August 31, 2011, Elgin, Ill. - Energy company ConocoPhillips
recently announced that it revised its Human Rights Position to
specifically address and honor the rights of indigenous peoples in
areas where the company conducts its business. Stakeholders, led by
Church of the Brethren Benefit Trust and Boston Common Asset
Management, have worked closely with the company on this issue and
applaud the company for this important public statement in support of
the rights of indigenous peoples. ConocoPhillips' Human Rights
Position now states that the company's approach to indigenous
communities in locations where they are an important stakeholder group
for the company's operations "is consistent with the
principles of the International Labour Organization Convention 169,
concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, and the United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples."The
multi-billion dollar oil company is one of the first energy companies
to adopt such a commitment. "ConocoPhillips positions itself as
a leader among its peers by publicly affirming the human rights of
indigenous peoples," said Steve Mason, director of BBT's
socially responsible investing initiatives.
"We, the stakeholders, have appreciated the opportunity to work
with the company and to offer our perspective for the company's
consideration. We also affirm the company's willingness to
engage the stakeholders and to consider our perspective."
Dialog and meetings, not shareholder resolutions, prove to be
beneficial to the outcome
As a ConocoPhillips shareholder, BBT and the manager of those shares,
Boston Common, have been working on this issue since 2003, when BBT
was a shareholder of a company that ConocoPhillips later purchased in
2006. In 2007 and 2008, BBT was the lead filer of a shareholder
resolution with ConocoPhillips for a group of more than a dozen
shareholders that urged the company to include the rights of
indigenous peoples in its human rights policy. BBT initially pursued
another shareholder resolution in 2009, but that resolution was later
withdrawn because of the company's willingness to engage in
meaningful dialog with stakeholders, including BBT and other
shareholders, Boston Common, and advocacy groups, such as Amazon
Watch.
Since 2008, ConocoPhillips representatives have met many times with
stakeholders, both in Houston and in New York as well as by conference
call. Stakeholders have attended each of the company's annual
shareholder meetings in Houston, keeping the issue in front of senior
management and the board by offering comments and asking questions at
each meeting. Steve Mason, representing BBT, spoke on this issue at
the 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 meetings.
The statement supporting the rights of indigenous peoples, which was
approved by Chairman Jim Mulva and the ConocoPhillips board, was
facilitated by active and positive dialog between ConocoPhillips
executives and representatives of interested stakeholders like BBT.
This conversational approach to facilitating change is a major step in
the direction of corporate transparency and shareholder dialog for
ConocoPhillips.
"Boston Common sees ConocoPhillips as an industry leader by
incorporating ILO 169 and the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples into its corporate human rights policies,"
said Steven Heim, a managing director of Boston Common Asset
Management. "BBT and Boston Common's deliberative and
constructive engagement with ConocoPhillips has paid off. We encourage
ConocoPhillips to fully and transparently implement a free, prior, and
informed consent policy globally, like its pledge for indigenous
communities in Peru. If the company both consults and integrates the
views and aspirations of indigenous communities in development
decisions, we believe - in the long term - it will help
ConocoPhillips maintain its social license to operate and therefore
gain access to new reserves."
U.N. statement on indigenous peoples demands "the right to full
enjoyment"
The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,
which was adopted by the General Assembly in 2007, includes 46
articles of conduct that address matters such as land ownership
(including the right to seek compensation for territories that were
seized in the past), political representation, cultural preservation
rights, and more.
Similarly, the Convention Concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in
Independent Countries, which was adopted by the General Conference of
the International Labour Organization in 1989, encourages the adoption
of a litany of rights related to land, government protection, and
self-expression.
BBT's socially responsible investing program includes active
engagement with companies
BBT is the financial services agency of the Church of the Brethren. It
oversees the management of assets invested in Brethren Pension Plan
and with Brethren Foundation. In addition to pursuing change through
shareholder engagement, such as the work done with ConocoPhillips,
BBT's SRI program also screens out companies that are in
conflict with positions of the Church of the Brethren as presented in
Annual Conference statements and offers a community-building
investment option for its members.
Source: 9/9/2011 Newsline
