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Patagonias environmental mission hasnt just been good for the planet its also boosted the bottom line, Business Insider, Richard Feloni, December 21, 2018, available at https://www.businessinsider.com/patagonia-mission-environmentalism-good-for-business-2018-12. (go back), 109Id. Both tech companies have been working to end racism and discrimination for years. (go back), 125Rule 14a-8 No Action Letter, CtW Investment Group, November 12, 2020, available at https://www.sec.gov/divisions/corpfin/cf-noaction/14a-8/2021/ctwjpmorgan032621-14a8.pdf. Using Racial Equity Audits, a company is given a comprehensive report on their standing regarding how they uphold said regulations. Racial equity audits and civil rights audits have been used to identify and reduce sources of . For many, the scrutiny is welcome. [127], According to SEIU, BlackRock decided that the SEIU proposal is too important to wait until they are voted on at their shareholder meetings [128] and announced its plans to voluntarily conduct an independent racial audit of its operations. [3], With the increasing prominence of ESG awareness, the market has also seen the rise of ESG-specific funds as a new form of investment vehicle. Paul, Weiss has launched a new Civil Rights and Racial Equity Audit Practice, which is among the . . Beyond fund managers typical fiduciary duties to minimize risk and achieve positive returns, these fiduciaries are explicitly mandated with making investments into companies that aim to have a sustainable and societal impact in the world [46] based on ESG criteria or that meet stringent environmental, social and governance standards. [47] As the usefulness of Racial Equity Audits as a tool for ESG-conscious shareholders to measure a companys adherence to ESG prerogatives becomes more mainstream, it would be no surprise to see support for these audits grow. Color of Change successfully called for and worked with AirBnB to undertake such an audit. [136] As the general publics views evolve on ESG issues, public pressure for certain actionsin this case, increased diversity in public boardroomsoften influence not just shareholder advocacy but legislative action. We would all be better served if more companies followed Airbnbs lead in developing robust internal systems for considering and combatting discrimination issues as products and tools are being designed and before theyre rolled out, said Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. 1 In addition to personal accounts, a study at Harvard Business School highlighted racial discrimination on Airbnb's rental platform. After a notice period, the data analysis will begin. These funds have explicit mandates to make ESG-focused investments, from mutual funds whose portfolio companies must score a high grade on ESG metrics to investment firms dedicated to ESG impact investing. (go back), 56Facebooks Civil Rights AuditFinal Report, Facebook, July 8, 2020, available at https://about.fb.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Civil-Rights-Audit-Final-Report.pdf. A Racial Equity Audit is, at its core, an independent, objective and holistic analysis of a company's policies, practices, products, services and efforts to combat systemic racism in order to end discrimination within or exhibited by the company with respect to its customers, suppliers or other stakeholders. [68] Several of the supporting statements for Racial Equity Audit proposals stated that: High-profile police killings of black peoplemost recently George Floydhave galvanized the movement for racial justice. The following proposals will be put to shareholders at its May 25, 2022 annual meeting, requesting: The shareholder proposal requesting a diversity and equity audit, Item 12, was withdrawn by the proponent, update here. BlackRock, the worlds largest asset management firm, and CoreCivic Inc. (CoreCivic), an operator of private prisons, have agreed to conduct independent Racial Equity Audits after receiving shareholder proposals for such audits, resulting in the proponents withdrawing their proposals. (go back), 97Citigroup Proxy Statement, supra note 69. Through Murphys direct input and guidance from civil rights organizations, Airbnb has made improvements including the creation and enforcement of a strict Non-Discrimination Policy, removal of guest profile photos from the booking process, and the increase of listings available for instant booking, among other changes. We have a responsibility to do more. (go back), 85See Amazon No-Action Letter, supra note 83. (go back), 84See J&J No-Action Letter, supra note 78. The California legislature recognized the public desire to move towards greater diversity on public boards and codified set requirements. [91] The Staff has recognized that exclusion is permitted pursuant to Rule 14a-8(i)(3) if the resolution contained in the proposal is so inherently vague or indefinite that neither the stockholders voting on the proposal, nor the company in implementing the proposal (if adopted), would be able to determine with any reasonable certainty exactly what actions or measures the proposal requires. [92] Johnson & Johnson, the only company to invoke Rule 14a-8(i)(3) during the 2021 proxy season to attempt to exclude a Racial Equity Audit proposal, argued that the proposal was impermissibly vague and indefinite because neither Johnson & Johnson nor shareholders would be able to determine with any reasonable certainty what actions or measures the proposal requires. [93]. A report on the audit, prepared at reasonable cost and omitting confidential or proprietary information, should be publicly disclosed on BofAs website. Racial Equity Audits could emerge as a critical tool for companies to evaluate their current social impact and provide an objective method for investors to monitor their investments and potentially identify new companies that could benefit from increased social and economic engagement. [13] Recently, however, activists have begun to realize that social and environmental issues can also impact their investments, in both negative and positive ways. where the board recommends that shareholders vote against the racial equity audit proposal. (go back), 27Racial Equity Audit Proposal Q&A CtW Investment Group and the Service Employees International Union, available at https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5d374de8aae9940001c8ed59/t/605cdec4e6861277202f0b46/1616699076603/Racial+Equity+Audit+QA_CtW_SEIU+%28002%29.pdf. We anticipate greater