Resolves of the Executive Council

Resolved, That the Executive Council, meeting in Parsippany, New Jersey from February 5-9,2001, 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 substantively the same to those approved by Council for filing during the 2000 shareholder season (based on the 2000 Council resolution requiring Council approval to file or to vote for a particular resolution only once during this triennium). These resolutions cover the following areas: endorsement of the CERES Principles, adoption of policies on board diversity, issuance of an EEO-1 report, creation of either contract supplier standards or global human rights standards for a company's operations (including the use of forced and/or child labor), reporting on policies to prevent predatory lending, and issuance of a report on military offsets; and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all shareholder resolutions asking companies to issue reports on the effects of their business activities on climate change (based on the Executive Council global environmental crisis resolution of 1989 and the previous filing of such resolutions by the Episcopal Church) (Att. 1); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all shareholder resolutions asking companies to disclose the costs of delay of cleaning up PCBs in the Hudson River (based on a variety of resolutions supporting environmental responsibility and reporting, including the 1993 Executive Council resolution supporting endorsement of the CERES Principles) (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 a non-toxic chemicals policy (based on long standing policies on environmental stewardship) (Att. 3); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all shareholder resolutions asking companies to phase out the use of chlorinated paper (based on long standing policies on environmental stewardship) (Att. 4); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all shareholder resolutions asking companies to prepare reports on the effects of drilling in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (based on General Convention resolution D125 of 1991, opposing the development of this region for oil exploration) (Att. 5); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all shareholder resolutions requesting that companies make all lawful efforts to implement the MacBride Principles on equal employment opportunity in Northern Ireland (based on the Executive Council resolution of November 1994) (Att. 6); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all shareholder resolutions asking companies to review their involvement in the Chad-Cameroon pipeline project and to develop criteria for further involvement (based on (1) various Executive Council and General Convention resolutions regarding environmental responsibility and (2) General Convention resolution A002 of 2000, asking the church to adopt and implement ethical principles for international development) (Att. 7); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all shareholder resolutions asking financial companies to avoid underwriting and securitizing predatory loans (based on this Executive Council's approval of the predatory lending practices resolution for filing during this triennium) (Att. 8); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all shareholder resolutions asking drug companies to adopt a policy of restraint on drug pricing (based on the Church's long-standing concern about issues related to access to health care, including General Convention resolution A059a of 1997 and the Executive Council resolution of 11/95) (Att. 9); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all shareholder resolutions asking restaurant chains to adopt policies making all of their facilities smoke free (based on the (1) Executive Council resolution of 6/90 mandating no investments in tobacco stocks and (2) General Convention resolution D001 of 2000, asking that all interior public spaces under Episcopal Church jurisdiction be declared "tobacco-free zones" (Att. 10); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all shareholder resolutions asking insurance and healthcare companies not to invest in companies that manufacture tobacco products (based on the Executive Council resolution of 6/90 and the Episcopal Church's historical support for and filing of such resolutions) (Att. 11); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all shareholder resolutions asking for the adoption of ethical criteria for military contracting activities (based on General Convention resolutions A104a and D019a of 1994, in addition to the Episcopal Church's historical support for and filing of such resolutions) (Att. 12); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all shareholder resolutions asking for reports on involvement in the development of ballistic missile defense or space-based weaponization systems (based on General Convention resolution D022s of 1997) (Att. 13); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all shareholder resolutions asking multi-purpose retailers to return all current inventories of handguns and their accompanying ammunition to their manufacturers (based on General Convention resolutions D019a of 1994, C035s of 1997, and both B007 and D004 of 2000) (Att. 14); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote "abstain" on all shareholder resolutions asking companies to report on, not market or distribute, or phase out the use of genetically-modified foods (there is no church policy on this matter) (Att. 15-17); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote "abstain" on all shareholder resolutions requesting that companies report on (1) the number of persons employed with disabilities and (2) their policies to ensure non-discrimination against persons with disabilities (although this is a worthy resolution topic and the Episcopal Church is on record in support of equality in employment for persons with disabilities, companies are not required to collect this data under the Americans with Disabilities Act, making the intent of the resolution difficult if not impossible for companies to fulfill) (Att. 18).