Resolves of the Executive Council

Resolved, That the Executive Council, meeting in San Antonio, Texas from February 22 to 25, 2002, Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking companies to report on how they will promote renewable energy sources (based on long-standing policies on environmental stewardship and on General Convention resolution A048 of 2000, which encourages the church to choose environmentally sustainable energy sources when possible); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking companies to prepare a report on the feasibility of adopting a policy, implementing programs, and auditing progress of producer responsibility for the environmental impact of their products (based on long-standing policies on environmental stewardship, and General Convention resolution A0142 of 1994 regarding hazardous chemicals); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking companies to adopt a comprehensive recycling strategy (based on long-standing policies on environmental stewardship and General Convention resolution A041 of 1997, which expresses support for recycling by the Episcopal Church in its own activities); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking companies to issue a Glass Ceiling report on efforts to remove impediments to the career advancement of women and people of color (based on the church’s support for and filing of shareholder resolutions with regard to diversity and equal employment opportunity, and also on General Convention resolution A091 of 1991 on the United Nations Statement on Discrimination Against Women); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking companies to report on their efforts to identify and disassociate from any offensive imagery to the American Indian community in products, advertising, endorsements, sponsorships and promotions (based on General Convention resolution D053 of 1997, which opposes the exploitive use of Native American symbols in advertising); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking companies to use their positions as majority shareholders in companies to encourage those companies to phase out or significantly reduce their use of water from the Navajo Aquifer as soon as reasonably practicable (based on this church’s general support for Native American rights and on long-standing policies on environmental stewardship and on General Convention resolution B007 of 1985, which request church-wide advocacy of Native American rights); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking companies to amend their written equal employment opportunity policies to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and to substantially implement those policies (based on General Convention resolutions calling for equal protection under the law for homosexuals); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking companies to make all lawful efforts to implement and/or increase activity on a set of principles designed to increase rights for workers in the People's Republic of China (based on the church’s support for various efforts to increase respect for human rights internationally, its support for shareholder resolutions on fair treatment of employees, prohibiting the use of forced labor, and implementing international human rights standards, and General Convention resolution A002 of 2000, asking the church to adopt and implement ethical principles for international development); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking companies to develop policies on money laundering (although there is no specific church policy on money laundering, the church’s general support for responsible activities by financial institutions, in addition to General Convention resolution A002 of 2000, makes support of this resolution possible); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking companies to develop and implement a policy to provide pharmaceuticals for the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria in ways that the majority of infected persons in African nations can afford (based on General Convention resolution A051 of 2000 on the topic of HIV/AIDS medicines); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking hospital companies to adopt a policy of phasing out the use of mercury-containing devices (based on the church’s general support for environmental stewardship and responsibility); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking companies to no longer bid on contracts to produce components of nuclear weapons or their delivery systems and to take steps to disengage from current or proposed contracts for the production or maintenance of such product (based on General Convention resolution D022 of 1997, supporting the goal of total nuclear disarmament); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking companies to invest resources to build new electrical generation from solar and wind power sources (although the resolution addresses a worthy goal, there is no clear church policy on this issue and the request in the resolution to achieve 20 percent of generation capacity from “clean renewable sources” may not be attainable); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking companies to report on the environmental and social impacts of development (there is no church policy on this matter); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions asking companies to assess their role in nuclear power (there is no church policy on this matter); and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in favor of all resolutions substantially the same as those approved by Council for filing or affirmative proxy votes during the present triennium. These resolutions cover the following areas:

Environment: endorsement of the CERES Principles, creation of a global warming report, disclose costs of delay of cleaning up PCBs in the Hudson River, adoption of a non-toxic chemicals policy, phase out the use of chlorinated paper, report on the effects of drilling in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Equality: adoption of policies on board diversity, issuance of an EEO-1 report, implement the MacBride Principles on equal employment opportunity in Northern Ireland

Global corporate accountability: creation of either contract supplier standards or global human rights standards for a company’s operations (including the use of forced or child labor)

Fair lending: report on policies to prevent predatory lending

Militarism: report on military offsets, militarization of space; and be it further

Resolved, That the Council instruct the Treasurer to vote in abstention on all resolutions for which such a vote was approved by Council previously in the present triennium. These resolutions address the following topic: reporting on, not marketing or distributing, or phasing out the use of genetically modified foods.