Passing It On: Joan Bavaria’s Legacy

Posted on 3 March 2011 by Marcy Murninghan

Over at Ceres, nominations are still open – through next Tuesday, March 8th – for the Joan Bavaria Awards, so it’s a good time to reflect on this extraordinary woman who gave so much to what is now a large and vibrant movement.

Established in 2008, the Joan Bavaria Awards for Building Sustainability into Capital Markets were created by Ceres and Trillium Asset Management “to recognize investors, corporations, and NGOs that have helped move the capital markets from a system focused on short-term profits toward one that balances financial prosperity with social and environmental health.”  Should circumstances warrant, each year, an Impact Award and an Innovator Award goes to an individual or organization that “shares the spirit of collaboration and coalition building demonstrated by Joan Bavaria and the organizations she founded.”  Previous award winners include, in 2009, Murninghan Post Co-Founder and Publisher Emeritus Robert K. Massie, now running for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts; and in 2010, Tim Smith, Senior Vice President at Walden Asset Management, and the Center for Political Accountability.

Please take a moment to reflect, and then submit your suggestions on the Ceres’ website. The 2011 Awards will presented at the May 2011 Ceres Conference in Oakland, California.

Joan’s physical form left us in November 2008, but she lives on in the hearts, minds, and work for thousands of us, each day.  If you don’t know who Joan Bavaria was, you should. Plain as that.  Here’s a glimpse. Continue reading →

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Proxy Resolutions, Shareholder Engagement, and Buggy Whips

Posted on 2 March 2011 by Marcy Murninghan

Part Two of Two Parts

The TakeAway: Shareholder engagement is on the rise, but can benefit from “transmedia mobilization”—that is, a greater understanding, adoption, and experimentation with a range of digital tools, including (but not restricted to) social media.

As we wrote Monday, the rapid proliferation of social media and other digital “technologies of freedom”, as the late, great MIT professor Ithiel de Sola Pool called them, have outpaced the ability of shareowner activists, corporate accountability advocates, company boards and managers to keep up. Meanwhile, proxy voting and corporate engagement are more robust than ever—the latter most often conducted in private, a form of “quiet diplomacy”, as pension giant TIAA-CREF calls it, enabling informed dialogue among investors, board members, and senior executives that boosts value creation. TIAA-CREF isn’t alone: Most company / shareholder engagement remains private, according to the authors of a groundbreaking study on the topic.

Add to the mix various new settlements in cyberspace across various platforms, where an eclectic group of players interact on a regular basis.  Whether through Twitter, LinkedIn, or Facebook, early adaptors are clearing the way for broader, more innovative modes of expression.   Continue reading →

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Proxy Resolutions, Shareholder Engagement, and Buggy Whips

Posted on 28 February 2011 by Marcy Murninghan

Part One of Two Parts

The TakeAway: Proxy resolutions continue to influence corporate behavior on social policy and corporate governance, but proponents need to explore additional forms of engagement, including social media and other digital means.

It’s the day after the Oscars, and whatever you think of the award winners or even the show itself, the event was marked by “two-screen viewing“—that is, simultaneous use of television and social media to enhance the experience.  As more and more people communicate in real time, networks and advertisers are trying to figure out how to capitalize on the phenomenon, which inserts a hyper-fast element into slower-paced programming, something about which Oscar viewers on Twitter repeatedly wrote.  Oscar producers, take note: better make it more snappy next year, or run the risk of losing your audience whose expectations have been raised for better performance via social media.

Moving from Hollywood to Wall Street, a similar message could be directed to corporate accountability and sustainability advocates.  Like check-writing in an electronic banking world, or cassette tapes versus MP3 technology, the use of shareholder resolutions to change corporate behavior now seems slow and musty—particularly with other modes of activism toppling political regimes, from Tunisia to Tripoli.  Yet shareholder democracy – which requires participation, accountability, and representation – is essential to keeping markets honest and efficient, as governance guru Nell Minow (also known as “Movie Mom“) wrote last week in bnet.com.

So how can proxy proponents and others calling for better company / shareholder engagement, like their Oscar telecast brethren, keep up in the digital age as they press for improved corporate accountability and performance—now backed by new laws and regulations requiring both?

