Social Screening & Advocacy

Boston Common seeks to invest in stocks of companies with good social records and to avoid ones with poor records, following guidelines set by our clients.  We also leverage our clients' rights as shareholders to engage companies on their practices and encourage reform.

Social Screening

• Implement comprehensive or customized social screens for clients' portfolios.
  
• Seek companies with above-average performance and socially- or environmentally-beneficial products and services.
  
• Seek replacements for rejected stocks to maintain the diversification of the portfolio.
  
• Avoid companies that do not meet client product screens and that have histories of poor environmental performance, employment practices, labor relations and human rights records.

Shareholder Advocacy

• Communicate clients' concerns to corporate management to effect change.
  
• Work in coalition with other concerned social investors.
  
• Tactics: direct company dialogue, speaking at annual meetings of shareholders, shareholder proposals, letter writing, surveys and proxy voting.

Global Issues, Global Solutions: Shareholder Advocacy Highlights