The Shareholder Action Guide

CHAPTER

2

How Ordinary Investors Can Bring Real Change to Big Problems

Have you ever called a major corporation to correct a problem? Once you’ve navigated the endless phone tree and listened to a symphony’s worth of scratchy hold music, you’re finally connected to a representative who, with studied empathy, asks how she can help. This alone feels like a victory. With luck, they’ll correct the problem, and, although there are periods of aggravation during your quest, you hang up, satisfied. As far as it goes, the system works.

However, exactly who do you email about slave labor used in the manufacture of your cell phone? Who do you call if you’re distressed because your donut contains nanoparticles that are small enough to penetrate the blood-brain ...