Major Actions and Divestments
HEI HOTELS AND RESORTS - Recommendation Approved February 2011
On December 6, 2010, ACCRIP unanimously recommended to the President and the Corporation that Brown University should not reinvest in HEI Hotels and Resorts in the future. In reaching its decision ACCRIP thoroughly and diligently considered pertinent materials submitted by the Investment Office, the Brown Student Labor Alliance and HEI, including the record of settlements mediated by the National Relations Board in which HEI agreed to post notices at the affected hotels and, in one case, to reinstate a dismissed worker who had been involved in the unionization movement without, nonetheless, as a condition for the settlements, admitting to any violation of the National Labor Relations Act. After thoughtful deliberations, ACCRIP concluded that while HEI had not been found guilty of violations of the labor code, a persistent pattern of allegations involving the company's treatment of workers and interference with their efforts to unionize, combined with repeated settlements, as described above, raised serious questions whether Brown's continued association with HEI would be consistent with the ethical principles governing the university's investments. ACCRIP has recommended, therefore, that Brown University should refrain from reinvesting in HEI until the Corporation is confident that HEI adheres to our high standards regarding respectful and humane treatment of workers, and that workers at HEI-operated hotels are able to seek union representation without fear of intimidation. The committee has also recommended that before making any decision to reinvest, the administration, with the assistance of ACCRIP, should carefully consider current matters relating to HEI in order to reach an informed judgment about labor/management relations and work conditions at HEI-operated properties.
Sudan / Darfur
On Feb. 25, 2006, the Brown Corporation, on a recommendation from the ACCRIP, took a final vote to divest its investments from companies whose business activities can be shown to be supporting and facilitating the Sudanese government in its continuing sponsorship of genocidal actions and human rights violations in Darfur. Stating the following:
It is recommended:
That the Corporation exclude from Brown University’s direct investments, and require the University’s separate account investment managers to exclude from their direct investments, the following companies whose business activities can be shown to be supporting and facilitating the Sudanese government in its continuing sponsorship of genocidal actions and human rights violations in Darfur: Lundin Petroleum, Nam Fatt, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation, PECD, Schlumberger, Alstom, Harbin Power Equipment Co., and Bharat Heavy Electricals.
This list has been further amended, and currently includes the following companies: Alcatel, Alstom, Bharat Heavy Electricals, Electricity Generating Corporation (EGCO), Harbin Power Equipment, Indian Oil Corporation (IOCL), Lundin Petroleum, Mobile Telecommunications Co. (Sudatel), Muhibbah Engineering (M) Berhad, Nam Fatt, Oil & Natural Gas Corporation, PECD, PetroChina, Reliance Industries, Schlumberger, Sinopec.
Also from the Brown Daily Herald: Divestment From Sudan, 1 Year Later
Tobacco
At its May 7, 2003 meeting, the ACCRIP unanimously adopted the following recommendation:
We recommend that the Brown Corporation exclude from Brown's direct investments, and require Brown's separate account investment managers to exclude from their direct investments, those companies that manufacture tobacco products and that the Investment Office share with all investment managers the University's desire to adhere to this investment philosophy. To give investment managers guidance, we recommend they consult with the company list compiled by Investor Responsibility Research Center.
(Read the complete ACCRIP recommendation - pdf)
On September 12th of 2003, the Brown Corporation voted in agreement with the ACCRIP recommendation to divest the University's investments from companies dealing in tobacco.