BP

‘Consistent
with its obligation to act in the best interest
of the fund, the trustee supports a bias towards
investments in companies with positive social,
environmental and ethical policies. This is
consistent with the stance taken by BP in respect
of these matters and reflects the view that
such companies can be reasonably expected to
deliver superior financial performance over
the longer term. The trustee has therefore delegated
to the investment manager responsibility for
taking into account when assessing the financial
potential and suitability of investments and
for exercising the rights (including voting
rights) attaching to the Fund’s investments.”
(Coles and Green, 2002)

USS

“As
an institutional investor that takes seriously
its fiduciary obligations to its members, the
trustee company aims to be an active and responsible
long-term shareholder of companies and markets
in which it invests. The trustee company pursues
this policy in order to protect and enhance
the value of the fund’s investments by encouraging
responsible corporate behaviour.

“The
trustee company therefore requires its fund
managers to pay appropriate regard to relevant
corporate governance, social, ethical and environmental
considerations in the selection, retention and
realization of all fund investments. The management
committee expects this to be done in a manner
which is consistent with the trustee company’s
investment objectives and legal duties.

“The
management committee has instructed its internal
fund managers and called on its external managers
to focus their effort on the engagement option,
and thus seeks to use its influence as a major
institutional investor to promote good practice
by investee companies and by markets to which
the fund is particularly exposed.

“The
management committee expects the scheme’s
fund managers to undertake appropriate monitoring
of the policies and practices on material corporate
governance and social, ethical and environmental
issues of current and potential investee companies.

“The
aim of such monitoring should be to identify
problems at an early stage, and enable engagement
with management to see appropriate resolution
of such problems. The trustee company will use
voting rights as part of this engagement strategy,
where voting should be undertaken in a prioritized,
value-adding and informed manner. Where collaboration
is likely to be the most effective mechanism
for encouraging company management to address
these issues appropriately, the trustee company
expects its fund managers to participate in
joint action with other institutional investors.

“The
investment committee monitors this engagement
on an on-going basis with the aim of maximizing
its impact and effectiveness. The trustee company’s
governance, social, ethical and environmental
policies are also reviewed regularly by the
management committee and, where appropriate,
updated to ensure that they are in line with
good practice for pension funds in particular,
and institutional investors in general.”
(www.usshq.co.uk)