|
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | CLIMATE CHANGE | OIL SANDS
Shareowner Activists Request Better Disclosure of Strategic Risks by Oil Sands Developers
Investor group led by Boston Common Asset Management in the US and FairPensions in the UK joins forces to engage with BP and Shell on disclosure of strategic risk mitigation in Canadian oil sands developments.
NEWS BRIEF:
ECONOMIC CRISIS | CREDIT RATING AGENCIES | LAWSUITS
Connecticut AG Sues Rating Agencies for Their Role in Financial Meltdown
Lawsuit charges that Moody's and Standard & Poor's knowingly assigned inflated ratings to investments backed by sub-prime loans in order to earn lucrative fees.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION
Lack of Government Policy, Not Technology, Is Barrier to Climate Change Mitigation
A climate scientist and a business leader join forces to assert the validity of climate science, and recommend the adoption of a market-based cap-and-trade program.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
More Than 60 Companies Voluntarily Adopt Annual Shareowner Votes on Executive Compensation
Companies adopting say-on-pay include many in the financial industries, and all TARP recipients mandated to do so last year; in the absence of legislation or regulations, activist shareowners file more than 70 resolutions on the issue this year.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | HUMAN RIGHTS | SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Forced Child Labor Remains Widespread in Cotton Fields of Uzbekistan
A report from the Environmental Justice Foundation finds that up to two million children are forced into working in Uzbekistan’s cotton fields, and recommends that apparel retailers improve monitoring of their supply chains to ensure that forced labor is not a part of them.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | CLIMATE CHANGE
Investors File Record Number of Shareowner Resolutions on Climate Change
Organizations that have filed resolutions addressing oil sands operations, quantitative greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, and coal ash waste disposal, express strong support for SEC guidance on climate change disclosure.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | ENERGY EFFICIENCY | ELECTRONIC WASTE
UNEP Report Describes Urgent Need to Address E-Waste
With growth of e-waste in developing countries expected to multiply by 2020, the report identifies technologies that can increase recycling rates and generate jobs in a low-carbon economy.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY | INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
Vodafone Tops List of Sustainable ICT Companies
Ranking of the largest global information and communication technology companies finds strengths in product innovation and supply chain engagement, but room for improvement in emissions reduction and stakeholder engagement.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | CORPORATE GOVERNANCE | POLITICAL SPENDING
Social Investors Brainstorm Responses to Citizens United
Possible actions in response to the Supreme Court decision include voluntary disclosure of corporate political spending, regulatory action by the SEC, and Congressional legislation.
NEWS BRIEF:
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE INVESTMENT RESEARCH | ACQUISITIONS AND MERGERS
MSCI Will Acquire RiskMetrics
Implications are uncertain for the ESG investment research industry, whose consolidation has been driven in large part by acquisitions by RiskMetrics.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | CORPORATE GOVERNANCE | POLITICAL SPENDING
Shareowner Activists Galvanized by Citizens United Decision
Financial and reputational risks associated with corporate political spending lead to successful shareowner engagement and request that S&P 500 companies agree to disclose political donations.
NEWS BRIEF:
PRINCIPLES FOR RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT | INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS
PRI Commits Investors to Consideration of Environmental, Social, and Governance Issues
A white paper published by the Corporate Library explores the impact and potential of the Principles for Responsible Investment in North America.
NEWS STORY:
COMMUNITY INVESTING | PEER-TO-PEER LENDING
People Capital Launches Peer Lending Platform for Qualified Education Loans
Following an SEC clarification of peer lending products as securities, People Capital hopes that social investors will use its lending platform to execute their missions.
NEWS STORY:
CORPORATE REPORTING | ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE
Study Finds No Correlation Between Consumer Perception of Corporate Environmental Performance and Verifiable Data
A study by New Scientist magazine employs data from ESG research provider Trucost, and finds that companies perceived by consumers as green often lag in environmental disclosure.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE REPORTING | ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE | WATER SCARCITY
Companies Exposed to Water Risks Are Providing Investors With Too Little Data
Report from Ceres, UBS, and Bloomberg Professional finds that reporting on water risks by companies in water-intensive industry sectors is insufficient.
NEWS STORY:
CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING
Investors Call on 86 Global Compact Signatories to Produce Annual Communication on Progress
A coalition of investor signatories to the Principles for Responsible Investment identify 86 large, publicly traded companies as laggard in producing annual Communications on Progress as required by the Global Compact, and urge them to do so or risk delisting.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY | GENOCIDE
American Funds Sells PetroChina Holdings
The mutual fund family responds to the use of oil revenues to fund genocide in Darfur, following shareowner pressure led by Investors Against Genocide.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
US Chamber of Commerce Issues Court Challenge to EPA’s Endangerment Finding on Greenhouse Gases
In response to the EPA finding that greenhouse gas emissions threaten the public health and welfare of the American people, the Chamber challenges the Agency’s decision to trigger Clean Air Act regulation.
NEWS STORY:
CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY | ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE RESEARCH
2010 Sees the Publication of Two Lists of Most Sustainable Companies
Following its 2009 purchase of Innovest, RiskMetrics uses for its Global ESG 100 the ESG research previously supplied to Corporate Knights, while Corporate Knights turns to three research providers, including a startup of Innovest cofounder, for its Global 100.
BOOK REVIEW:
COMMUNITY INVESTING | BOOK REVIEW
Book Review: Solutions for Impact Investors: From Strategy to Implementation
Authors Steven Godeke and Raul Pomares seek to provide an investment strategy that can combine social impact with financial returns.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | SUPPLY CHAINS | CORPORATE REPORTING
Carbon Disclosure Project Publishes Second Annual Supply Chain Report
The report finds increased engagement by corporations with suppliers on climate change, and growing expectations for improved performance.
NEWS STORY:
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT | COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
Treasury Department Will Invest $1 Billion in Community Development Financial Institutions
With unemployment rates still at record highs and big banks unwilling to lend to small businesses, CDFIs welcome the infusion of capital when demand for their services is greater than ever.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | CORPORATE REPORTING | REGULATORY ACTIONS
SEC Posts Interpretive Guidance for Climate Change Disclosure on Website
The Commission reminds companies of their obligation to consider such issues as legislative and regulatory developments, business trends, and physical impacts in disclosure relating to climate change.
