Sister activist

In a world of uncertainty, it was reassuring this week to read of the USA’s Sister Susan Francois working to hold big corporates to account.

Francois gave an interview to the Financial Times, in which she described her work lodging shareholder resolutions on behalf of her order, the Sisters of St Joseph of Peace.

The order has asked Palantir, everyone’s favourite tech bête noire, to produce a human rights impact assessment.

Sister Susan tells the FT: “It is an active form of non-violence and a way of engaging respectfully as corporate citizens.” It seems the spirit of good corporate governance is not so mysterious after all.

Northern rights

Norges Bank Investment Management, managing assets in the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, has made it clear that employee ownership “matters”.

In an article written for Harvard Law School’s governance blog, chief executive Nicolai Tangen writes that employee share ownership is good for companies and shareholders, good for employees and good for society.

Employee share schemes need overseeing by boards as part of human capital management and should be aimed at building an “ownership culture where employees develop a deeper stake in the company’s success”.

Tangen also adds: “Plans work best when offered broadly across the workforce, not limited to senior executives.” Spread the joy people, spread the joy.

Delay repay

A warning out to companies about payments—your investors are watching.

Speaking on the Wait Watchers Show, a podcast from Good Business Pays, Caroline Escott, head of investment stewardship at Railpen, says conversations with CFOs have revealed that some companies treat payments cynically as part of cashflow management, while others try to prioritise them.

Escott says it is up to shareholders to raise the issue with boards or “challenge the board” so that they “know it’s an important matter and a material matter for us”. Time to settle those bills.