Major firms agree to disclose political gifts.

• Author: Marshall, Jeffrey
• Position: Shareholder activism - Brief article

Corporate political contributions are generally a far smaller item on activists' radar screens than environmental or governance issues. But a group of activists has garnered agreements from at least three major corporations to disclose and have their directors oversee "soft money" political contributions made with corporate funds.

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Pepsico Inc., The Coca-Cola Co. and Eli Lilly & Co. agreed to the request by the Washington-based Center for Political Accountability (CPA), environmental investment firm Green Century Capital Management and the Sisters of Mercy Regional Community of Detroit. The three companies join Morgan Stanley, Johnson & Johnson and Schering-Plough Corp., which adopted political transparency and accountability policies during the 2005 shareholder resolution season.

Under the policies, all soft money political contributions will be reviewed at the board level on an annual basis. In addition, each company will post a complete list of corporate political contributions on its website and disclose the guidelines and the...