Human Rights - Develop & Adopt Policies
2010 – KBR, Inc.
WHEREAS: Expectations of the global community are growing, such that companies must have policies in place that promote and protect human rights within their areas of activity and sphere of influence to help promote and protect the company's reputation as a good corporate citizen.
KBR, a leading global engineering, construction and services company, supports energy, petrochemicals, government services, industrial and civil infrastructure sectors. KBR is 9th on the DOD 2008 Top 100 Contractors at $5.99 billion (Government Executive, 8-15-09) and its Government & Infrastructure business unit the “world’s largest defense service provider.” (2008 Annual Report)
Corporations operating in countries with civil conflict, weak rule of law, endemic corruption, poor labor and environmental standards face serious risks to reputation and shareholder value when they are seen as responsible for, or complicit in, human rights violations.
Our company's Code of Business Conduct does not address major corporate responsibility issues, such as, human rights. Without a human rights policy, KBR faces reputation risks by operating in countries, such as China or in the MidEast, where rule of law is weak and human rights abuses well documented. (U.S. State Department Advancing Freedom and Democracy Report; www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/afdr/)
Negative publicity hurts our company's reputation and has the potential to impact shareholder value. KBR has been linked to trafficking-related concerns, including substandard living conditions, forced labor and confiscating employee passports, (Kathmandu Post 4-20-09, Washington Business Journal 8-27-08); exposure of U.S. troops to cancer-causing hexavalent chromium in Iraq, (Business Wire 10-5-09); sexual assault and rape, (guardian.co.uk 10-15-09); a discrimination in the workplace based on religion lawsuit, (http://www.southernstudies.org/2009/07/kbr-sued-over-headscarf-ban.html); and fined for bribing the Nigerian government for contracts to build liquefied natural gas facilities, (The Financial Times 2-12-09).
We recommend our company base its human rights policies on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Labor Organization's Core Labor Standards and the United Nations Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights. (http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/links/commentary.Aug2003.html)
RESOLVED: Shareholders request management to review policies related to human rights to assess areas where the company needs to adopt and implement additional policies and to report its findings by December 2010, omitting proprietary information and prepared at reasonable expense.
Supporting Statement: We recommend the review include:
1. Risk assessment to determine potential for human rights abuses in locations, such as the Middle East, Nigeria, former U.S.S.R. republics, China and other civil-strife/war-torn areas, where the company operates. 2. A report on current systems in place to ensure that KBR contractors and suppliers are implementing human rights policies in their operations, including monitoring, training, addressing issues of non-compliance and assurance that trafficking-related concerns have been addressed.
3. KBR’s strategy of engagement with internal and external stakeholders.
We urge you to vote FOR this proposal.