GBOPHB Instrumental in Wal-Mart Sustainability Reporting

For Immediate Release
November 19, 2007

Contact: M. Colette Nies, Managing Director, Communications
(847) 866-4296 or cnies@gbophb.org

Evanston, IL—The General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of The United Methodist Church (General Board) has been actively engaged with Wal-Mart since 1999 on employee wage and benefit issues and the working conditions in overseas factories. Today, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., the world’s largest retailer, released its first-ever sustainability report.

In 2004, the General Board filed a shareholder resolution encouraging Wal-Mart to prepare a sustainability report—the resolution received more than 14% of the total shareholder vote at Wal-Mart’s annual meeting. Following two years of shareholder resolutions filed by the General Board, Wal-Mart publicly committed in 2006 to preparing a report. This period represents a considerable investment in time and human capital by General Board staff who worked closely with Wal-Mart to define the scope and content of the report, reviewed drafts and offered critical feedback. The report documents how Wal-Mart handles environmental issues, labor practices, employee benefits, supply chain standards, and the impact on communities.

“The Wal-Mart Sustainability Report is an essential public document that allows Wal-Mart to inform its stakeholders about the company’s ongoing endeavors to be a leader with high standards of global corporate citizenship”, said Vidette Bullock Mixon, director of the General Board’s Corporate Relations department. “Although we are pleased that Wal-Mart has released this report, we anticipate future reports will be even more specific about sustainability goals,” commented Daniel Nielsen, manager of Socially Responsible Investing.

Mixon cautions, “Wal-Mart’s report should not be seen as the end of a process but as the continuation of an ongoing discussion on important sustainability issues. We are committed to continuing to work with Wal-Mart and many other companies to help achieve the goals outlined in the Social Principles of The United Methodist Church.”

Sustainability reports are important to investors who are attempting to evaluate companies’ operations well into the future. They can disclose important information often not included in annual reports or other official documents. Last year, more than 2,300 companies produced reports on sustainability issues. An on-line version of Wal-Mart’s sustainability report can be found at walmartstores.com/GlobalWMStoresWeb/navigate.do?catg=772.

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About the General Board

The General Board of Pension and Health Benefits is a not-for-profit administrative agency of The United Methodist Church, responsible for the general supervision and administration of the retirement, health and welfare benefit plans, programs and funds for more than 74,000 clergy and lay employees of the Church.

With more than $16 billion in assets under management, the General Board is the largest faith-based pension fund in the United States and ranks among the top 100 pension funds in the country. As a socially responsible investor, the General Board is actively involved in shareholder advocacy, proxy voting, portfolio screening and community investing.