NEWS BRIEF:
INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS | SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
TIAA-CREF Calls on Shareowners to Take More Active Roles in Corporate Governance
Referring to crises in governance from Enron to the financial crisis, the financial services organization recommends that institutional investors meet their responsibilities as universal owners through active engagement with companies in their portfolios.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | POLITICAL SPENDING
In Wake of Controversial Supreme Court Decision, Shareowner Activists Develop Plan for Corporate Disclosure of Political Spending
Asserting that excessive corporate political spending reduces shareowner value and weakens corporate governance, shareowner advocates call on corporations to adopt a framework for disclosure developed by the Center for Political Accountability.
NEWS BRIEF:
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE ISSUES | EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Shareowners Are Urged to Press Companies to Link Compensation with ESG Factors
A Eurosif study of companies listed in the FTSE Eurofirst300 index finds that relatively few European companies link executive compensation to ESG performance, with financial institutions lagging behind all other sectors.
BOOK REVIEW:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | BOOK REVIEW
Book Review: The Surprising Solution: Creating Possibility in a Swift and Severe World
Author Bruce Piasecki describes a new global equity culture in which the corporations that thrive will be those that respond to the social challenges of a resource-restrained world.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE
Obama Announces Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets for Federal Agencies
Following his October Executive Order directing Federal agencies to set reduction targets, Obama announces that the Federal Government will reduce GHG emissions by 28% by 2020.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
SEC Ruling on Proxy Disclosure Is Likely to Lead to Increased Shareowner Activism
An overview by the Corporate Library details some of the possible effects of the ruling on shareowner actions in what could shape up to be a critically important proxy season.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Shareowner Campaign Targets Hydraulic Fracturing by Natural Gas Companies
Twelve shareowner resolutions ask natural gas companies for transparency about the business and environmental risks of a controversial drilling method.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | CORPORATE REPORTING |REGULATORY ACTIONS
SEC Issues Guidance for Corporate Reporting on Climate Change
The decision, which directs companies to disclose business risks and opportunities associated with climate change, is welcomed by investors who have been calling for such guidance for years.
NEWS STORY:
CORPORATE REPORTING | SUSTAINABILITY
Report Links Effective Corporate Sustainability Reporting to Presence of Key Performance Indicators
Based on his survey of prominent investors and analysts, Dr. Axel Hesse of Sustainable Development Management develops key performance indicators for sustainability that should be included in corporate reporting.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | CORPORATE REPORTING
Sixty Companies Agree to Measure Emissions From Product Life Cycles and Supply Chains
Measurement and disclosure of Scope 3 emissions and emissions from product life cycles are based on standards developed by the Greenhouse Gas Protocol.
NEWS STORY:
MUTUAL FUNDS | SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTING
Most Socially Responsible Mutual Funds Outperformed Benchmarks in 2009
A study of mutual funds managed by members of the Social Investment Forum finds that two-thirds outperformed their benchmarks across nearly all asset classes in 2009, and most large cap funds outperformed the S&P 500 over three and 10 years.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | CORPORATE REPORTING
Apple Tells Shareowners to Reject Proposal for Annual Sustainability Report
Asserting that industry peers HP and Dell issue such reports and are far more transparent on sustainability issues, shareowner proposal filed by As You Sow requests that Apple produce a report that includes greenhouse gas reduction targets.
NEWS STORY:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | POLITICAL SPENDING | SUPREME COURT
Advocates for Corporate Accountability Denounce Supreme Court Ruling on Political Spending
Fearing that the decision will lead to an erosion of standards for corporate accountability and disclosure, advocates call on shareowners to redouble efforts for disclosure of corporate political spending.
NEWS BRIEF:
CARBON OFFSETS | DEFORESTATION AND FOREST DEGRADATION
Report Details the Growth of Market for Forest Offset Credits
Although the vast majority of projects are transacted in voluntary markets, third-party certification as well as commitments to offsets by governments have grown.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
UN Introduces Website for Partnerships with Business
The need for humanitarian assistance following disasters such as earthquake in Haiti leads to development of the first single interface connecting business with the entire UN system.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | TAR SANDS
Canadian Tar Sands Are Target of Shareowner Resolution at Shell
Coalition of investors successfully files a resolution addressing the financial, environmental, and reputational risks of Shell's oil extraction from Canadian tar sands.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | GOVERNMENT POLICIES | PRIVATE INVESTMENT
Investors Call on Governments to Act on Climate Change Now
Investor groups attending the 2010 Investor Summit on Climate Risk at the UN endorse a statement calling for climate change policies that encourage private investment.
NEWS STORY:
SUPPLY CHAINS | MINERALS | DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Investors Urge Companies to Keep Minerals from War-Torn Congo Out of Supply Chains
Minerals smuggled out of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are funding the conflict there by entering the corporate supply chains of several industries, and investors are requesting that companies take steps to end the process.
NEWS BRIEF:
INTERNET PRIVACY | CHINA
Google to Review Business Operations in China Following Cyber-Attacks
After years of complying with Chinese demands for self-censorship, Google responds to attacks on users’ email by announcing it is no longer willing to censor search results.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | SUPPLY CHAINS
Investors Remain at Risk Due to Corporate Breaches of Supply Chain Standards
According to a new EIRIS report, companies in consumer industries are responding to NGO pressure, but recommends investor engagement with companies on supply chain polices, management, and reporting.
NEWS STORY:
SUSTAINABLE INVESTING | MUTUAL FUNDS
Pax World Joins With Morningstar Associates to Launch ESG Managers Portfolios
The new series of asset allocation funds are designed for investment advisors and clients looking for environmental, social, and governance criteria in their investments.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE | INVESTMENT RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES | ASSET MANAGERS
Despite Improvements in Corporate Disclosure and Regulatory Oversight, Many Asset Managers Still Do Not Consider Climate Change in Analyses
A survey of asset managers by Ceres finds that nearly half believe that climate risk is not material to their investment analysis, despite their fiduciary duty to evaluate risk as part of their due diligence review.
NEWS STORY:
GENOCIDE-FREE INVESTING
TIAA-CREF Divests its Holdings in Oil Companies Operating in Sudan
Responding to the genocide in Darfur, TIAA-CREF follows up on its commitment of March, 2009, and divests its holdings in four Asian state-owned oil companies after engagement shows insufficient progress.
