VideoCorporate Political Responsibility Taskforce

Is It Possible to Represent Shareholder Voice?

Jonas Kron of Trillium Asset Management

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On February 16, 2023, we spoke with Jonas Kron of Trillium Asset Management to explore “The Paradoxes of Shareholder Voice: CPR & the Investment Manager Perspective.”

Amidst the current debate about ESG and impact investing, fund managers are taking a deeper look at the political activities of the companies they invest in. Some push companies into active advocacy. Others focus on ensuring that political influences are not adding risk, or insisting that firms stay out of politics altogether. Yet all of these strategies raise enormous practical questions.

In this module, we explore:

  • When companies get political they are encroaching on civil society and the processes of democracy?
  • Should companies refrain from exercising influence altogether?

The Corporate Political Responsibility Taskforce (CPRT)’s Expert Dialogues are in-depth, recorded conversations with academic experts, stakeholder advocates and business practitioners to provide our members and other CPR champions with the expertise and context they need to develop principled, proactive CPR strategies. We invite those interested in a constructive, non-partisan, principles-based discussion.

Jonas Kron, Esq. is Trillium Asset Management's Chief Advocacy Officer. With more than 20 years of experience in shareholder advocacy, Jonas is responsible for leading and coordinating Trillium’s extensive advocacy program, which works to engage companies on their environmental and social performance.

The full transcript for this module is available here

Keywords: #CorporatePoliticalResponsibility #Democracy #CivicRestoration #PoliticalInfluence #CorporatePoliticalInfluence #ImpactInvesting #ShareholderVoice

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BookHarvard Business Review Press

Introduces the concept of “net positive advocacy,” which involves working with partners to advocate for policy that supports systemic solutions and net positive outcomes for all competitors. This requires courage and a shift in mindset, but actually helps de-risk both sustainable business strategies AND political interactions for companies. Their Readiness Test tool provides a useful conversation starter about the change in mindset required.  

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ReportWorld Resources Institute

As companies face increased pressure to advocate publicly for robust climate policies, this WRI report outlines three internal and four external barriers, including org charts and quarterly reports as well as trade associations and political winds, that present the biggest hurdles to implementation, and suggests ways to overcome them.

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WebsiteWorld Benchmarking Alliance

This framework is developed through a multi-stakeholder process and designed to gauge company progress against the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It provides succinct definitions for various core social indicators (CSIs), as well as a rubric to gauge company performance regarding these indicators. CSI 18 is their standard for responsible lobbying and political engagement, drawing from the Transparency International principles.

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ArticleHarvard Business Review

This article introduces the concept of “net positive advocacy,” which involves working with partners to advocate for policy that supports systemic solutions and net positive outcomes for all competitors. This requires courage and a shift in mindset, but actually helps de-risk both sustainable business strategies AND political interactions for companies. Their Readiness Test tool provides a useful conversation starter about the change in mindset required. 

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ReportWBCSD

This guide outlines nine clear pathways—like net-zero emissions, circular economy, and inclusive societies—across key sectors including energy, mobility, food, and manufacturing, providing businesses a strategic roadmap to embed sustainability in governance and operations for a thriving 2050 within planetary limits.

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ReportWBCSD

In a major refresh of its Vision 2050, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development argues that the decade ahead is critical if we are to achieve “9+ billion people living well within planetary boundaries.” They highlight the need to shift political and economic incentives that push companies into short-term behaviors that undermine societal or environmental systems, and propose a new CPR-driven mindset where firms align all policy influence activities to purpose statements and sustainability goals, partner to generate new policy ideas and help ensure relevant stakeholders are at the table.

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ReportThe Conference Board

A robust overview of current legal landscape for corporate political activity. It highlights the reputational and other risks companies need to manage, and the need for oversight and transparency to govern political spending.

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