Steven Heim is a Managing Director at Boston Common Asset Management, an investment firm that targets global impact initiatives in pursuit of, both financial return and social change. Over the years, Steven has engaged in dialogues at IFIP global conferences on the intersection of corporate accountability and Indigenous Peoples rights. Since 2007, he has served as the Chair of the Advocacy Subcommittee of the Investors and Indigenous Peoples Working Group. He also serves on the board of Cultural Survival as the vice chair.

This article is based on a Q&A with Steven Heim of Boston Common Asset Management.

Two basic lessons: “Know what you own. Are there companies in your portfolios that harm Indigenous Peoples directly or indirectly?” and “Seek direction from Indigenous Peoples themselves.”

What sparked your interest in Indigenous Peoples rights? What do you do in this area in addition to Boston Common Asset Management?

I think my interest started from living in Brazil as a young child when my parents were missionaries in Bahia. It was part of the culture. I then grew up mostly In Central California. My grandfather told me when I was young that he thought I had a great, great, great American Indian grandmother from the 1830s in Missouri. Until about 10 years ago, I thought I was 1/32 Native American Indian. But my uncle, the family historian, said no, which was based on his research after my grandfather passed away. Skipping ahead, since 2013 I’ve served on the Board of Cultural Survival and was Treasurer and now Vice Chair. For several years running I’ve also attended the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York.

What were your first investor engagements on Indigenous Peoples and their outcomes?

The first was in 1998 with Applebee’s on racist imagery in its restaurants that displayed wooden Indian statues, so-called “cigar store Indians”. After protests by American Indian Movement activists and our small engagement, Applebee’s removed the statues from store décor packages for company owned restaurants, but not franchisee owned. Next was with the Spanish oil and gas company Repsol that started in 2000 and continued to today about Indigenous Peoples rights in Latin America. Results took much longer. In 2008, Repsol adopted its Indigenous Communities policy, the first in Latin America it said. It took six more years working with Norwegian investor Storebrand for Repsol to exit Block 39 in the Peruvian Amazon where Indigenous Peoples lived, threatened by oil exploration.

What are other examples?

Last year Boston Common helped lead investor engagement with the 17 banks that financed the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL), supported by over 160 investors with over $1.7 trillion assets under management (AUM). Global banks ING, DNB and BNP Paribas pulled out of DAPL. We later helped organize investors engaging the Equator Principles Association, this time backed by over $2.6 trillion AUM or advisement. This initiative combined with NGO pressure led the global association of over 90 banks to commit to revise its project risk policies on Indigenous Peoples rights. We believe the policies failed its 13 member banks of the 17 that financed DAPL.

Next, examples involving policy makers and multinational agencies: in 2010, we led investors that urged the US to endorse the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In 2015, we led investors that asked the World Bank to improve its lending policies on Indigenous Peoples that resulted in some improvements. These and many more examples show how investors working together can press corporations and policy makers to respect Indigenous Peoples rights, may help reduce risks and also support indirectly Native nation building. These actions may parallel and accelerate actions by Native peoples, civil society, industry organizations and governments.

What does engagement or shareholder advocacy mean in practice? What would IFIP members actually do?

Here are examples – sign letters to companies and policy makers and join dialogues, provide proxies to Indigenous Peoples to attend annual meetings of companies, co-file shareholder proposals, support research on good corporate practices and laggards, support internships and training for Indigenous Peoples.

Looking back on your nearly 20 years of experience, what are key lessons for IFIP members while engaging with corporations and policy makers as investors?

One basic lesson is to “know what you own”. Are there companies in your portfolios that harm Indigenous Peoples directly or indirectly? Two, if you’re persistent and work with other investors great things can happen, sometimes unexpectedly. You never know how you might spark and drive internal discussions and policy changes. Three, seek direction from Indigenous Peoples themselves. When the chief lawyer of an oil company asked me in 2005 if they should get out of Ecuador, I replied we’d like his company to respect the wishes of the Indigenous Peoples there.

Four, Indigenous Peoples may need logistics and technical support to help negotiate, engage, or challenge corporations threatening their territories or cultures or to meet with other Native peoples. As a funder or donor, you might help. Five, be constructive with companies and policy makers, you are not the NGO (though you may fund them). Provide companies questions and critical information before meetings. No “gotcha” allowed. We also insisted at times that NGO staff join our meetings if civil and they respected the “off the record” rules too. A final lesson – or strategy – is to Identify leader companies in an industry to push them further and learn best practices from them and NGOs to press on other companies.

If one has divested from fossil fuel or mining companies, how can we engage them on Indigenous Peoples’ rights?

Some investors buy small pools of stocks in various companies just for advocacy purposes. Some actions don’t require you to be a shareholder. You can also support Indigenous Peoples by engaging these companies and perhaps their NGO allies.

How can IFIP members become active in 2018 as investors?

I am biased but consider participating in the Investors & Indigenous Peoples Working Group and its advocacy committee that I’ve chaired or coordinated since 2007. The monthly advocacy calls are recorded if you can’t dial in. We work on a number of US and global issues. Also, there is a group of global investors that meet quarterly on Indigenous Peoples rights issues via telephone that I help coordinate with others. Please email me if you’re interested in either.

What are some resources for IFIP members to learn more?

Confluence Philanthropy guide “Protecting the Protectors: Aligning Investment Strategies for Native American Communities” (requires registration), Green Money Journal special August 2015 issue on Impact Investing & Indigenous Peoples, and US SIF Foundation’s US SIF Foundation’s guide for tribal investors.

To learn more, please contact Steven Heim at sheim@bostoncommonasset.com

The information in this article should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. All investments involve risk, including the risk of losing principal.