You decided to divest, what now?
You don’t want your money associated with the producers of nuclear weapons, but what can you do to make sure? Once you have made the decision to personally divest, there are a few steps to follow. This checklist gives you the steps to make sure your money isn’t associated with nuclear weapons. It is awork in progress, and not every situation will be the same, please take it as a guide.
Step 1: Check on your financial institution or investment
Is it listed in the Don’t Bank on the Bomb report? (www.DontBankontheBomb.com)
Yes:
In the Hall of Fame go to Step 4In the Runners-up go to Step 2
In the Hall of Shame go to Step 2
No:
Check to see if they are a subsidiary of another financial institution:
Yes, they are a subsidiary find out what their parent institution is and go back to step 1No, they are not a subsidiary go to Step 2
Step 2: Make Contact
Find the right person to talk to: board of directors, operating managers, the sustainability department, investment managers, the communication department. Always reach as high as you can!
Hall of Fame
- Tell them you are a client
- Thank them for having a policy
- Ask them to help you support the ICAN campaign by sharing information on the Ban Treaty, co-signing a letter to the government, or other activity.
Runners–Up
- Thank them for having a policy
- Encourage them to fix the gaps in the policy (use Don’t Bank on the Bomb for the specific recommendation)
- If they have also have investments, ask them to urgently divest.
Hall of Shame
- Tell them you are a client
- Ask them to urgently divest
- Ask them to develop a policy to prevent future investments.
Step 3: Escalate the engagement
Keep contacting the financial institution until they respond to your message, set up a policy and divest!
If they don’t respond at first:
- Send your message again, but this time copy other departments (including communications or public relations)
- Ask through social media- Facebook or Twitter
- Give a local journalist a scoop- telling them the whole story from investment to (lack of) action
- Publish an op-ed or letter to the editor in the newspaper
- Organize demonstrations at their offices
When the financial institution responds to your letter in a positive way suggest the following points for their nuclear weapons policy:
- Exclude all nuclear weapon associated companies
- Exclude all nuclear weapon associated activities
- Apply to all the institution’s products and services
- Actively divest from any current holdings in nuclear weapon producers
Step 4: Communicate & Congratulate
One success is inspiration for another, and another and another. One defeat is an opportunity to learn and improve and get creative in making new plans.
Don’t forget to:
- Tell the team at Don’t Bank on the Bomb about your activities: info@dontbankonthebomb.com
- Thank the people you’ve worked with at the financial institution for their efforts
- Publish some “good news” by asking local media to cover the success story
- Celebrate the win globally through social media
Tips for letter writing
For more detailed information, please visit www.dontbankonthebomb.com
This page was last updated November 2017.