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Since our inception in 1990, NorthStar Asset Management, Inc. believes that joint action drives lasting change. Recently, our team collaborated on a response to a piece by Rob Henderson in The New York Times. Henderson’s piece argued that progressive activism is a luxury for the elite.
NorthStar is pleased to share that we have published our 2023-2024 Social Change & Activism Report!
We approach activism and advocacy from the perspective of our five pillars: Racial Justice and Gender Equity, Environmental Justice, Economic Equality, Human Rights, and Corporate Governance.
Mari Schwartzer, NorthStar’s Director of Shareholder Activism and Engagement, was featured on a podcast this week related to our activism work on prison labor. Mari was joined by Sancia Dalley of RFK Human Rights to discuss the effects of the U.S.’s mass incarceration...
In the wake of George Floyd’s death, corporate leaders from 66% of the S&P 500 companies made public statements, many of which condemned racism or affirmed the need for a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But these same corporate leaders run companies where Black people’s existence is routinely diminished – where Black people make up a miniscule percent of leadership and don’t receive the same sponsorship or promotions as their white peers, and where their dignity is routinely undermined.
At The Home Depot’s annual shareholder meeting on May 23rd, approximately 30% of shareholders voted in favor of a shareholder proposal that asked for disclosure of prison labor in the company’s supply chain.
NorthStar’s CEO, Julie Goodridge, was recently interviewed by a Windy City Times reporter about Julie’s career and passion for making social change.
NorthStar’s extensive work on understanding and mapping prison labor in the corporate supply chain of U.S. companies was featured in the most recent issue of Green American Magazine, the quarterly print publication of Green America. NorthStar has been a longtime member of Green America, an organization whose mission is to “harness economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society.”
NorthStar Asset Management is pleased to announce that for the second year in a row it has been honored by B Corp as a “Best for the World” company in the customers category. According to B Corp, “Every business worth its salt aims to please its customers. The Best For The World: Customers honorees aim to improve the lives of their customers through the use of their product or service.”
NorthStar’s work on mapping prison labor in the supply chain was recently featured in a Responsible Investor article. The article describes the growing trend in socially responsible investing to take a closer look not only at investments in private prisons, but also the wider network of companies that are somehow related to prisons in general.
In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal at Facebook in recent months, in which the personal data of up to 87 million users were inappropriately shared with political consultancy firm Cambridge Analytica, shareholders across the country have grappled with how to respond to this highly concerning privacy issue.
NorthStar has published a white paper outlining its perspective on the issue of domestic (U.S) prison labor in company supply chains, and recommending best practices for companies and investors to uncover and respond to abusive labor practices.
“Prison Labor in the United States: An Investor Perspective” goes into detail about how prison labor has become a critical issue related to economic inequality, racial justice, and human rights. Click through to read our paper.
At the 2018 annual shareholder meeting of Costco Wholesale, shareholders will vote on a stockholder proposal asking the company to review prison labor in the company’s supply chain. Read more here.
Last Friday, NorthStar wrote to both Alphabet (GOOG) and Facebook (FB) expressing concern about the June 2017 algorithmic changes to Google’s search functions which were intended to hinder the spread of fake news but have also ensnared traffic that would be referred to legitimate news sites that spread progressive news such as anti-war/pro-peace, pro-democratic, anti-racist matters. As our letters note, Google-referred viewership to many of these legitimate news sources steeply dropped off after the June 25, 2017 changes to Google’s algorithm by 20-67%. Facebook views and traffic have also declined for these news sources. Click through to read more.
After engagement with shareholders, two California-based water utilities, California Water Service Group (NYSE: CWT) and American States Water (NYSE: AWR), have adopted policies confirming a commitment to support the human right to water (HRTW).
At the Procter & Gamble (P&G) annual shareholder meeting to be held on Tuesday, October 11th, stockholders will ask P&G how it plans to defend the company’s LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) employees and their families against discrimination and harassment that is encouraged or enabled by new legislation in several states in the U.S., such as North Carolina’s infamous “bathroom bill.” Click through to read more.
MEMPHIS, TN -- At the upcoming FedEx Corporation (NYSE: FDX) annual shareholder meeting (September 26, 2016), stockholders are asking for details about strategies that FedEx will deploy to defend the company’s LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) employees...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Boston, MA - NorthStar Asset Management, Inc., a Boston-based socially responsible investment firm, announced today that it has become a Certified B Corporation™ (B Corp) through B Lab, a nonprofit organization that empowers “a global movement of...
CNBC interviewed NorthStar's Julie Goodridge about our shareholder proposal at FedEx asking the company to take a stand against state-sponsored discrimination like North Carolina's infamous House Bill 2. In the article, Julie is quoted as stating that "A CEO's most...
Viewing investment decisions through an LGBT lens can pay off. An expanding body of evidence indicates that what’s good for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees is also good for investors. Analysts say companies that take the high road regarding sexual orientation tend to be progressive and thoughtful about other aspects of management as well.
Citing concerns about the risks to Procter & Gamble’s brand, reputation, and shareholder value, NorthStar Asset Management Pension Plan is asking shareholders to weigh in on P&G political spending at the annual meeting on October 11.
On June 2nd, Home Depot shareholders will vote on a shareholder resolution brought by NorthStar Asset Management, Inc, a Boston-based socially responsible investment firm, to allow shareholders a say on political contributions made by their company, a direct response to the 2010 Citizens United ruling by the United States Supreme Court.
The battle against the effects of the Supreme Court’s game-changing Citizens United decision, the ruling that ripped down the wall between corporations and American elections, is gathering steam among an unlikely group: investors. With Congress unable to pass new legislation and the Obama administration so far unwilling to fix the dysfunctional Federal Election Commission, it’s corporate shareholders who are increasingly on the front lines of the effort to foist accountability on the new Wild West of political spending.
Should Home Depot’s board report each year on the company’s political policies and spending? In a groundbreaking vote at the company’s June 2 annual meeting, Home Depot’s shareholders will have the chance to vote on a nonbinding resolution of support for the company’s policies on, and future plans for, political contributions.
Home Depot has released their annual proxy including a resolution calling for a shareholder vote requesting that political contributions reflect Home Depot’s stated corporate values. The resolution, filed by NorthStar Asset Management, Inc. of Boston, was filed in the aftermath of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the controversial Supreme Court decision in January of 2010 that removed prohibitions on corporate electioneering contributions.
On the eve of World Water Day (March 22), Boston portfolio management company NorthStar Asset Management, Inc. is pleased to announce successful negotiations with Intel Corporation on the creation of an official Intel policy that supports the human right to water. Intel Corp. is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of semiconductor chips, the creation of which requires the ongoing use of large amounts of water.
NorthStar Asset Management, Inc., a socially responsible investment firm, is pleased to announce successful negotiations with PepsiCo, worldwide food and beverage manufacturer, of an official PepsiCo policy in support of the human right to water. PepsiCo is the first publicly traded, multinational corporation to create such a policy.
In the face of increasingly alarming statistics about the global availability of clean drinking water, PepsiCo shareholders and human rights activists have teamed up to demand that PepsiCo create and follow a policy that respects the Human Right to Water.
“Water scarcity is a serious modern-day reality,” says Julie Goodridge, CEO of NorthStar Asset Management, Inc., a wealth management firm based in Boston.