INVESTMENT REVIEW COMMITTEE

PROGRESS & RESULTSYAZAN KHADERMICHAEL DAVIES-

COLEMAHBUBUR

RAHMAN

Background

■ Last March, the DSU council created a committee to review this student union’s direct investments.

■ The purpose was to examine whether or not we are invested in companies that profit from human rights abuses

■ The results and progress of the committee were initially planned to be discussed in September, but council extended the deadline to November.

Background: the Ethical Investment Policy■ The DSU’s fund manager “will be required to operate in accordance

with this policy of socially responsible investing.”

■ Ethical criteria surrounding investments include avoiding businesses linked to:– Human rights abuses– Environmentally harmful activities– Socially harmful activities

Methodology■ The DSU’s investment portfolio statement from June 30th was used. All

results found still exists in the latest October 31st portfolio statement

■ Databases employed or consulted:– Reports by human rights organizations: Amnesty International, Human

Rights Watch, etc.– Multi-issue Databases: Facing Finance– Single-issue Databases: Who Profits, Don’t Bank on the Bomb

(Consulted)– Rating-based databases: Human Rights Campaign (Consulted),

Free2Work (Consulted)

■ The DSU’s investment list was compared to the databases provided

■ The nature of every company and what it produces or offers were also looked into

An important note to make

Just because a company that we invest in is not listed here, does not mean it does not profit from human rights violations.

It simply means that, in our search, nothing credible was found against it.

If you do independent research and find other companies that you think should be included, we will be more than happy to look into that.

Adidas (Germany)■ Several official producers of Adidas’s products in Southeast and East

Asia violate workers’ rights to safe jobs and adequate pay, and don’t have adequate protection against child labor. 1

■ The Free2Work database gave Adidas a low ranking ranking on this subject, noting the absence of the following on several levels of production, particularly the production of raw material 2 :– Adequate wages– Measures to ensure ethical supplies of raw material– Measures to ensure workers are fully paid– Measures to address worker complaints– Measures to avoid child or forced labor– Measures to rehabilitate discovered child or forced labor

■ Free2Work has indicated that Adidas has been informed of the issues.

Adidas (Germany) - Continued■ Noteworthy incidents include 1:

– Indonesia, 2010: ■ One of Adidas’s factories refused to pay workers their legally-

mandated severance compensation upon termination.

■ Only after four US universities divested from Adidas was a settlement reached.

– Taiwan, 2013:■ About one hundred of Adidas’s factory employees noted they, after

joining Adidas, suffered from:

– Benzene poisoning

– Pneumoconiosis

– HAVS

– hearing issues

■ The affected workers’ employment was terminated without offering treatment.

Allianz (Germany)■ Allianz is an asset management company whom Facing Finance lists

as a harmful investor. 1

■ Allianz manages €7.1 billion in assets for companies that are “infamous for labour rights violations and environmental destruction as well as contributing to global climate change.” 1

■ In particular, Allianz manages assets for major fossil fuel companies which the DSU has previously divested from or decided to refrain from investing in, including Gazprom and Royal Dutch Shell (Shell). 1

Allianz (Germany) - Continued■ Allianz also provides insurance to the planned construction site of the Belo Monte Dam

project in Brazil. 1

■ This project has been extensively criticized by the United Nations’ Human Rights Council for the following:– 15 indigenous communities will be negatively affected -- a total of 13,000 people 3

– The ecological effects upon the Xingu river (where the dam will be located) will:■ deprive local indigenous communities of their traditional subsistence resources 3

■ increase their geographic separation from needed social services 3

■ increase the probability of conflict between indigenous groups over resources 3

– Concerns have been raised by the United Nations over transparency and over the consultation process between Brazil’s government and affected indigenous groups. 3

■ This project has been criticized by Amnesty International and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) for its effects on indigenous communities in the Amazon. Both organizations demanded a suspension of the project. 4 5

Caterpillar (United States)■ Caterpillar’s official representative in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories customizes

Caterpillar’s products such that it is used in the following 6 :

– Demolish privately owned Palestinian homes without proper cause or consent, an act condemned by 31 human rights organizations in late August 2015 as a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. These organizations include Amnesty International, Oxfam, and Human RightsWatch. 6 7 8

– Construct Israeli settlements and infrastructure on privately owned Palestinian lands. Such construction is condemned by the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem (an Israeli human rights organization), and the Canadian government, among others. Most of the organizations mentioned refer to settlements as a contravention of theFourth Geneva Convention. 6 9 10 11 12 14

– Caterpillar’s products are also used to suppress peaceful protests in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Excessive force incurred upon Palestinian protestors has been condemned by Amnesty International. 6 13

■ Who Profits has confirmed that it has contacted Caterpillar to make sure they are aware of these violations. No adjustments in behaviour have been made.

