{"id":4091,"date":"2026-06-10T15:24:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T19:24:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/?p=4091"},"modified":"2026-06-10T15:24:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T19:24:11","slug":"general-motors-15-of-investors-back-nuns-resolution-while-ceo-refuses-to-publish-sustainability-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/ja\/general-motors-15-of-investors-back-nuns-resolution-while-ceo-refuses-to-publish-sustainability-report\/","title":{"rendered":"General Motors: 15% of investors back nuns resolution, while CEO refuses to publish sustainability report"},"content":{"rendered":"

A shareholder resolution<\/a> on Indigenous Peoples’ rights by investor nuns won 15% support<\/a> at this week\u2019s General Motors annual general meeting, showing strong concerns among investors about the financial risks arising from the company\u2019s failure to address impacts to Indigenous Peoples\u2019 rights in the Thacker Pass mining project.<\/p>\n

CEO Mary Barra during the AGM refused to commit to publishing an annual sustainability report, a key resource for investors to understand how the company is complying with regulatory requirements, reducing risks and capitalizing on ESG opportunities, following its failure to publish one last year. \u201cWe refined our strategy to focus on areas that drive the most business value while advancing our zero emission vision,\u201d Barra told shareholders. Last year, GM was the only globally automaker out of all 18 automakers evaluated by Lead the CHarge that failed to publish a sustainability report.\u00a0<\/p>\n

New York City Pension Funds and CalPERS were among the investors backing the resolution by the New Jersey-based Sisters of St Joseph of Peace and the overall support means it can be refiled next year, given it is well above the 5% refiling threshold. Despite this, GM refused to take investor questions on the issue in a tightly controlled shareholders’ meeting which ended after around 20 minutes.<\/p>\n

The resolution called on GM to publish a report outlining the effectiveness of its policies and practices on Indigenous Peoples\u2019 rights, as set out by United Nations\u2019 international standards. It cites alleged Indigenous Peoples\u2019 rights violations, including at a lithium mine it partly owns at Thacker Pass in Nevada. A report<\/a> by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union last year showed the federal permitting process involved minimal contact with the Tribes and lasted less than a year before the project was approved, a contrast to the over 3-year average it takes to approve new mining projects.<\/p>\n

Chanda Callao, a member of the People of Red Mountain<\/a>, a committee of traditional knowledge-keepers and descendants of the McDermitt Paiute, Shoshone, and Bannock Tribes which oppose the Thacker Pass mine, told shareholders<\/a> while presenting the resolution at the shareholders meeting: \u201cGM has made a commitment to respect the rights outlined in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, but investment in the Thacker Pass lithium mine directly violates those commitments. Now we bear witness to this new attack on our people as the mine brings in man camps, threatening our women and children, creates air and water pollution, threatening our health, and desecrates our sacred land, threatening our cultural practices and traditional way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

GM has been in the spotlight recently following an international automakers rankings on clean supply chains that showed it had slipped down because of its failure to publish a sustainability report or any other evidence on how it is actually enforcing its human rights policies and commitments. The Lead The Charge Leaderboard<\/a> said GM \u201ccontinues to perform poorly on Indigenous Peoples\u2019 rights and workers\u2019 rights in the supply chain. Despite having commitments in these areas, the company fails to disclose tangible evidence of how they are being effectively operationalized and enforced in practice.\u201d<\/p>\n

The shareholder resolution also highlights recent reports raising concerns that GM may be sourcing nickel from mines in Indonesia that have violated Indigenous Peoples\u2019 rights, including by widespread marine pollution, deforestation and heavy metal contamination. This is in addition to concerns that have been raised about human rights violations in the company’s aluminum supply chain, including allegations of land grabbing by mining companies in Guinea<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Investor Advocates for Social Justice<\/b><\/a> Program Director Aaron Acosta:<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very pleased with the strong result of 15%. At a time when coordinated efforts to undermine shareholder rights have created a chilling effect, and support for ESG proposals is declining across the board, a result of 15% signals that GM should be paying attention to this issue. GM\u2019s shareholders care about respecting Indigenous Peoples\u2019 rights. GM should also care.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sr. Susan Francois, CSJP, Assistant Congregation Leader & Treasurer, Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cTuesday\u2019s vote result marks an important moment for Indigenous Peoples\u2019 rights at GM. The company\u2019s investment in Thacker Pass represents a clear material risk for its investors, and the 15% vote result highlights the need for GM to respect human rights, dignity, and self-determination. We will continue to engage with the company, pushing for greater respect of Indigenous Peoples\u2019 rights and the common good.\u201d –\u00a0<\/p>\n

Galina Angarova, Executive Director at the SIRGE Coalition<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThis vote sends a clear message that is difficult to dismiss. Investors are increasingly concerned about the gap between corporate commitments and operational reality. A significant number of General Motors shareholders have recognized that respect for Indigenous Peoples\u2019 rights cannot be treated as a matter of policy alone. The concerns raised by impacted Indigenous communities require meaningful action, accountability, and respect for Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). This result increases the pressure on GM to explain how its human rights commitments are being implemented in practice, beyond corporate statements.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mighty Earth: Matthew Groch, Senior Director\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cCEO Mary Barra\u2019s claims of GM being committed to transparency on its sustainability progress is laughable, considering that GM failed even to publish an annual sustainability report last year. Regardless of how Barra tries to spin it, this is a big step back for the company. It also means that GM is slipping further away from automakers across the globe that are making progress on being transparent their supply chains. Investors beware, given the risk this carries.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A shareholder resolution on Indigenous Peoples’ rights by investor nuns won 15% support at this week\u2019s General Motors annual general meeting, showing strong concerns among investors about the financial risks…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4091"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4092,"href":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4091\/revisions\/4092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadthecharge.org\/ja\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}