encourage Governor's Support of California Supply Chain Transparency Bill

NEW YORK, Sept. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Christian Brothers Investment Services (CBIS), a leader in socially responsible investing (SRI) for Catholic institutions with offices in New York, Chicago and San Francisco, has sent a letter to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger encouraging him to sign SB 657, a bill that, if enacted, would require retailers and manufacturers doing business in California to disclose their efforts to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from their direct supply chain. Human rights, slavery and human trafficking are key issues for CBIS, which supports transparency and disclosure of supply chain risks.

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The letter to Gov. Schwarzenegger includes 32 signatories representing research firms, institutional investors and faith-based investors, including members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR). The signatories have a total of $40 billion in assets under management.

The California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010 (SB 657) recently passed the California Senate and Assembly. The Governor has until the end of September to sign or veto the bill.

If signed, the bill will impact approximately 3,200 global companies with revenues of more than $100 million each. It will require companies to publicly disclose on their website what policies they have in place to ensure that their supply chains are free of slavery and trafficking, including the extent to which the company:

• Utilizes third-party verification to evaluate and address human trafficking and slavery risks in direct product supply chains;
• Conducts independent, unannounced audits of suppliers to ensure compliance with company standards on trafficking and slavery; and
• Maintains internal accountability for employees and contractors failing to meet company standards.  

"This bill reflects the realities of the marketplace, which increasingly requires that companies be sensitive to social and ethical issues, including labor and supply chains, and create human rights policies as well as processes to evaluate, monitor and strengthen those policies," said Julie Tanner, Assistant Director of Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) at CBIS.

"As shareholders and investment analysts who have worked for many years with corporations to adopt codes of conduct that establish rules for respecting basic human rights in the workplace, the availability of information like that requested in SB 657 is critical to our business and is valuable to our evaluation of a company's risks and opportunities. Lack of attention to these issues can lead to business interruptions, negative publicity, public protests and a loss of consumer trust, all of which can impact shareholder value," said Ms. Tanner.

"The requirements in SB 657 are very much in line with the recommendations of Professor John Ruggie, UN Special Representative for Business and Human Rights, which were adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in June 2008," said Rev. David M. Schilling, program director of human rights at the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility. "In order for companies to demonstrate respect for human rights, they need to implement 'human rights due diligence processes' that include a policy stating the company's commitment to respect human rights; assessing actual and potential human rights impacts; integrating these commitments into internal oversight systems and monitoring and reporting on performance."

"I agree with the late Neil Kearney, that if you can't afford to do business ethically, you can't afford to do business," states Julia Ormond, Founder and President of the Alliance to Stop Slavery and End Trafficking.  Ms. Ormond, who is also a Former United Nations Goodwill Ambassador Against Slavery and Human Trafficking, added that "today's supply chains are extremely complex.  This bill is a small but crucial step, enabling the consumer and investor to support companies who are doing what they can, and encourages all of us to expand what we can do.  If we can have dolphin-safe tuna, why can't we have slavery-free goods?"

SB 657 has received support from the California Consumer Federation, the California Catholic Conference and numerous human rights organizations, including the Alliance to Stop Slavery and End Trafficking (ASSET) and the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST).

While opponents of the bill have expressed concern about the level and difficulty of disclosure, Ms. Tanner pointed out that progressive companies have been disclosing this type of information for many years. These companies include apparel companies, manufacturers and retailers such as The Gap, Nike, Target, Walmart, Disney, Levi's and Tiffany & Co, several of which have headquarters in California.

The CBIS letter points out, "In addition to helping shareholders and consumers make investment and purchasing decisions, many companies have found this type of reporting to be helpful not only in uncovering human rights issues that have the potential to impact their reputations, but also in revealing opportunities for improvement in their supply chains."

It also notes that assistance in collecting and reporting the information requested in SB 657 is available from several multi-stakeholder initiatives, including The Global Reporting Initiative, The Forest Footprint Disclosure Project, the Electronics Industry Citizenship Coalition and the Responsible Sourcing Network.

"Investors and other stakeholders are increasingly calling for information from companies related to their supply chains in order to help them make better choices in investing and purchasing. This letter encourages Governor Schwarzenegger to support investors, companies and workers by signing SB 657," said Ms. Tanner.

The full text of the letter can be viewed at the CBIS website (www.cbisonline.com).

For more information on CBIS, or to speak with Julie Tanner, please contact Carol Graumann at 973-732-3521 or [email protected].

About Christian Brothers Investment Services

Christian Brothers Investment Services, Inc. (CBIS) is a leader in Catholic socially responsible investing (SRI) with approximately $3.6 billion in AUM for more than 1,000 Catholic institutions worldwide, including dioceses, religious institutes, educational institutions and health care organizations. CBIS' combination of premier institutional asset managers, diversified product offerings, and careful risk-control strategies constitutes a unique investment approach for Catholic institutions and their fiduciaries. CBIS strives to integrate faith-based values into the investment process through a disciplined approach to socially responsible investing that includes principled purchasing (stock screens), active ownership strategies (proxy voting, dialogues, and shareholder resolutions) and community investment. Visit CBIS at www.cbisonline.com.

About the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR)

For nearly 40 years the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) has been a leader of the corporate social responsibility movement. ICCR's membership is an association of 275 faith-based institutional investors, including national denominations, religious communities, pension funds, foundations, hospital corporations, economic development funds, asset management companies, colleges, and unions. Each year ICCR-member religious institutional investors sponsor over 200 shareholder resolutions on major social and environmental issues.

SOURCE Christian Brothers Investment Services