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)