Resolves of the Executive Council

Resolved, That the Executive Council, meeting in New Orleans from Jan. 17-21, 2000, instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all shareholder resolutions filed by the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society during the current shareholder season; and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all shareholder resolutions similar to those approved by Council (a) for filing during the 1997 and/or 1998 and/or 1999 shareholder seasons and/or (b) for affirmative proxy votes during its February 1998 or February 1999 meetings (based on the 1997 Council resolution requiring Council approval to file or to vote for a particular resolution only once during this triennium). These resolutions cover the following social issue areas and topics:

Environment

Endorsement of the CERES Principles

Issue reports on the effects of the company's business activities on climate change

Creation of international environmental standards

Issue a public education report on PCBs in the Hudson River

Phase out the use of chlorinated paper or compounds

Report on the release or creation of dioxin and other toxics

Report on liabilities associated with Superfund (and other hazardous waste) sites

Review corporate pollution prevention options

Equality

Adoption of policies on board diversity

Issuance of an EEO-1 report

Global Corporate Accountability

Review (or create) and report on the administration of contract supplier/vendor standards (including reviews of actions to ensure that corporate suppliers do not use forced labor, prison labor, or illegal child labor)

Make all lawful efforts to implement the MacBride Principles on equal employment opportunity in Northern Ireland

Report on the costs of doing business in Burma

Review and amend corporate codes or standards for all international operations

Review of standards for maquiladora operations

Review and report on Nigerian operations

Fair Lending

Adoption of an equal credit opportunity policy, with annual reporting to shareholders

Adopt a policy on predatory lending

Health

Adopt a smoke free portfolio policy (life insurance company)

Report on offsets tobacco

Militarism and Violence Prevention

Development of ethical criteria for arms sales

Reports on foreign military sales; and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote "abstain" on all shareholder resolutions for which it has voted to "abstain" previously in this triennium. These resolutions cover the following social issue areas and topics:

Environment

Halting export of nuclear reactors

Refusing use of plutonium in commercial nuclear reactors

Decommissioning nuclear power plants; and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all shareholder resolutions asking companies to adopt policies on the use of renewable sources of energy, based on General Convention policy statements on environmental policy (General Convention 1991 A195s) and Executive Council's support of resolutions asking companies to endorse the CERES Principles (one of the CERES Principles is "sustainable use of natural resources") (See Att. 1); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all shareholder resolutions asking companies operating in China to link executive compensation with social performance (Executive Council 2/95), based on the church's long-standing support in favor of such corporate governance resolutions. (Executive Council is being asked to approve an affirmative vote for this resolution in 2000 because it approved an abstain vote for a different resolution to the same company in 1999; that resolution asked Boeing to adopt contract supplier standards based on concerns about its Chinese operations. The resolution being filed this year is both more temperate in tone and consistent with the church's support of shareholder resolutions seeking to link social performance with executive compensation. The SRI Committee also voted to send a copy of the resolution to the Chinese Christian Council with an explanation of the recommendation.) (See Att. 2); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all shareholder resolutions asking companies to adopt policies on (1) debt cancellation for and (2) new lending to HIPC (highly indebted poor countries) countries, based on the General Convention resolution (1997, D015a) supporting debt relief (See Att. 3); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all shareholder resolutions asking companies to adopt policies of restraint on drug pricing, based on General Convention (1991, A059a) and Executive Council (11/95) resolutions that express concerns about access related to health care (The Social Responsibility in Investments Committee is of the opinion that drug pricing is an access-to-health care issue.) (See Att. 4); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote "abstain" on all shareholder resolutions relating to the development, use, or sale of genetically engineered foods, based on a lack of church policy on such issues (See Att. 5-6).