Sustainability Speaker - Tim Smith

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Presentation documents, available for download below:

PDF iconImpact through Shareholder Engagement

PDF iconWalden Asset Management - Research & Engagement Brief - Q4 2015

PDF iconWalden Asset Management - Research & Engagement Brief - Q1 2016

PDF icon2016 Lobbying Coalition Press Release - 03-17-2016

Office presentation iconPresentation Background Notes

Mr. Smith is the director of ESG shareowner engagement and leads Walden’s ongoing shareholder engagement program to promote greater corporate leadership on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. This includes company dialogues, shareholder proposals, proxy voting, and public policy advocacy. Among the areas Walden focuses on are sustainability reporting, political spending and lobbying, executive compensation and governance, workforce diversity, climate change, water use, and human rights. Mr. Smith is actively involved in representing Walden at public events and in fostering long-term client relationships. He is co-chair of Walden’s ESG Research & Engagement Committee and a member of the Corporate Governance Committee.

Prior to joining the firm in 2000, Mr. Smith served as executive director of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) for 24 years. ICCR coordinates corporate responsibility programs for over 275 religious, institutional investors committed to using shareholder advocacy to influence corporate conduct and promote social justice. ICCR has been a primary player in the corporate responsibility movement and social investment community since the early 1970s.

In 2007, 2012 and 2013, Mr. Smith was named as one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics” by Ethisphere Institute. In 2008, he was elected as a board member of the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of the United Methodist Church. In 2010, Mr. Smith received the Bavaria Award for Impact at the third annual Joan Bavaria Awards for Building Sustainability into the Capital Markets. In 2011 and 2012, he was named one of the most influential people in corporate governance by the National Association of Corporate Directors. He serves on a number of sustainability stakeholder dialogue teams with companies as well.

Mr. Smith previously served as chair of US SIF, an industry trade group, for five years, and presently serves as chair of its Public Policy Committee. He serves on the boards of The Thirty Percent Coalition and Shared Interest, and is the chair of the Kimberly-Clark Sustainability Advisory Board. Previously, Mr. Smith served on the boards of the Domini Social Equity Fund for ten years, World Neighbors, and the Calvert New Africa Fund. He also chaired the Advisory Council for the Calvert Group’s social investment funds.

Mr. Smith earned a BA from the University of Toronto and masters of divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary.

Location

AIC West 210