Shareholder Advocacy
From income inequality to human rights to climate change – corporations have a significant role in the United States. Their actions can either move the needle in a positive direction or create a negative ripple effect with the potential to damage our society for generations.
We believe that, through shareholder advocacy, it’s our duty and responsibility to hold organizations accountable and encourage them to shore up their processes to create a brighter future for all.
Azzad engages in shareholder advocacy on behalf of our clients because we aren’t only building portfolios, we’re making a collective impact by working together.
Click here for our recent work on Palestine.
Corporations have a role to play in some of the most significant challenges in the United States – from income inequality to climate change. We believe that is our duty to encourage these corporations to act more responsibly in those instances where they fall short. Azzad engages in shareholder advocacy on behalf of our clients. including proxy voting. filing resolutions and engagement with management.
RECENT CORPORATE ENGAGEMENTS
Apple Inc. – Successfully compelled the technology firm to disclose more information around censorship in the Chinese App Store so investors could see which apps had been removed and why
Chevron – Convinced company to exit Myanmar amid ethnic cleansing of Rohingya minority, secured humanitarian donations to relief organizations earmarked for Rohingya in Bangladesh
Alphabet (Google) – Successfully worked to stop implementation of a censored search engine in China. Project Dragonfly. that could target religious and ethnic minorities
Booz Allen Hamilton – Compelled company to publicize human rights policy and to undertake a human rights audit after reporting that the company assisted in war crimes in Yemen
NEW FOR 2023
Thermo Fisher Inc. – Flied shareholder proposal calling for a human rights impact assessment concerning sales of DNA harvesting kits to Chinese law enforcement
Microsoft Corporation – Filed shareholder proposal calling on company’s board to issue a report on the material risks of its ChatGPT artificial intelligence technology facilitating misinformation and disinformation during the 2024 US elections
Proxy Voting Guidelines
According to US SIF’s 2020 Trends Report, sustainable investing in the United States continues to expand at a healthy pace. The total US-domiciled assets under management using sustainable investing strategies grew from $12.0 trillion at the start of 2018 to $17.1 trillion at the start of 2020, an increase of 42 percent. This represents 33 percent, or one in three dollars, of the $51.4 trillion in total US assets under professional management. Azzad’s ethically screened investments are part of this fast-growing trend.
