[Recent] shareholder resolutions [encouraging companies to identify & address human rights impacts] represent a growing acknowledgement among investors that business responsibilities extend beyond short-term profits, and that social issues can represent significant operational and financial risks. The UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights...encourages investors to file and vote in support of resolutions requiring human rights due diligence and implementation of the UN Guiding Principles...Though shareholder resolutions have long been a tool for investors to push companies to improve their social performance...recent efforts represent a step forward in two ways. First, these shareholder resolutions use the UN Guiding Principles as a benchmark and second, they require concrete actions to implement policy commitments...Since 2007, shareholder resolutions have resulted in publicly traded companies adopting human rights policies, establishing board-level Human Rights Committees, and conducting human rights impact assessments. [Refers to Caterpillar, Halliburton, McDonald’s]