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JLens Annual Portfolio Updates
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October 2021 Update

1. Top Companies on Religious Coexistence

Since 2019, JLens has been a leading voice on religious coexistence with corporations. In the face of rising bias and hate, companies have an important role to play in fostering coexistence. Intolerance of religious minorities has been growing at an alarming rate. According to the FBI, attacks motivated by bias or prejudice recently reached a 12-year high. Nearly 60% of religion-based hate crime in the U.S. targeted Jews and Jewish institutions, more than any other religious group. Through extensive research and engagement with hundreds of companies, JLens has compiled best practices for religious coexistence in the workplace, and identified ten companies that score highly based on these best practices. 
 
2. Jewish Values Guide JLens' Annual Portfolio Update
Every year around Rosh Hashanah, JLens updates the Jewish Advocacy Strategy’s portfolio of approximately 300 large US public companies to reflect changes to JLens’ corporate scoring across six Jewish value pillars (Coexistence, Society, Worker, Ethical Business, Environment, Support for Israel). Based on scoring changes, two companies (AbbVie and American Express) were added to JLens 2021 “Most Kosher” Companies List. These are the 18 companies with the highest score across JLens' six values pillars.   

AbbVie, a pharmaceutical company, has played an important role during the Covid-19 pandemic in ensuring access to medicine throughout the world. When one of the company’s drugs became a possible treatment for COVID, the company released all of its intellectual property rights so the drug could be produced easily and economically around the world. AbbVie also expanded its patient assistance program to ensure those who were uninsured could access necessary medications. AbbVie has demonstrated a strong commitment to diversity and inclusion, and has a Jewish Resource Committee to support Jewish employees. The company has a history of strong ties to Israel, with over 200 employees working on drug development, as well as research partnerships with various Israeli hospitals.

American Express, a financial services company, has played a leadership role in decreasing economic inequities during the pandemic by implementing financial relief programs and waiving fees and interest for individuals and small businesses in need. The company has taken a strong stance against BDS, pulling its sponsorship from the Roger Waters tour in light of his anti-Israel remarks and continuing to retain a strong relationship with Israel. American Express has demonstrated a commitment to diversity and inclusion. The company has implemented a gender/racial pay equity analysis and has achieved gender pay equity throughout its global workforce. American Express is also committed to supplier diversity, unconscious bias training, and inclusive recruitment practices. The company has already achieved net zero emissions and uses 100% renewable energy.
 

3. JLens Recent Company Dialogues: Hersheys and Union Pacific
JLens is the only organization engaging companies in investor advocacy on behalf of Jewish communal values and concerns. Recently, JLens engaged with the following corporations: 

Hershey’s: JLens’ meeting with Hershey’s focused on the company’s CSR priorities, the effects of the Covid pandemic, progress toward the company’s environmental goals, and eliminating child labor in the supply chain. The company is making progress toward racial and gender diversity with recruitment and retainment policies in the corporate offices, but due to COVID and labor shortages, has not had the same increases in racial and gender diversity within its manufacturing plants and supply chain. 

Union Pacific: Union Pacific is the largest railroad company in the US. As a result of JLens’ previous advocacy to promote religious coexistence, Union Pacific has now implemented three floating days off that can be used for employees’ holidays of choice, and the Chief Diversity Officer is working with local religious leaders to create a multi-faith Employee Resource Group, as well as a prayer room at the company’s headquarters. Union Pacific has taken significant steps to focus on recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce. JLens discussed Union Pacific’s progress toward its goal of a 26% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1 and Scope 2) by 2030. 


4. Latest BDS Economic Campaign Targets 672 Financial Companies
Unfortunately the list of BDS-targeted companies continues to grow highlighting the imperative for building long-term advocacy relationships with companies to combat BDS. The latest campaign focuses on 672 financial institutions including banks, asset managers, insurance companies, and pension funds that have financial relationships with 50 BDS-targeted companies including Airbnb, Bank Hapoalim, Bank Leumi, Booking.com, Caterpillar, Cisco Systems, Energix Renewable Energies, Expedia Group, General Mills, HeidelbergCement, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Israel Discount Bank, Motorola Solutions, RE/MAX Holdings, Volvo Group, and more.


5. Jewish Representation in the Responsible Investing Arena
JLens represents the Jewish community in the influential global responsible investing arena and regularly engages in coalition-based advocacy on shared values with other investors. Recently, JLens joined an investor coalition urging Tesla to abandon forced arbitration in cases of discrimination and harassment. JLens also joined investors representing over $46 trillion in assets on the 2021 Global Investor Statement to Governments on the Climate Crisis, in advance of the United Nations General Assembly this year. Additionally, JLens joined a coalition of investors in a dialogue with Moderna on vaccine access throughout the world and sharing of technology. 


6. October Events
JLens CEO Julie Hammerman will be speaking at the Jewish Federations of North America’s General Assembly on October 5th, and at a Natan event in NYC on October 25th.
 
JLens' mission is to increase Jewish leadership and representation in the influential responsible investing and business movements. This email is for educational purposes only and should not be viewed as investment advice.
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