NEWS STORY:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | INDIA
Indian Government Issues Voluntary Guidelines for Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility
At the conclusion of the first India Corporate Week, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs issues guidelines intended to encourage best practices in corporate governance and corporate social responsibility.
NEWS BRIEF:
ECONOMIC CRISIS | SUBPRIME MORTGAGE LENDING | REGULATORY REFORM
Fed Chief Acknowledges Failure of Regulatory Oversight in Subprime Mortgage Crisis
Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke calls for strengthening regulatory system to prevent the recurrence of a crisis warned of by the socially responsible investment community for years.
NEWS BRIEF:
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE | CORPORATIONS | KOREA
Korean Companies Expect to Increase Sustainability Management Practices
Survey finds that while such issues as environmental management and supply chain management remain low among corporate priorities in Korea, climate change legislation and the outperformance of sustainable companies will lead to widespread implementation.
NEWS BRIEF:
RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES | PATENTS AND TRADEMARKS
US Patent and Trademark Office Launches Program to Speed Patent Applications in Green Technologies
The program is designed to encourage the development of alternative energy businesses in the US.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | CORPORATE REPORTING
Carbon Disclosure Project Publishes 2010 Information Request for Companies
In addition to the information request, which will be sent to more than 4,500 companies on February 1st, the CDP invites investors to become signatories.
NEWS BRIEF:
RENEWABLE ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES
US Department of Energy Will Fund Research and Development of Alternative Energy Sources
The formation by the DOE of three Energy Innovation Hubs is intended to accelerate the commercial deployment of new energy technologies.
NEWS BRIEF:
ENERGY EFFICIENCY | GREEN BUILDINGS |
Investing in Energy-Efficient Buildings Can Reduce Emissions While Strengthening Portfolios
A new report from Ceres and Mercer identifies efficiency as a significant front in mitigating climate change, and recommends that investors focus on efficiency measures in their real estate holdings.
NEWS STORY:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY REPORTING
CSR Reporting by S&P 100 Companies Shows Improvement in 2009, But Disclosure by Companies in Emerging Markets Needs to Improve
Two recently commissioned reports by the Social Investment Forum chart the progress of corporate social responsibility reporting, both in the US and emerging markets.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE | INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS
Institutional Investors Object to Lack of Acknowledgement in Copenhagen
Open letter from the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment to Heads of State asserts that the Copenhagen agreement ignores the fact that the vast majority of financing of climate change mitigation will come from private sources.
NEWS BRIEF:
SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTING | MUTUAL FUNDS
Domini Social Equity Fund Outperforms S&P 500 Through November, 2009
The socially responsible investment fund reports return on investment of 31.43% through November 30, outperforming the S&P 500 by more than 7%.
NEWS STORY:
ECONOMIC CRISIS | JOBS CREATION
Ambitious Plan for Jobs Creation Is Offered by the Economic Policy Institute
According to its report, a plan to create at least 4.6 million jobs in the first year could be repaid by the implementation of a financial transactions tax.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE | JOBS CREATION | PRIVATE INVESTMENT
Clean Jobs Creation Needs Private Investment to Succeed
A Five-Point Plan issued by the Apollo Alliance details a number of opportunities for private investors in the creation of jobs that help combat climate change. Second of a two-part series.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Will Goldman’s New Bonus Policy Continue to Encourage Short-Termism?
Harrington Investments files a shareowner resolution that would require executives to retain shares awarded as bonuses until after retirement.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE | RENEWABLE ENERGY | JOBS CREATION
Creating a Sustainable Clean Energy Economy Will Require Government Support
A report from the Global Climate Network finds that opportunities for investment in the global transition to a low-carbon economy will require government support in the current economic climate. First of a two-part series.
NEWS BRIEF:
RENEWABLE ENERGY | DEVELOPING NATIONS
US Secretary of Energy Announces Plan for Clean Energy Deployment in Developing Countries
While progress toward even a non-binding agreement in Copenhagen stalls, the US Secretary of Energy announces program to help fund energy efficiency measures in developing countries.
NEWS BRIEF:
EXCESSIVE CEO COMPENSATION | SAY ON PAY
Goldman Sachs to Allow Shareowner Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation
In the wake of an uproar over its plans to award $23 billion in bonuses, TARP recipient also announces that Management Committee will receive equity Shares at Risk instead of cash.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | DISCLOSURE
Institutional Investors Ask SEC to Clarify That Climate Change is a Material Risk
Despite regulatory and legislative progress, the failure of companies to disclose risks remains widespread, according to the request for interpretive guidance.
NEWS BRIEF:
GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS | REGULATIONS
EPA Announces Endangerment Findings on Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The Agency responds to 2007 Supreme Court ruling by finding that greenhouse gases (GHGs) threaten public health and welfare, and finalizes proposed regulations to reduce vehicle emissions.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE | INTERNATIONAL TREATIES
Treaty Conference on Climate Change Opens in Copenhagen
While prospects for signing of an international agreement seem delayed until next year, hopes for progress increase with rescheduling of Obama's participation and involvement of China and India.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | RETAIL INVESTORS
New Website Aims to Increase Proxy Voting by Retail Investors
Hoping to reverse a decline in proxy voting by retail shareowners, Moxy Vote assembles a group of advocates with which shareowners can choose to align their votes.
NEWS STORY:
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE | INVESTMENT CONSULTANTS
Investment Consultants Believe that ESG Considerations by Investors Are Here to Stay
The Social Investment Forum surveyed US-based investment consultants and found that while they expect client interest in ESG will continue to grow, many remain uncertain of the financial impacts.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER RESOLUTIONS | EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
ICCR Members Target Executive Compensation at Health Industry Companies
In their shareowner resolution, 30 ICCR members ask 21 companies in the health industry to report on disparities between executive compensation, including health benefits, to compensation of lowest-paid employees.
NEWS STORY:
ESG INVESTMENT RESEARCH | ACQUISITIONS
Thomson Reuters Acquires ASSET4, a Major Provider of ESG Investment Research
The merger is the latest of many in the sector in 2009, and positions Thomson Reuters to compete with major rival Bloomberg in providing ESG data to investors.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE | TREATIES
Obama to Attend Climate Change Talks in Copenhagen
Hopes for substance in Copenhagen increase as the President intends to declare a US commitment to emissions reduction targets, and China announces targets as well.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | PROXY ACCESS
For Many Shareowners, Private Ordering Will Mean No Proxy Access
Report finds that unless SEC regulations on proxy access are enacted at a federal level, many shareowners will continue to face restrictions on corporate governance.
