The Iowa-based think tank is asking Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") for details on why De Beers parent company Anglo American Plc. was given ISS's "ESG Prime" Certification

DES MOINES, Iowa, April 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Corporate Citizenship Project, a think-tank focused on a data-driven approach to corporate governance issues, released a letter to Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") asking the proxy advisor to clarify why Anglo American Plc. has been awarded "ESG Prime" certification given its ownership of the De Beers Group. The Corporate Citizenship Project has concerns with De Beers Group's ESG policies and has expressed concern about the company's history of links to the apartheid South Africa government and its opaque commitment to end its reliance on conflict diamonds. 

Ghada Salahuddin, President & CEO of The Corporate Citizenship Project, had the following statement regarding the letter:

"As someone whose ancestors worked as slaves and indentured servants to mine diamonds for De Beers, as someone whose distant relatives in Africa have died in recent years due to conflicts spurred on by conflict diamonds---I am shocked that ISS would see fit to award a company synonymous with greed and oppression its highest marks for 'ESG'. ISS CEO Gary Retelny owes ISS clients and stakeholders a detailed explanation on how this came to pass."

Contact

Ghada Salahuddin
515-259-6929
[email protected]

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SOURCE Corporate Citizenship Project