Catherine Howarth on shareholder activism, growing back better and change makers

Ben Yeoh Chats

How does individual shareholder activism work? How does personal agency and systems change work together in a theory of change? How do we become change makers? What did Catherine's mother teach me?

Catherine is Chief Executive of ShareAction. She coordinates civil society activism to promote responsible investment Catherine was recognised by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader in 2014. ShareAction campaigns have significantly altered corporate strategy and government policy. For instance, on HSBC establishing environmental targets and Tesco making healthy food commitments.

• We chat about Catherine’s journey into activism and the theories of change that have influenced her.
  
• We discuss how poetry, Ursula Le Guin and feminism have impacted us.
  
• How to convince open minded skeptics to your cause.
  

Transcript and video available here.

Topics covered:

-Catherine’s activism journey

-Catherine on community and theory of change

-ShareAction theory of change

-Healthy eating campaign, ideas on fiduciary duty

-How to decide on campaign topics

-Converting skeptics

-What poetry taught me dividual agency at National Express

What poetry taught me

-Questions on individual pension investors vote

-Maximising the well being of people

-Responsible Investment Bill idea, maximising welfare

-Better growth not degrowth

-Problems of vaccine nationalism

-Underrated/overrated: art, cycling, carbon tax, voting, remote work, having children

-Catherines advice to young people