photo:Vidyadhar Sreeprasad/Oxfam

Novartis

Our joint campaign with Oxfam to secure the continuing availability of affordable generic medicines in developing countries centred on a legal action in India brought by pharmaceuticals giant Novartis.

Oxfam argued that Novartis’ legal challenge could effectively have created a “medical apartheid”, cutting the supply of low-cost drugs, including for AIDS and cancer, to the developing world. In a powerful example of Responsible Investment in action, FairPensions and Oxfam mobilised members of pension funds worth £1.7trn, asking them to lobby their funds to exert their influence as institutional investors, to force Novartis to drop its claim. By capturing extensive media coverage, mobilising pension fund members and briefing investors we generated such pressure that one fund manager reported he had “never had so many questions from pension funds on a particular campaign issue.”

On 6 August 2007, Novartis dropped its appeal; a move hailed by Oxfam as “a vindication for India and a victory for campaigners.”

Unearth Justice

Less than a year after our Novartis success, we teamed up with CAFOD, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, to add a new strand to their Unearth Justice campaign on the hidden harms of mining. Combining our expertise on Responsible Investment with CAFOD’s in-depth subject and area knowledge, we highlighted the environmental, human rights and investment risks of mining practices in developing countries.

Working alongside local communities in the Philippines, Honduras and the Congo, CAFOD have witnessed the destructive impact of mining. Without consultation, local populations have been displaced, environments subjected to lasting damage and water tables polluted with cyanide. As numerous case-studies illustrate, such mining projects often result in a costly backlash: local protests, a damaged reputation, operations shut down by host governments or even civil unrest, all of which have serious consequences for local people's lives and livelihoods, as well as for investment returns.

Joining forces with CAFOD, we took action by sending briefings to almost 400 large UK pension funds and asset managers, explaining why the ethical concerns associated with mining pose a serious business risk for investors. Mirroring the tactics of our Novartis campaign, we launched an appeal to FairPensions' and CAFOD's supporters, urging them to tell their pension fund to take action. As a result, over 130 pension funds had their policies challenged, prompting them and their fund managers to step up their scrutiny and engagement with mining companies.

Find out more about Unearth Justice.

Pension fund transparency & engagement

In addition to single-issue campaigns, we also work to persuade investors to adopt overall Responsible Investment policies, in order to develop the habit of assessing and addressing the environmental and human rights problems in the companies of which they are shareholders.

We carry out public scrutiny of institutional investors through annual surveys, which have rapidly become a critical force for change. Our 2007/08 reports on Responsible Investment and transparency show a 58% improvement in pension funds' performance and a 23% improvement in fund managers' performance.

Read our reports in full.

In parallel, through constant dialogue and direct engagement with industry players, we have achieved numerous successes, such as persuading the BBC pension fund to hire resources specifically focused on Responsible Investment.