UK Church Investor Group to companies: Go green, hire more women, and slash CEO pay

[EmperorScorpious]

[quote]The Church Investors Group has warned some of Britain’s biggest companies [B]it intends to take a hard line on executive pay, gender diversity and climate change[/B] over the forthcoming annual meeting season.

The group, which represents church organisations with [B]combined investment assets of about £17bn, has told companies listed on the FTSE 350 index it will refuse to re-elect directors at firms failing to make sufficient progress in key areas.[/B]

“The best companies contribute to the common good through their products and services and the way they treat their employees,” said the Reverend Canon Edward Carter, chair of the CIG.

“Their directors understand that if they are not doing something about fairness and about the risks facing us today, [B]they are part of the problem and risk losing the confidence of the public and ultimately their licence to operate.”[/B]

The group’s members have invested in [B]companies including Tesco, Royal Dutch Shell, AstraZenca and HSBC. It backs investment policies based on Christian ethical principles and represents institutional investors from mainstream Christian church denominations and charities,[/B] including the main investment bodies of the Church of England and the Methodist Church.[/quote]

[url]https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/feb/07/churches-warn-firms-over-pay-gender-and-climate-change[/url]