The Rest Is Money 220. How Do We Make Big Business Behave?
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Oct 30, 2025 
Catherine Howarth, Chief Executive of ShareAction, discusses how investors can encourage companies to adopt the real living wage and promote healthier food options. She shares insights on leveraging both small shareholders and large pension funds to influence corporate behavior effectively. The conversation reveals the significant impact of workplace health on productivity and the tensions political pressures create for responsible investment. Howarth also explores how individual pension savers can drive change and the need for more domestic investment in the UK.
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Pensions Shape Corporate Behavior
- ShareAction mobilizes the pensions and investment industry to ensure companies act in savers' interests beyond short-term returns.
- Catherine Howarth argues companies shape public health, jobs and the environment, so investors must engage to protect savers.
Winning The Real Living Wage Campaign
- ShareAction led a long campaign to get FTSE 100 firms to adopt the real living wage and achieved over 50% accreditation among large listed companies.
- They achieved this by partnering with big investors and using shareholder engagement tools like AGMs and small-share ownership.
Use Small Shareholdings To Influence CEOs
- Buy a small number of shares and attend company AGMs to ask questions and build relationships with directors.
- Use institutional partners like Legal & General or Nest to amplify influence and scale engagement.