That’s what came to mind last week while listening to a pair of well-produced webinars on shareholder engagement and proxy voting. Continue reading →

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Dumb Math and Regulatory Wipeout

Posted on 18 February 2011 by Marcy Murninghan

The TakeAway: House Republicans efforts to reduce the deficit will gut regulation of financial markets and put the nation at risk, so it’s time for investors and the public to fight back.

You’d think that by now, as we try to regain our economic footing in the midst of the Great Recession, with so many people out of work and in horrible financial shape, there would be widespread support for better oversight and regulation of the very financial markets that created this mess.  Or at least support for enacting new rules to clean it up.  But you’d be wrong.  In a stunning reversal of policy making after last year’s historic financial reform, the pendulum has swung back in favor of Wall Street as Congress debates the budget for both the rest of this year and next.  Last night, despite valiant efforts to increase funding for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) – who co-authored the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act – the House voted to cut the SEC’s budget for the remainder of FY 2011.  Today the House will vote on other amendments to H.R. 1, a measure to keep the US government funded and operating past March 4 when current funding expires.

As for fiscal year 2012, on Valentine’s Day the White House proposed a $3.7 trillion federal budget that put forth $1.1 trillion in deficit reductions over 10 years, but added billions for regulatory implementation and enforcement.  House leaders weren’t impressed, declaring it dead on arrival.

Level funding is not an option, says House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio).  “Our goal here is to cut spending. I’m not going to move any kind of short-term [continuing resolution] at current levels,” Speaker Boehner said yesterday.  In addition to cuts affecting the FBI and Head Start are proposals that neuter financial watchdogs – including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) – empowered to protect investors and the general public, thus restoring Wall Street to its glory days of unfettered speculation.

In the name of austerity, these cuts end up restoring power to a handful of oligarchs and shadow financiers that threaten the American way of life.  At a time when Mideast youth are toppling political tyrants, America’s elected officials are delivering us back into the clutches of economic tyrants.

In the memorable words of Talking Heads’ David Byrne, it’s the “same as it ever was”.  That’s why a coalition of activists are calling upon investors and the general public to speak out, letting Congress know that proposed spending cuts within the stopgap 2011 continuing resolution (CR) will cost America much more than they save.

Continue reading →

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Freedom Bytes

Posted on 28 January 2011 by Marcy Murninghan

The TakeAway: President Obama and Mideast protesters relied on digital technologies to change regimes, but beyond campaigns, how can they be used to build sustainable prosperity and justice?

On Wednesday the contrast was stark, as democracy’s rituals – revolution and public reporting – played out at the same time, not just with formal rhetoric, but with Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.  President Barack Obama’s State of the Union (SOTU) address and Egypt’s violent protests capped a day where, aided by social media, the Old Order gave way to the New, blurring distinctions between politics and economics, and ideologies.  Drawing on familiar themes, Obama’s big picture speech cited this generation’s “Sputnik moment”—a level of research and development to restore America’s position in a global economy, enabling us to “out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world”.  “We are a nation of Google and Facebook,” he said, pledging to “connect every part of America to the digital age”.  Meanwhile, young Arabs took to the street, demanding connection to the modern age.

Social media, some say, has come of age.  That’s certainly true for young revolutionaries sick of longstanding political and economic disenfranchisement.   Continue reading →

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Corporate Oligarchs, Politics, and the Common Good

Posted on 21 January 2011 by Marcy Murninghan

The TakeAway: Among other events, this week’s anniversaries of JFK’s inaugural speech and Citizens United call us to fight to elevate conscience over politics and capitalism.

This week juxtaposed statesman service and corporate dominion at a time when oligarchs increasingly control public life, requiring us to rise from our complacency over gains made on sustainable prosperity and justice.

First, the light: Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech, in which he made his abiding call: “Ask not what your country can do for you.  Ask what you can do for your country.”  On Tuesday Sargent Shriver, the epitome of this hope, died, at the age of 95. Shriver was Kennedy’s brother-in-law, one of the last of the New Frontier public servants who, as U2’s Bono wrote in the New York Times, “embodied service and transcended, so often, grave duty”.  As founding director of the Peace Corps and architect of the War on Poverty (which drew, in large measure, from Paul Ylvisaker’s Grey Areas project at the Ford Foundation), Shriver knew what many of us forget: that mirrors must be broken, that it’s better to look at the face of your neighbor than your own. And on Monday, we celebrated the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., and our pledge to uphold simple truths.

