Our negative screen evaluates a company’s products, services and practices to ensure they are not detrimental to society or the environment. U Ethical avoids investing in companies that:
- cause unacceptable damage to the natural environment
- infringe on human rights
- support oppressive regimes
- cause or perpetuate injustice and suffering
- have unacceptable occupational health and safety practices including disregard for minimum wage laws.
U Ethical also systematically excludes companies with operations in the following areas due to their inherent negative impacts:
- Oil, coal, gas (power generation, exploration, extraction)
- Uranium for non-medical uses
- Armaments
- Predatory lending
- Gambling
- Pornography and adult entertainment
- Animal cruelty
- Alcohol production
- Tobacco manufacturing
We recognise that there are occasions when companies inadvertently violate these principles and make genuine efforts to rectify this. Furthermore, we may choose not to exclude a company where a contravention of the principles constitutes less than 5% of the company’s revenue or earnings. In such instances, the contravention may be outweighed by significantly positive factors.