NEWS STORY:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | SHAREOWNERS | INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS
Report Maps the Attitudes and Influence of Stakeholders on Corporate Social Responsibility
Although mainstream investors are identified as resistant to corporate citizenship activities in many countries, a report from the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship sees the influence of socially responsible investors to be growing.
NEWS STORY:
HUMAN RIGHTS | CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING
Corporations Are Advised to Improve Human Rights Reporting
The Global Reporting Initiative and its partners in a human rights initiative find insufficient attention to negative impacts of human rights issues in corporate reporting, and plans to update its Sustainability Reporting Framework.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS
Corporations are Failing to Recognize Adaptation in Their Climate Change Strategy
Finding that adaptation to climate change requires a long-term investment horizon, a report from UK-based institutional investors recommends that investors increase their role in public policy debates on climate change.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | LEGISLATION | ECONOMIC IMPACTS
Analysis of Waxman-Markey Finds that All States Will Benefit from Strong National Policies
A report from the University of California at Berkeley concludes that passage of climate change legislation could create 1.9 million jobs by 2020.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE | WATER SCARCITY | CORPORATE REPORTING
Carbon Disclosure Project Launches CDP Water Disclosure Initiative
Seeking to replicate its success in increasing voluntary reporting by companies on carbon emissions, the CDP develops a mechanism for corporate reporting on water use.
NEWS BRIEF:
INVESTMENT RESEARCH | ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE
Studies Find Positive Link Between ESG Integration and Investment Performance
Mercer's second review of academic research into ESG factors again finds that most studies report a positive correlation with financial performance.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | HUMAN RIGHTS | INTERNET
Shareowner Activists Continue to Press Cisco on Human Rights
An investor coalition led by Boston Common Asset Management has sought for years to engage the company on the issue of freedom of expression on the Internet, but without meaningful response has had to re-introduce shareowner proposals.
NEWS BRIEF:
INVESTOR PROTECTION | BILATERAL AGREEMENTS
US and China Sign Memorandum of Understanding for Protection of Investors
Acknowledging the interdependence of their economies, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation and the China Securities Investor Protection Fund agree to partnership.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | HEALTH CARE REFORM
Companies Are Asked to Distance Themselves From Chamber on Health Care Reform
A letter from 60 members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility asks 36 companies that have supported the principles of healthcare reform to publicly state their disagreement with the US Chamber of Commerce's opposition.
NEWS STORY:
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT | LOW INCOME HOUSING TAX CREDITS
Low Income Housing Advocates Call on Congress to Strengthen Tax Credit Program
A new report finds that the market for low-income housing tax credits declined by more than one-third due to the economic crisis, and proposes legislation for strengthening the program.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE
Is Climate Denial Growing in the US?
Survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press finds decreasing numbers believing evidence of global warming, but a majority in favor of a cap-and-trade program as well as an international agreement on climate change.
NEWS STORY:
EMISSIONS REDUCTION OFFSET CREDITS | DEFORESTATION
Forest Carbon Offset Market Needs Consistent Accounting Standards
The market for offset credits to mitigate deforestation is growing, but investors and other stakeholders require that guidance be provided in accounting for them.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | LEGISLATION
Senate Committee Approves Kerry-Boxer Climate Bill
The Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act continues to face obstacles as it is considered this week by Senate committees on Finance, and Energy and Natural Resources.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE | GOVERNMENT POLICIES
Current Government Policies Are not Enough to Ward Off Climate Change
Report from Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors warns that global emissions reduction targets are insufficient to meet the requirements established by climate science, but finds that aggressive policies and incentives can succeed.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | PROXY ACCESS | LEGISLATION
House Committee Approves Investor Protection Act
The Act, which includes an amendment authorizing the SEC to allow shareowner votes on corporate directors, awaits final approval from the full House of Representatives.
NEWS STORY:
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE | CORPORATE REPORTING | STOCK EXCHANGES
Role of Stock Exchanges on Corporate ESG Disclosure Gains Traction
Reports from the World Federation of Exchanges and EIRIS coincide with UN meeting on how stock exchanges can encourage responsible investment.
NEWS BRIEF:
ESG RESEARCH | ACQUISITIONS AND MERGERS
RiskMetrics Acquires KLD
Deal is the second major acquisition of an ESG research provider by RiskMetrics in 2009.
NEWS BRIEF:
SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING | GENDER
Room for Improvement Exists in Corporate Sustainability Reporting on Gender
The Global Reporting Initiative and IFC issue guidance for enhanced corporate reporting on gender issues, and advise investors to encourage gender diversity.
NEWS BRIEF:
FOUNDATIONS | MISSION INVESTING
Foundations Project That Mission Investing Will Have Increased in 2009
Survey undertaken by More for Mission finds that mission investing by foundations continues despite effects of economic downturn, but that few respondents exercise shareowner advocacy.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | REGULATORY AGENCIES
Activist Shareowners Celebrate SEC Reversal of Bush-Era Ruling
New ruling from the Division of Corporation Finance would allow shareowner resolutions addressing the financial risks of corporate activities in environmental and social areas.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Stanford Professor Receives 2009 Moskowitz Prize
The annual prize for outstanding quantitative research in socially responsible investing is awarded to David P. Baron, Professor of Political Economy and Strategy at Stanford.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE | CORPORATIONS
Are North American Companies Improving Their Climate Change Performance?
A new report from EIRIS finds that reporting and short-term reduction targets are comparable to global peers, but that North American companies lag in third-party verification and linking executive compensation to emissions reduction.
NEWS STORY:
NUCLEAR POWER PLANTS
Department of Energy Is Urged to Halt Loan Guarantees for Nuclear Power Plant Construction
Citing Nuclear Regulatory Commission's finding of potential design flaws in reactor proposed for deployment at several sites, ten organizations say loan guarantees would be "grossly imprudent."
