185 Religious / Social Investor Proxy Resolutions
Slated for 2004

Global Warming, HIV/AIDS and Corporate Governance Are Key Issues;
Leading Resource Guide is Available for Online Purchase for First Time.

NEW YORK, N.Y.///February 3, 2004///Religious and other concerned investors have filed 185 shareholder resolutions with 131 companies throughout the United States and Canada, according to the 2004 edition of the "Proxy Resolutions Book" published by the 275-member organization Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR). The annual guide from ICCR is the most comprehensive guide to socially responsible shareholder resolutions sponsored by religious and other concerned investors published in the U.S. (Click here for the complete list of companies, resolutions, and their status)

Religious organizations filed 129 of the resolutions, accounting for 93 of the 131 targeted companies, according to the ICCR volume. Among the issues of greatest concern to religious and other ethical investors this year in order, are: corporate governance matters (29, including thirteen pay disparity and executive compensation resolutions, eight annual election of board resolutions and eight board diversity resolutions), global warming (21 resolutions) and HIV/AIDS (13).

Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility Executive Director Sister Pat Wolf said: "ICCR members are at the forefront of the social and environmental shareholder movement. The resolutions collected by the latest edition of ICCR's 'Proxy Resolutions Book' show the depth and breadth of the hard work that goes into our communication with companies. It's important to note that resolutions are just one part of this interaction - our members are also leading dialogues with companies in order to assist them in implementing socially and environmentally responsible policies and initiatives. "

ICCR's "Proxy Resolutions Book" for 2004 is available for purchase for $45 on the ICCR Web site at http://www.iccr.org/publications. The ICCR volume contains the full text of resolutions filed this year, along with an index of companies and filers. The guide is typically used by individual investors or institutions that are responsible for proxy voting. Organizations using the ICCR volume include religious orders, asset management companies, and other groups focused on socially and environmentally responsible agendas.

Wolf added: "The 2004 'Proxy ResolutionsBook' is an indispensable resource for individuals with proxy voting responsibility who recognize the importance of paying attention to the rising voice of religious and other concerned shareholders. We find that more and more, investors look to religious shareholder activists for indications of the emerging problem areas that corporations will need to address in the coming years."

The breakdown of important issue areas for religious and ethical shareholder resolutions outlined in the 2004 "Proxy Resolutions Book" is as follows:

· Global warming (21 resolutions filed - 5 in the electric power industry, 2 in the insurance industry, 8 in the energy industry, 2 in the automotive industry, 1 in the manufacturing industry)

· Global Reporting Initiative (19 resolutions filed)

· Tobacco (14 resolutions filed)

· HIV/AIDS (13 resolutions filed)

· Pay disparity/executive compensation (13 resolutions)

· Genetically modified organisms (10 resolutions filed)

· Annual election of the board of directors (8 resolutions filed)

· Diversity on the board of directors (8 resolutions filed)

· Vendor standards (6 resolutions filed)

· Sexual orientation discrimination (6 resolutions filed)

· Political contributions made by pharmaceutical companies (4 resolutions filed)

· Equal employment opportunity issues (4 resolutions filed)

· Community Reinvestment Act (3 resolutions filed)

· Drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (2 resolutions filed)

· Indigenous rights (2 resolutions filed)

· Global standards (2 resolutions filed)

· Predatory loans (2 resolutions filed)

· The coffee crisis (2 resolutions filed)

· Foreign military sales (2 resolutions filed)

· Drug pricing restraints (1 resolution filed)

· Weaponization of space (1 resolution filed)

· Derivatives (1 resolution filed)

· Glass ceiling (1 resolution filed)

· Ethical criteria for patent extension (1 resolution filed)

The full list of religious and ethical shareholder resolutions is available in the 2004 Proxy Book.

CONTACT: Stephanie Kendall for ICCR, (703) 276-3254 or skendall@hastingsgroup.com or Sister Pat Wolf, ICCR, (212) 870-2295 or pwolf@iccr.org.

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