General Mills (United States)

■ General Mills produces some of it products in the Atarot Industrial ZoneSettlement. 15

■ Atarot is an Israeli settlement built in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Such constructions are condemned by the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem (an Israeli human rights organization), and the Canadian government, among others. Most of the organizations mentioned refer to settlements as a contravention of the Fourth Geneva Convention. 9 10 11 12 14

■ Who Profits has confirmed that it has contacted General Mills to make sure they are aware of these violations. No adjustments in behaviour have been made.

Japan Tobacco (Japan)

■ Japan Tobacco produces cigarettes. 16

■ Producing cigarettes is not a human rights abuse, but our Ethical Investment Policy explicitly forbids the DSU from investing in companies producing cigarettes

Teva Pharmaceuticals (Israel)■ Brief but necessary background: Captive markets:

– Captive markets are markets where consumers, for whatever reason, can buy only one brand of a certain product.

– This leaves consumers with two options: either buy the only brand available, or don’t buy the product at all.

– This monopoly creates an upward pressure on prices, leading the brand to become inaccessible.

Teva Pharmaceuticals (Israel) - Continued■ Palestinian producers are unable to adequately export or import

pharmaceutical products, nor are they able to supply local markets with their products. 17

■ This is due to a number of reasons, including movement restrictions imposed upon Palestinian producers and their products by Israeli settlements and checkpoints (condemned by both international and Israeli human right organizations 9 10 11 12 14 )

■ Teva Pharmaceutical, based in Israel, does not have to go through the same restrictions as Palestinian producers, and so enjoys exclusive access to Palestinian pharmaceutical markets. 17

■ This monopoly allows Teva to raise prices in the Occupied Palestinian Territories to generate greater profit, at the expense of rendering medical treatment inaccessible. 17

■ In other words, Teva exploits movement restrictions imposed on Palestinians and their products in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (condemned by human rights organizations) to generate greater profit.

■ Who Profits contacted Teva to highlight these issues. No change in behaviour has been made.

Toyota (Japan)■ Toyota’s official distributor in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories

provides products that are used in the following :

– Operate Israeli settlements and checkpoints. Such infrastructure is condemned by the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem (an Israeli human rights organization), and the Canadian government, among others. Most of the organizations mentioned refer to settlements as a contravention of the Fourth GenevaConvention. 9 10 11 12 14 18

– Demolish privately owned Palestinian homes without proper cause, an act condemned by 31 human rights organizations in late August 2015 as a violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention. These organizations include Amnesty International, Oxfam, and Human Rights Watch. 7 8 18

■ Toyota has been notified of these activities. No adjustment has been made in their behaviour.

UBS (Switzerland)■ UBS is an investment bank that, according to the 2015 report by the

International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICANW), has made available a total ofUS$ 5.1 billion to companies related to the maintenance and repair of nuclear weapons since January 2012 and up to August 2015. This is broken down into loans given, bonds owned, etc. 19

■ The companies that UBS has provided funding for (via loans, bonds, etc) include well known weapons manufacturers like BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin, among others. 19

■ While the maintenance of nuclear weapons may not be a human rights issue, financial links to weapons producers is something that the Ethical Investment Policy prohibits the DSU from doing.

United Technologies (United States)■ United Technologies’ subsidiary, Pratt and Whitney, produces military

aircraft engines. These engines are used by the following military aircrafts 20:– F-35– F-22– F-15– F-16– C-17– EA-6B

■ While producing weapons is not a human rights abuse, the DSU’s Ethical Investment Policy forbids the DSU from investing in companies operating in that field

■ Furthermore, certain aircrafts whose engines are produced by United Technologies’ subsidiary are oftentimes sold to governments known for human rights abuses, such as Egypt, China, and Colombia. 21 22 23