BOOK REVIEW:
RESONSIBLE INVESTING | PENSION FUNDS
Book Review: Up from Wall Street: The Responsible Investment Alternative
Author Tom Croft, in describing evolution of asset allocation strategies by pension funds, notes damage done by economic crisis, but sees in economically targeted investments a way to realize returns while fulfilling stewardship mandate.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Consumers Are Using New Media to Engage with Companies on Issues of Corporate Responsibility
Survey by Cone finds that an increasing number of American new media users are using online outlets in efforts to influence corporate decision-making.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Shareowners Rush to Challenge Goldman Sachs on Huge Payouts of Bonuses
As the TARP bailout recipient prepares to award executives with billions of dollars in bonuses, shareowners call for a review of its compensation practices.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | CORPORATE LOBBYING | TRADE ASSOCIATIONS
Investors Urge Companies to Distance Themselves from Associations Over Climate Change
A letter to 14 companies notes misalignment between their positions on climate change and that of the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers.
NEWS STORY:
ENDOWMENTS | SHAREHOLDER ENGAGEMENT | SUSTAINABILITY
Fourth Green Report Card for Colleges Is Released
The Sustainable Endowments Institute recognizes 26 colleges as Sustainability Leaders, up from 15 in 2009.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | FEDERAL GOVERNMENT | EXECUTIVE ORDERS
Obama Directs Federal Agencies to Reduce Emissions
Executive Order requires Federal agencies to set greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets within 90 days.
NEWS STORY:
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT | COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
2009 Wachovia NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance Are Awarded to Two CDFIs
The New Hampshire Community Loan Fund and the Federation of Appalachian Housing Enterprises are awarded a total of $8.25 million in low-cost loans and unrestricted grants.
NEWS STORY:
SOVERIGN WEALTH FUNDS | FOREIGN INVESTMENT
Sovereign Wealth Funds Are Slow to Adopt Santiago Principles
Report from the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute and RiskMetrics Group finds low levels of disclosure among the ten largest SWFs, and little evidence of ESG considerations.
NEWS BRIEF:
MORTGAGE LENDING | REVERSE MORTGAGES
Are Senior Citizens the New Targets for Predatory Lenders?
The National Consumer Law Center finds an increase in reverse mortgages directed at older homeowners, and details potential opportunities for abuse by lenders.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE | CORPORATE LOBBYING | TRADE ASSOCIATIONS
Defections from US Chamber Over Climate Change Continue
Apple resigns from Chamber effective immediately, and Nike resigns from Chamber Board of Directors while continuing to evaluate its membership.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLEAN TECHNOLOGY | VENTURE CAPITAL INVESTMENT
Venture Capital Investment in Clean Technology Continues Its Recovery
Investment in third quarter increases by 10% over second quarter to $1.59 billion, but remains down 42% compared to third quarter of 2008.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | CARBON OFFSETS
Survey Finds a Majority of Corporate Respondents Measuring Their Carbon Footprints
Most corporate respondents to an EcoSecurities survey have undertaken energy efficiency, recycling, and waste management activities, and would purchase carbon offsets to support solar and wind power projects.
NEWS STORY:
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Executive Compensation Declines in 2008, but Far Less than Decline in Stock Markets
Report from the Corporate Library describes a slight decline in total realized executive compensation as revolutionary, but an inadequate response to much greater declines in shareowner value.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS | REGULATORY ACTIONS
EPA Proposes Rules for Regulation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Basing its authority on a 2007 Supreme Court decision that the Bush Administration ignored, the Agency would require large facilities emitting over 25,000 tons of greenhouse gases to obtain permits.
NEWS STORY:
RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT | INVESTMENT ADVISORS
Investment Advisors Explore Ways to Incorporate ESG Issues into Their Services
The Boston College Institute for Responsible Investment produces a paper that summarizes the concepts and goals explored in a meeting of investment consultants and asset managers.
NEWS STORY:
COMMUNITY INVESTING | COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS | FINANCIAL PRODUCTS
Report Looks at Prepaid Cards as Potential Source of Income for CDFIs
The National Community Investment Fund finds that by providing prepaid card services in underserved communities, CDFIs can help bring consumers without banking relationships into the mainstream economy.
NEWS BRIEF:
CREDIT RATING AGENCIES | REGULATORY ACTIONS
SEC Approves Proposals to Strengthen Oversight of Credit Rating Agencies
Finding that the failure of credit rating agencies to adequately serve investors' interests contributed to the economic crisis, the Commission's proposals include rules to increase disclosure.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | CORPORATE EMISSIONS REPORTING
EPA Finalizes Rule for Mandatory Emissions Reporting
Facilities responsible for 85% of greenhouse gas emissions in the US will be required to monitor and report on emissions starting in 2010.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE
PG&E Quits US Chamber of Commerce over Differences in Climate Change
Utility cites "fundamental differences" following call by Chamber's senior vice president for "Scopes monkey trial" of climate change science.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE | EMERGING MARKETS | FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
Emerging Markets Financial Institutions Should Increase Attention to Climate Change
Report commissioned by DEG and prepared by Ceres and RiskMetrics finds improvements in corporate governance, but much work yet to be done in emissions measurement and reporting.
NEWS STORY:
GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS | CORPORATE REPORTING
CDP Issues Annual Report on Emissions Reporting by World's Largest Companies
The CDP's 2009 report includes responses from 82% of the 500 largest companies in the FTSE Global Equity Index Series, with significant improvements noted in responses from developing countries.
NEWS STORY:
ESG INVESTMENT RESEARCH | MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS
Jantzi—Sustainalytics Merger the Most Recent as the Consolidation of ESG Research Sector Continues
Three representatives from the ESG research sector speak with SocialFunds.com about the factors contributing to the number of mergers in a rapidly maturing field.
NEWS BRIEF:
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE
Newsweek Publishes List of Top 500 Green Companies in US
The mass-market publication uses research from KLD and Trucost to arrive at its rankings.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | PROXY GOVERNANCE
Shareowner Opposition to Board Nominees Increases in 2009
PROXY Governance finds that significant increase in votes against nominees in director elections led to failure of 84 directors at 48 companies to attain majority shareowner support.
