Resolves of the Executive Council

Resolved, That the Executive Council, meeting in Portland, Oregon from March 2 to 4, 2007, instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking companies for a report on how they will respond to the rising regulatory, competitive, and public pressure to reduce the emission of toxic chemicals (based on long-standing policies on environmental stewardship and various environmental resolutions favoring reporting on such topics) (Att. 1); and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council instructs the Treasurer to vote in favor of resolutions asking companies to report on which product lines or categories sold may be affected by new cosmetics safety legislation and consumer trends (based on long-standing policies on environmental stewardship, resolution A042 of the 1994 General Convention regarding alternatives to hazardous chemicals, and previous proxy votes on similar topics) (Att. 2); and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions to asking companies to report on the potential from environmental damage from oil drilling in the Alaskan Arctic (based on resolution D125 of the 1991 General Convention opposing such drilling) (Att. 3); and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council instructs the Treasurer to vote in favor of resolutions asking companies to report on efforts to improve energy efficiency (based on long-standing policies on environmental stewardship and resolution A048 of the 2000 General Convention) (Att. 4-5); and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council instructs the Treasurer to vote in favor of resolutions asking companies to report on the adequacy of host country laws and regulations with respect to their adequacy to protect human health, the environment and the company’s reputation based on long-standing policies on environmental stewardship and the filing of previous resolutions on related topics) (Att. 6); and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council instructs the Treasurer to vote in favor of resolutions asking companies to report on greenhouse gas emissions, efforts at emissions reduction, or to issue a climate change report (based on resolution B002 or the 2006 General Convention) (Att. 7-8); and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking companies to review and improve comprehensive recycling strategies (based on long-standing policies on environmental stewardship and various environmental resolutions favoring reporting on such topics, in addition to General Convention resolution A044 of 2000 on environmentally-sound practices at church meetings) (Att. 9-10); and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council instructs the Treasurer to vote in favor of resolutions asking companies to remediate environmental damage near their plants (based on long-standing policies on environmental stewardship and previous votes on similar issues) (Att. 11); and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions to prepare a report explaining how the company will increase renewable energy sources (based on General Convention resolutions and A048 of 2000 and the previous Executive Council’s filing of such resolutions) (Att. 12); and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions requesting the issuance of a sustainability report (based on resolution D066 of the 2003 General Convention and resolution A002 of the 2000 General Convention) (Att. 13); and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council, instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking electronics companies for a report on how they will reduce the use of toxic materials (based on long-standing policies on environmental stewardship and various environmental resolutions favoring reporting on such topics) (Att. 14); and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking companies to report on the effects of the Bhopal disaster (based on long-standing policies on environmental stewardship and various environmental resolutions favoring reporting on such topics) (Att. 15); and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council, instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking companies to adopt policies regarding human rights and vendor standards (based on resolution A002 of the 2000 General Convention and the previous Executive Council’s filing of such resolutions ) (Att. 16-17); and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking companies to adopt the MacBride Principles regarding fair employment in Northern Ireland (based on the Executive Council resolution of November 1994) (Att. 18); and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions requesting the adoption of a sexual-orientation non-discrimination policy (based on the Executive Council resolution of November 1995 on equality in organizations and resolution C019 on the 1994 General Convention on equality under the law for homosexuals) (Att. 19); and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council instructs the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking companies to report on foreign military sales (based on resolution D187 of the 1991 General Convention and the previous Executive Council’s filing of such resolutions) (Att. 20); and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions requesting that companies adopt a policy to report annually to shareholders in a separate report on corporate resources devoted to supporting political entities or candidates on both state and federal levels (although there is no specific policy regarding this resolution, the SRI Committee believes that the resolution can be supported on good-government grounds) (Att. 21); and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council instructs the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking computer-related companies to establish a human rights committee (this resolution focuses on internet censorship, a topic for which there is no Episcopal Church policy, but the SRI Committee is of the opinion that this resolution is similar to other resolutions on human rights that have been supported in previous proxy votes) (Att. 22); and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council instructs the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking companies to report on policies that are in place to safeguard against the provision of any financial services for any corporate or individual clients that enables capital flight and results in tax avoidance (although there is no Episcopal Church policy on this issue, the SRI Committee is of the opinion that this resolution consistent with responsible management practices) (Att. 23); and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council, instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking companies to adopt policies regarding the appropriate dating of stock options (although there is no specific Episcopal Church policy on this issue, the SRI Committee is of the opinion that this is consistent with good corporate governance) (Att. 24); and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council, instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking companies to adopt policies separating the CEO and Chair of the Board of Directors positions (although there is no specific Episcopal Church policy on this issue, the SRI Committee is of the opinion that this is consistent with good corporate governance) (Att. 25); and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council instructs the Treasurer to vote “in favor of” on all resolutions asking companies to amend animal care and use policies in animal testing of pharmaceuticals. (Although there is no Episcopal Church policy on animal testing per se, it is in accord with church policies opposing cruelty to animals) (Att. 26); and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council, instructs the Treasurer to vote “abstain” on all resolutions asking companies to report on the ethical issues related to disclosing information pertaining to customers when a government agency requests it without a court order (there is no Episcopal Church policy in this area) (Att. 27); and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council instruct the Treasurer to vote “against” on all resolutions asking companies to divest movie producing businesses because of tobacco use in movies (the SRI Committee is of the opinion that although there is church policy opposing tobacco use, this resolution is too remote from the actual issue of tobacco use and too close to censorship to merit support) (Att. 28).