– E-3– E-8– B-52– KC-135– F-111

Sources used

1. Facing Finance. (2013). Dirty Profits 2. Retrieved from http://www.facing-finance.org/files/2013/12/DIRTY-PROFITS-2.pdf

2. Free2Work. (2015). Apparel Industry Trends: Adidas 2015. Retrieved from http://widgets.free2work.org/frontend_ratings/public_view/483

3. Anaya, J. (2010). Report by the Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, James Anaya. Retrieved from http://unsr.jamesanaya.org/PDFs/Communications%20report-FINAL.pdf

4. Amnesty International. (2011). Brazil urged to suspend Belo Monte dam project. Retrieved from http://www.amnesty.ca/news/news-item/brazil-urged-to-suspend-belo-monte-dam-project

5. Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense. (2011). Organization of American States requests immediate suspension of Belo Monte dam in the Brazilian Amazon. Retrieved from http://www.aida-americas.org/sites/default/files/press_rel/Belo%20Monte%20ENG%2011-04-05.pdf

6. Who Profits from the Occupation. (2014). Facts on the ground: Heavy engineering machinery and the Israeli Occupation. Retrieved from http://whoprofits.org/sites/default/files/facts_on_the_ground_-_heavy_engineering_machinery_and_the_israeli_occupation.pdf

7. Amnesty International. (2015). Surge in Israeli demolitions of Palestinian homes condemned by 31 international organizations. Retrieved from http://www.amnesty.ca/news/public-statements/joint-press-release/surge-in-israeli-demolitions-of-palestinian-homes

8. Human Rights Watch. (2015). Israel: Surge in unlawful Palestinian home demolitions. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/08/22/israel-surge-unlawful-palestinian-home-demolitions

9. Amnesty International. (2012). Israel must halt construction of West Bank settlements. Retrieved from https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2012/12/israel-must-halt-construction-west-bank-settlements/

10. Human Rights Watch. (2015). Israel: Settlement Agriculture Harms Palestinian Children. Retrieved from https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/04/13/israel-settlement-agriculture-harms-palestinian-children

11. B’Tselem. (2011). Land Expropriation and Settlements. Retrieved from http://www.btselem.org/settlements

12. Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada. (2015). Canadian Policy on Key Issues in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Retrieved from http://www.international.gc.ca/name-anmo/peace_process-processus_paix/canadian_policy-politique_canadienne.aspx?lang=eng

13. Amnesty International. (2014). ‘Trigger-happy’ Israeli army and police use reckless force in the West Bank. Retrieved from https://www.amnesty.org/en/press-releases/2014/02/trigger-happy-israeli-army-and-police-use-reckless-force-west-bank/

14. UN News Centre. (2015). Israeli settlement expansion root cause of growing violence in Occupied Palestinian Territories – UN experts. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51597#.VkurqvmrTIU

15. Who Profits from the Occupation. (2012). General Mills (Pillsbury). Retrieved from http://www.whoprofits.org/company/general-mills-pillsbury

16. Japan Tobacco Incorporated. (2012). JTI at a glance. Retrieved from http://www.jti.com/our-company/jti-at-a-glance/

17. Who Profits from the Occupation. (2012). Captive economy: The pharmaceutical industry and the Israeli occupation. Retrieved from http://www.whoprofits.org/sites/default/files/captive_economy_0.pdf

18. Who Profits from the Occupation. (2012). Toyota Motor Corporation. Retrieved from http://www.whoprofits.org/company/toyota-motor-corporation

19. Don’t Bank on the Bomb. (2015). Hall of Shame 2015. Retrieved from http://www.dontbankonthebomb.com/hall-of-shame-2015-u/#toggle-ubs-switzerland

20. Pratt and Whitney. (2015). Products: Military engines. Retrieved from http://www.pw.utc.com/Military_Engines

21. Lockheed Martin. (2010). Lockheed Martin receives $213 million contract for 20 new F-16s for Egypt. Retrieved from http://www.lockheedmartin.ca/us/news/press-releases/2010/march/LockheedMartinReceives213.html

22. The United States Department of Justice. (2012). United Technologies subsidiary pleads guilty to criminal charges for helping china develop new attack helicopter. Retrieved from http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-technologies-subsidiary-pleads-guilty-criminal-charges-helping-china-develop-new

23. Arms Without Borders. (2006). Why globalised trade needs global control. Retrieved from https://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/Arms%20Without%20Borders.pdf