NEWS STORY:
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE | INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS
Aspen Institute Calls for End of Short-Termism by Business and Investors
In citing benefits to society of long-term business and investment strategies, report incorporates terms often utilized by socially responsible investors.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE | INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS
Investors Call for Binding Climate Change Agreement in Copenhagen
Group of 181 institutional investors representing $13 trillion in assets says that a global agreement is necessary for confidence in investment in climate change mitigation.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | CAP AND TRADE
Carbon Disclosure Project Forms Partnership with Chicago Climate Exchange
Partnership intends to raise visibility of greenhouse gas emissions measurement and reporting, and increase opportunities for companies and investors.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | CARBON OFFSETS
Report Calls Carbon Offsets a Disaster for Averting Climate Change
Friends of the Earth contends that international offsets allow developed countries to go on polluting, and delay the development of a global low-carbon economy.
NEWS BRIEF:
INDEXES | SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTING
Semi-Annual Review of FTSE4Good Index Series Is Completed
Widely-used benchmark for responsible investment adds 33 companies, and deletes 15 for failing to meet standards of corporate responsibility.
NEWS STORY:
ECONOMIC CRISIS | REGULATORY REFORM
Social Investment Forum Issues Framework for Reform of Financial Industry
Organization of socially responsible investors states its support for Obama Administration recommendations, while calling for mandatory environmental, social, and governance disclosure as well.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | COAL INDUSTRY
Alstom Power Joins Exodus from Scandal-Plagued American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity
One week after Duke Energy left the trade group, French-based Alstom Power does the same, citing the group's opposition to climate change legislation as its reason.
NEWS STORY:
BOARDS OF DIRECTORS | BOARD INDEPENDENCE
Walden Asset Management Calls on Corporations to Separate Roles of CEO and Board Chair
Citing the findings of the Millstein Center for Corporate Governance and Performance, letter to 32 corporations describes the independent Chair as a step toward regaining trust during the economic crisis.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE
Third World Climate Conference Ends with Call from Experts for a Strengthened Global Framework
Participants in the Expert Segment of the Conference conclude that current climate services capabilities are insufficient, and major new and strengthened research efforts are necessary.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM
Nine Investor Law Firms Support SEC Efforts to Ensure Shareowner Rights
Letter from nine securities and corporate governance law firms supports the rights of shareowners to vote on board nominees, and argues against permitting companies to opt out of disclosure requirements.
NEWS STORY:
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT | COMMUNITY INVESTMENT | CLIMATE CHANGE
Sustainable Development Is Integral to Reducing Impacts of Climate Change
Report by the UCLA School of Law calls for commitment from local, state, and federal governments to remove impediments to sustainable development projects.
NEWS BRIEF:
INDEXES | SUSTAINABILITY
Annual Review of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index Is Completed
Global composite index, which tracks leaders in corporate sustainability, adds 33 companies and deletes 33, leaving the number of components at 317.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | CLIMATE CHANGE
Record-Breaking Numbers of Resolutions and Engagements on Climate Change are Recorded in 2009 Proxy Season
Ceres counts 68 climate-related shareowner resolutions filed in 2009, 31 of which were withdrawn following successful engagement with companies.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | WATER SCARCITY
World Water Week Participants Call for Attention to Water Issues at Copenhagen Climate Conference
Unanimously supported by 2,500 participants, the Stockholm Statement calls for inclusion of adaptive measures with broad development goals, and increased funding to support adaptive measures.
NEWS BRIEF:
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE | EMERGING MARKETS
Emerging Markets Offer Opportunities for Sustainable Investors
Research by UBS finds opportunities for investment in renewable energy and sustainable transportation in Asia, and affordable housing in Latin America.
NEWS STORY:
ENVRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE | EMERGING MARKETS
Investors Are Enthusiastic About ESG in Emerging Markets
IFC report finds that sustainable criteria are of increasing importance to asset owners and managers when investing in emerging markets.
NEWS STORY:
ENVIRONMENT | CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Largest US Companies Have to Improve Environmental Policies, Practices, and Disclosure
Report finds that few companies listed in the Russell 1000 Index have publicly available environmental policies, certifiable environmental management systems, or sustainability reporting mechanisms.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Emissions Reduction Targets of Largest Companies Fail to Meet Scientific Standards
Report from the Carbon Disclosure Project analyzes emissions reduction targets of the world's 100 largest companies, and warns that targets are insufficient to meet scientific guidelines.
NEWS BRIEF:
SUSTAINABILITY INVESTING | INDEXES
KLD's Sustainability Indexes Are Rebranded as a Result of Partnership with FTSE
Rebranded indexes include the Domini 400 Social Index, the first index to employ ESG factors, which is now named the FTSE KLD 400 Social Index.
NEWS STORY:
SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTING | MUTUAL FUNDS
Many SRI Funds Are Outperforming Benchmarks in 2009
The Appleseed Fund continues its strong performance among domestic equity funds, while Pax World posts highest return on investment among fixed-income products.
NEWS BRIEF:
PENSION FUNDS | GREEN INVESTING
New York State Retirement Fund Invests $200 Million in Green Indexes
Green Strategic Investment Program, established to commit $500 million to green investment strategies, chooses the FTSE Environmental Technology 50 and the HSBC Global Climate Change Index as benchmark indexes.
BOOK REVIEW:
CLIMATE CHANGE | SUSTAINABLE INVESTING | BOOK REVIEW
Book Review: Investment Opportunities for a Low Carbon World
Thirty-one contributors to collection of essays edited by Will Oulton of FTSE Group analyze low-carbon technologies and related investment opportunities.
NEWS BRIEF:
COMMUNITY INVESTING | COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
Contenders for 2009 Wachovia NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance Are Announced
Presented by the Opportunity Finance Network, the awards will provide $8.25 million in financing to leading Community Development Financial Institutions.
NEWS BRIEF:
COMMUNITY INVESTING | FAITH-BASED INVESTORS
Faith-based Investors Get Handbook to Help Increase Community Investing
The Social Investment Forum has published a handbook to help facilitate the increase in community investing by faith-based individual and institutional investors.
NEWS BRIEF:
SUSTAINABLE INVESTING | INDEXES | JAPAN
Dow Jones Sustainability Japan 40 Index Is Launched
Index includes the largest 40 sustainability leaders in Japan, based on corporate sustainability assessments by SAM.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS
US and China Agree to Cooperate on Climate Change
Memorandum of Understanding reinforces UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and calls for the two countries to seek input from business and non-governmental organizations in efforts to combat climate change.