interest in Racial Equity Audits and similar initiatives in the upcoming proxy season and accordingly believe companies will be pushed to critically and objectively examine their current internal practices and policies relating to equity and inclusion to identify areas in need of improvement. These audits are conducted to analyze the effectiveness of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, the impacts of technology and products on racial minorities in communities and companies and the treatment of customers, and other civil rights and racial equity issues. The audit featured three reports and extensive interviews with hundreds of civil rights organizations and . Our partnership with Airbnb on this project has been years in the making, and has led to tangible policy developments to reduce discrimination that should serve as a model for Airbnbs peer tech companies, said Color Of Change President Rashad Robinson. Silicon Valley has a long way to go to constructively engage with civil rights groups by proactively, not reactively, seeking out our expertise to build platforms that serve Black people instead of harming us. As an extra security precaution, this information will be deleted every 30 days. Airbnb Inc., which faced a spate of backlash for charges of racial profiling of guests before initiating tougher standards, has bounced nearly 4,000 accounts from its home-sharing app this year for violating its nondiscrimination policy. According to this study, closing racial gaps would have generated an additional $16 trillion in economic output since [the year] 2000, and by closing the various gaps between Blacks and Whites, the U.S. could stand to gain an additional $5 trillion in economic activity over the next five years. [42] Racial Equity Audits could therefore prove to be a critical tool for companies looking to capture some of these unrealized gains. Today, building upon 8 years of learnings and experience providing temporary housing to 75,000 refugees, asylum seekers and people displaced by disasters or other crises across 104 countries, Airbnb.org is announcing a series of commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion. The proposal received 13 percent support and has been filed again this year (Item 10). Facebook, Inc. (Facebook) also conducted its own version of a Racial Equity Audit in 2018. We are honored to partner with Color Of Change to help us take this work to the next level, to help us understand fully when discrimination occurs, how unconscious bias is manifested on the platform, and the effectiveness of our policies. [111] Despite the laundry list of examples Amazon cited in its No-Action Letter, the SEC did not concur that the proposal was excludable under Rule 14a-8(i)(7). [15] As discussed in more detail below, a companys performance on ESG factors, such as investment into renewable energy, promotion of employee health and safety and contributions to the local community, are pressing issues that can either benefit or adversely affect a companys perception in the public eye, operational execution and bottom line. [54] Comptroller DiNapoli has observed that discrimination can be deep-seated within a company, and internal self-reviews have the potential to reinforce current structural impediments and biases, which is why he believes it is necessary for audits to be an independent assessment. Input from civil rights organizations, employees, and customers should be considered in determining the specific matters to be analyzed. In setting this precedent, it is important to understand that there are technology platforms that have already left irreversible marks on Black communities and communities of color around the country that need to be addressed. BlackRock has 'broken ranks' with Wall Street by conducting a racial equity audit in the financial world, and Citigroup and Morgan Stanley have now followed suit, despite initially urging shareholders to reject the audit proposals. In its advertising products, Google has blocked companies from using racial justice terms like Black Lives Matter while allowing advertisers to search and place their content on tens of millions of videos tagged with white nationalist terms like White Power or White Lives Matter. The proponent of the racial equity audit proposal, Nathan Cummings Foundation, is concerned that many of Alphabets business practices are enabling racism and discrimination, posing legal, financial, and reputational risk.. (go back), 73As You Sow: Racial Justice, available at https://www.asyousow.org/our-work/social-justice/racial-justice. Ron S. Berenblat and Elizabeth R. Gonzalez-Sussman are partners at Olshan Frome Wolosky LLP. [63] If the company determines that it is not in the best interests of the company to include a Rule 14a-8 shareholder proposal in its proxy materials, it can (i) seek no-action relief from the SEC staff (the Staff) that, if granted, would allow the company to exclude the proposal without the threat of Staff recommendation of an enforcement action based on a procedural deficiency or a substantive exclusion under Rule 14a-8; (ii) take legal action in court to exclude the proposal; and/or (iii) negotiate with the proponent to withdraw the proposal. Otherwise, these proponents posit, a lackluster or hastily conducted Racial Equity Audit or failure to take meaningful action in response to an audit may actually have the opposite effect for the implementing institutioninstead of insulating the company from potential proposals demanding Racial Equity Audits, faulty or perfunctory audits may instead create a target on the institutions back for ESG activists in the following years. Therefore, this analysis and project will not affect an individuals experience on the platform in any way. BlackRocks response to the Racial Equity Audit proposal that SEIU submitted for inclusion in its proxy statement was an outlier among the other financial and asset management firms that faced similar proposals. The following proposals will be put to shareholders at its April 26, 2022 annual meeting, requesting: Historically, the insurance industry has engaged in racist practices impacting customers and potential customers from communities of color, including charging far higher premiums for auto insurance in Black neighborhoods as opposed to white neighborhoods; much lower payouts in homeowner insurance claims for Black neighborhoods; and instances of coverage denial for property owners who accept Section 8 vouchers. 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