View the resolution [pdf]
View the shareholder release [pdf]

New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr., on behalf of the New York City Fire Department Pension Fund, has filed a joint resolution calling on Dow Chemical to address outstanding issues regarding the 1984 Bhopal explosion.

“Given our long investment horizon, we believe that it is our fiduciary obligation to urge companies in which we invest to be responsible corporate citizens in the communities in which they operate,” Thompson said. “This approach is critical for ensuring the viability and sustainability of business in this rapidly growing global economy.  Successful companies most likely will be the ones that incorporate sustainable use of environmental and social capital in their business decisions.”

The Fire Department Pension Fund holds more than 156,000 shares in Dow Chemical worth about $7 million.

In addition to Thompson, the Fire Department Pension Fund trustees are: Mayor Michael Bloomberg; New York City Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta (Chair); New York City Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark; Stephen Cassidy, President, James Slevin, Vice President, Robert Straub, Treasurer, and John Kelly, Brooklyn Representative and Chair, Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York; Peter Gorman, President and Captains' Rep., Nicholas J. Visconti, Chiefs' Rep., and Stephen J. Carbone, Lieutenants' Rep., Uniformed Fire Officers Association; and, Joseph Gagliardi, Marine Engineers Assoc.

The resolution was co-sponsored by the Fire Department Pension Fund, the New York State Common Retirement Fund, Amnesty International USA, Boston Common Asset Management, and Sisters of Mercy Regional Community of Detroit Charitable Trust .

You can view the shareholder resolution and a joint news release with its co-filers at the Comptroller's web site: www.comptroller.nyc.gov .