NEWS BRIEF:
COMMUNITY INVESTING | MICROFINANCE
María Otero Is Confirmed as US Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs
Under her leadership as CEO since 2000, ACCION International served 3.7 million micro-entrepreneurs and had a combined portfolio of nearly $3.6 billion.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE | CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Largest Companies in FTSE All World Index Show Improvement in Addressing Climate Change, but Room for Further Improvement Remains
Report by EIRIS compares 2009 performance of the 300 largest companies in the Index to that of 2008, and finds that while corporate commitment to mitigation has improved, unmitigated risk is still unacceptably high.
NEWS BRIEF:
RESPONSIBLE INVESTING
Responsible Investing Poised to Become Mainstream
Report by Robeco Investment Management and Booz & Company expects responsible investing to grow to as much as 20% of total assets under management by 2015.
NEWS BRIEF:
RENEWABLE ENERGY | AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009
Treasury Department Calls for Applications for Renewable Energy Grants
Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, at least $3 billion is available for construction of renewable energy facilities.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE | ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Efficiency Measures Can Play Major Role in Reducing US Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Two new reports find considerable potential in energy efficiency for significant reductions in US greenhouse gas emissions, and that cost savings should far outweigh the price of implementation.
NEWS BRIEF:
RENEWABLE ENERGY | VENTURE CAPITAL
Investor Confidence in Cleantech Rebounds in Second Quarter
Analysis by Ernst & Young finds significant increases in venture capital investment in the second quarter, and increased private equity and asset based financing as well.
NEWS STORY:
WATER SCARCITY | WATER UTILITIES | SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT
ESG Disclosure by Water Services Sector is Insufficient, Report Finds
Survey by the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility of ESG reporting by water companies finds that investors are provided too little information on which to make informed investment decisions.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | HUMAN RIGHTS
Website Containing Human Rights Records of Corporations Adds Work by UN Representative for Business and Human Rights
Portal maintained by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre includes all material published by John Ruggie, the United Nations Secretary General's Special Representative on business & human rights.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER RIGHTS | EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
US House Passes Bill that Limits Executive Compensation
In addition to requiring annual shareowner votes on executive compensation, the bill gives regulators the power to prohibit risky compensation packages at large financial institutions.
NEWS STORY:
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE REPORTING | INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS
Socially Responsible Investors Welcome Signs that the SEC is Considering Mandatory ESG Reporting
The Social Investment Forum responds to questions from SEC commissioners on mandatory ESG reporting with letter, and the first meeting of the SEC's Investor Advisory Committee includes ESG reporting on its agenda.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT
Companies Face Challenges in Improving Visibility of Supply Chains
Respondents to a Business Performance Management Forum survey cite cost savings, environmental compliance, and improved customer service as factors in enforcing sustainability throughout their supply chains.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE | MUTUAL FUNDS | SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTING
Green Century Balanced Fund Is First US Mutual Fund to Disclose Carbon Footprint
Using analysis by Trucost, Green Century Capital Management finds that greenhouse gas emissions of companies in its Balanced Fund portfolio are 66% less than those of S&P 500 companies.
NEWS BRIEF:
SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING | ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY
Entertainment Sector Lags Behind Other Industries in Environmental and Social Reporting
Report from the Roberts Environmental Center awards no points for environmental performance to any of 14 entertainment companies surveyed.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE | SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM
Report Calls for Effective Board Oversight of Risk Exposure and Exercise of Shareowner Responsibilities
UK report identifies excessive risk taking by financial industries as significant factor in the financial crisis, and provides recommendations for boards and institutional shareowners to prevent recurrence.
NEWS STORY:
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE | INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS
ESG Issues Should be Embedded in Legal Agreements Between Investors and Advisors, Report Finds
A new report by the Asset Management Working Group of the United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative argues that advisors who fail to raise ESG issues with clients face the risk of lawsuits. Second in a two-part series.
NEWS STORY:
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE | INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS
UNEP Hones Legal Argument for ESG Incorporation in Investments in New Study
Report by the United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative's Asset Management Working Group serves as a sequel to landmark Freshfields study, which established legal case for ESG criteria in investing. First in a two-part series.
NEWS BRIEF:
EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS | PROXY VOTING
As ETFs Gain Popularity among Investors, Their Proxy Voting Power Grows as Well
A new report by the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute and PROXY Governance examines the proxy voting guidelines and voting records of the seven largest ETFs in the US.
NEWS BRIEF:
RESPONSIBLE INVESTING | PRIVATE EQUITY
PRI Issues Guidance for Responsible Investment in Private Equity
Responsible Investment in Private Equity: A Guide for Limited Partners seeks to apply the Principles for Responsible Investment to the unique characteristics of private equity investing.
NEWS STORY:
RESPONSIBLE INVESTING | SHAREOWNER ENGAGEMENT | CORPORATE REPORTING
Responsible Investors Show no Sign of Retreat from Principles in Troubled Times
Report by the UN Principles for Responsible Investment finds that asset owners and investment managers have increased their commitment to Responsible Investing in the wake of the economic crisis.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS
Investor Awareness of Impact of Climate Change is Growing
The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change finds that signatories to its Investor Statement on Climate Change report increased attention to climate change in their investments.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE | EQUITY INDICES
FTSE Develops Classification System for Environmental Products and Services
Investors preparing to gain exposure to the global transition to a low-carbon economy now have a classification system to help guide their investment decisions.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | EQUITY FUNDS
Fund Managers Fail to Actively Manage Carbon Risks in Investments
Report on greenhouse gas emission by companies in UK-based equity funds encourages pension funds and fund managers to take steps to manage exposure to carbon risks in their portfolios.
NEWS STORY:
MICROFINANCE | ECONOMIC CRISIS
Microfinance Practitioners See Themselves as Vulnerable to Macro-Economic Forces
Second Microfinance Banana Skins report finds that in wake of economic crisis, financial issues such as credit risk and liquidity replace management quality and corporate governance as primary concerns.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | MUTUAL FUNDS | CANADA
Canadian Mutual Funds Continue to Vote Against Shareowner Proposals
Study finds that SRI funds offered by mainstream fund companies vote in favor of management, even on core ESG issues.