But on the other side, darkness looms: Today marks the first anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court Citizens United decision, which turned JFK’s call on its head.  Rather than individuals sacrificing for American ideals, Citizens United sacrifices the political process for corporate ideals. Continue reading →

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Scaling Pains at AccountAbility

Posted on 19 January 2011 by Marcy Murninghan

The TakeAway: AccountAbility Standards Board resigns en masse, while the UK standard-setter for sustainability assurance and stakeholder engagement pledges to stay true to its mission.

Last week, the voluntary Standards Board (SB) at AccountAbility resigned en masse in a letter voicing disappointment over “mission creep”, another seismic shift after the late 2009 departure of founding CEO Simon Zadek, followed by advisor and staff leave-taking throughout 2010.  Last Friday AccountAbility posted an open statement responding to the SB, stating it was going to maintain its core identity.  Late yesterday, AccountAbility provided further information on structure, governance, “profits”, and ownership. Continue reading →

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Bob Massie for U.S. Senate

Posted on 15 January 2011 by Marcy Murninghan

The TakeAway: Our friend and colleague Bob Massie announced his candidacy today to represent Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate—an extension of his lifetime commitment to service.

Bob Massie, co-founder of The Murninghan Post and publisher emeritus, today announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate in Massachusetts.  While we intend to maintain the highest standards of journalistic decorum, we’re thrilled to pieces.  We’ve known Bob for more than 25 years, and can’t think of anyone better suited to represent us – all of us, whatever stripe or size – in the nation’s capital.  As you can tell from recent posts, what happens in politics with a big or little ‘P’ affects just about every aspect of sustainable prosperity and justice.  We’re all in this together, whatever path we take to make a difference.

Why is Bob running?  A full statement appears on his online campaign website, www.bobmassie.org.  “The United States, as it has many times, stands at a crossroads,” he begins.  “Some feel we are facing inevitable decline.  Today we are in danger of losing our way…. We have many problems that require careful consideration – how to reinvigorate our economy, revive our education, and provide for citizens who have been struck down by misfortune – but we will not make progress unless we restore our ability to dream dreams.” Continue reading →

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Tone at the Top: Rebooting Democracy’s Dialogue

Posted on 13 January 2011 by Marcy Murninghan

The TakeAway: We must hold lawmakers accountable to high standards of statecraft, just as we hold ourselves accountable when engaging on ‘hot button’ issues such as corporate accountability, sustainability, and human rights.

It was a high-minded day.  Following a Native American blessing and other remarks, last night President Obama called for civility and national unity at the memorial service for Tucson’s shooting victims.  Earlier, Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) gave an emotional speech on the House floor after introducing a resolution honoring those who were killed or wounded, and called upon the membership to “carry on a dialogue of democracy”.  One by one, members of Congress rose to pay tribute to their colleague Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) who continued to fight for her life.  On Tuesday, President Clinton said the tone of political debate must change.

While these are sincere and heartfelt statements about collective aspirations and commitments, they’re undermined by Congressional images and vocabulary.  Despite calls for civility, some House leaders responsible for financial reform, climate policy, health care, and other critical problems continue to use incitive sound bites.  Since taking over last week, the House has turned up the rhetorical heat at a time when cooler heads and bipartisan problem solving must prevail.  It’s time for Congress to abandon polarizing language and restore decency and integrity to the business of statecraft.  It’s also time for us to hold them accountable, just as we hold ourselves accountable through stakeholder engagement on controversial topics affecting corporate accountability, sustainability, human rights, and other issues where reasonable people disagree. Continue reading →

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Dead Hands and Invisible Hands

Posted on 6 January 2011 by Marcy Murninghan

The TakeAway: The 112th Congress, mindful of the values that underlie the whole Constitution, needs to face up to its responsibility to make policies that advance the common good and a sustainable future.

This morning, for the first time ever on the floor of the full House, the U.S. Constitution was read in its entirety—a laudable event if it means that the new Congress understands what’s in it and behaves accordingly.  Let’s hope the newly-elected members, especially Tea Partiers, take a purposeful, pragmatic view of their job and put away childish things.  By “childish things” I mean dead hands and invisible hands, symbols bespeaking Tea Party and conservative Republican anger over federal overreach.

Their “dead hand” interpretation of the Constitution is driven by anger over health care reform; their “invisible hand” philosophy of unregulated markets was rocked by the passage of financial reform.  But the nation’s problems have gotten so great that Congress needs to be creative, not creationist. Continue reading →

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