On Tuesday, I wrote about CalPERS‘ adoption of updated governance principles, including this new Principle 6.5:

Robust board oversight and disclosure of corporate charitable and political activity is needed to ensure alignment with business strategy and to protect assets on behalf of shareowners. We recommend the following:

a. Policy: The board should develop and disclose a policy that outlines the board‘s role in overseeing corporate charitable and political contributions, the terms and conditions under which charitable and political contributions are permissible, and the process for disclosing charitable and political contributions annually.

b. Board Monitoring, Assessment and Approval: The board of directors should monitor charitable and political contributions (including trade association contributions made by the company. The board should ensure that only contributions consistent with and aligned to the interests of the company and its shareowners are approved.