The Magazine of Corporate Responsibility

Tag Archive for ‘U.S. Chamber of Commerce’

SEC Approves Proxy Access for Shareholders

Given the green light by Congress, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved and released a long-awaited rule on procedures under which shareholders can get their nominees for directors included in corporate proxy materials. Under the new rule, shareholders seeking access to proxies would have to own at least 3% of the total voting power entitled to vote at an annual meeting.

SEC Seeks Comments on New Financial Rules

As the Securities and Exchange Commission prepares to deal with a deluge of new rule-making tasks tied to the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, agency Chairman Mary Schapiro announced a new system for soliciting public input on rules. “We are inviting public comment even before the various rules are proposed and before the official comment periods have begun,” she said.

Shareholders Press for Political Spending Disclosure

The Center for Political Accountability, examining results of disclosure proposals for the 2010 annual meeting season, found that shareholder support for disclosure rose to a record 30.25% at 28 meetings.

Democrats Introduce Political Contributions Legislation

Democrats officially launched their long-expected legislative response to the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling freeing up corporations, unions and other groups to make political contributions. Five U.S. Senators released their version of the DISCLOSE Act – an acronym for the “Democracy is Strengthened by Casting Light on Spending in Elections” Act. Similar legislation was introduced in the House. (File Photo)

WellCare Director Resigns, Questions Accounting Oversight

In a rare public display of boardroom in-fighting, a Harvard Business School professor and health care expert resigned from the board of WellCare Health Plans Inc., asserting that the company’s accounting systems were in need of greater oversight and that some board members had conspired to undercut her authority and force her from the board.

Opinion: When CSR Became a Movement

Bill Baue argues that CSR is not a random collection of ad hoc, discrete actions to revise corporate behavior, but rather has become a coherent aggregation of sustained, widespread efforts to reform (or even revolutionize) the role of corporations, shifting from negative to positive impacts on society, environment, and economy.

Opinion:Chamber of Commerce Is Wrong on Climate Change

The CEO of a leading socially responsible investment firm thinks it’s curious that the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which ostensibly represents the business community, “has not only chosen to oppose climate change solutions but continues to advance the specious argument that we face a stark choice between the environment and the economy – that addressing climate change will somehow be bad for business and cost us jobs. The opposite is the case.”