NEWS STORY:
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND GOVERNANCE REPORTING | EMERGING MARKETS
Investors Call for Improved ESG Disclosure by Companies in Emerging Markets
Seventy percent of respondents to survey by the Emerging Market Disclosure Project say that lack of ESG disclosure by companies in emerging markets hampers their efforts to increase investments.
NEWS BRIEF:
SUSTAINABILITY INVESTING | MUTUAL FUNDS
SAM Launches New Mutual Fund for US Investors
The SAM Sustainable Global Active Fund invests in companies based on sustainability criteria.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | REGULATORY AGENCIES
SEC Proposes Rule Changes to Improve Corporate Transparency
Proposals address shareowner votes on executive compensation at TARP recipients and disclosure of information on corporate governance, and eliminate broker voting on uninstructed shares.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM
Findings of Chamber Report on Proxy Voting are Challenged
Adam Kanzer of Domini Social Investments analyzes report issued by the US Chamber of Commerce, and finds questionable methodology and political bias.
NEWS STORY:
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT | COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
Report Suggests that CDFIs are Weathering the Worst of the Economic Crisis
With funding for community development financial institutions a central part of the economic stimulus, and with renewed interest from individual investors, CDFIs look forward to improved performance for remainder of 2009.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | LEGISLATION
House Passes Waxman-Markey Clean Energy Bill
American Clean Energy and Security Act seeks to reduce US dependence on oil, invest in clean energy technologies, and reduce carbon emissions.
NEWS STORY:
BOOK REVIEW | CLIMATE CHANGE | SUSTAINABLE CORPORATIONS
Book Review: The Truth about Green Business
Author Gil Friend surveys the current state of sustainable corporations, and provides steps that companies can take to green their business.
NEWS BRIEF:
INDICES | EMISSIONS REPORTING
New Investment Indices Will Track Companies Adapting to Low-Carbon Economy
Family of indices developed by the Carbon Disclosure Project and Markit join a growing number of investment vehicles that include environmental considerations.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER RESOLUTIONS
Activist Shareowners Tally Victories in 2009 Proxy Season
The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility and As You Sow report successful shareowner efforts on resolutions addressing corporate governance, the environment, and human rights.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | INDIGENOUS PEOPLES
Lack of Indigenous Rights Policies Puts Companies at Risk
Report finds that few companies engaged in extractive business activities in indigenous lands have policies that address indigenous rights concerns.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE | PRIVATE EQUITY
Do Private Equity Buyouts Lead to Improved Corporate Governance?
Report by the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute finds that governance policies at buyout-backed companies often reward executives at the expense of shareowners.
NEWS STORY:
CORPORATE REPORTING | PRODUCT LIABILITY | NANOTECHNOLOGY
Investors Face Risk From Lack of Disclosure by Nanotechnology Companies
Report from the Investor Environmental Health Network finds that regulatory loopholes leave investors in the dark about potential liabilities, and suggests corrective steps for regulators to take.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | HUMAN RIGHTS
Investors Call on ILO to Ensure End of Child Labor in Uzbekistan
Letter from investors to the ILO cites documentation that rights abuses continue in Uzbek cotton harvest, and asks the organization to monitor fall 2009 harvest.
NEWS STORY:
CLEAN ENERGY ECONOMY | JOB GROWTH
Job Growth in Clean Energy Outpaces Overall Job Market
Report from the Pew Center on the States finds that job growth in the clean energy economy has been sustained by investment, and with increased government assistance is likely to weather economic downturn.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Industry Initiatives Help Companies Adapt to Expectations on CSR Issues
Report by the Ethical Corporation Institute finds examples of success among industry initiatives that address CSR, but others that have yet to meet the expectations of stakeholders.
NEWS STORY:
FAIR MORTGAGE LENDING
Mortgage Borrowers Gain Tool to Access Fair and Safe Loans
The Fair Mortgage Collaborative provides consumers with access to mortgage lenders who have been certified for their fair lending practices.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Obama Administration Proposes Legislation on Say-on-Pay
Legislation would authorize the SEC to require annual shareowner votes on executive compensation, and would require standards of independence for corporate compensation committees.
NEWS BRIEF:
BIODIVERSITY | CORPORATIONS
Damage to Ecosystems Can Lead to Financial Losses and Reputational Risks for Companies
Report by Eurosif and oekem research finds that risks to five industrial sectors can be offset by attention to biodiversity. The financial services sector faces risks and opportunities as well.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE | CORPORATE REPORTING
Guidelines for Corporate Disclosure of Costs of Climate Change Are Proposed
The Climate Disclosure Standards Board issues a proposed framework that would align corporate reporting of climate change with principles and objectives of financial reporting rules.
NEWS BRIEF:
CAP-AND-TRADE LEGISLATION | CORPORATIONS
S&P 500 Companies Face Financial Risks Under Cap-and-Trade Legislation
Report by the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute and Trucost finds the utilities sector to be especially vulnerable, and advises investors to incorporate climate change risks into their investment strategies.
NEWS STORY:
SOCIAL INVESTING | REGULATORY BODIES
SEC Forms Investor Advisory Committee
Commission invokes its mandate to protect investors as a factor in the formation of the Committee, which includes in its membership representatives of the social investment community.
NEWS BRIEF:
RENEWABLE ENERGY | ECONOMIC CRISIS
Investments in Clean Energy Are Hampered by Financial Crisis
Report by the United Nations Environment Program finds that modest improvement in investment amounts in 2008 have been undermined by the financial crisis, as investors wait for effects of government policies.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE | INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS
Investors Must Lead Efforts to Reduce Climate Change Risks
Report by the United Nations Global Compact finds opportunities in a transition to a low-carbon economy to be challenged by the urgency of climate change risks.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY|CAUSE MARKETING
Annual Halo Awards Are Given to Cause Marketing Partnerships of Companies and Nonprofits
The Cause Marketing Forum bestows its Golden Halo Awards upon Timberland and Share Our Strength for their use of cause marketing to achieve socially beneficial ends.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM|CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Hybrid Boards of Directors Can Lead to Increased Share Values
Study by the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute and PROXY Governance finds that efforts by activist institutional shareowners to seat dissident board members correlates with increased share prices.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE
Global Business Leaders Issue Call for Effective Climate Change Treaty
At the World Business Summit on Climate Change, statement by business leaders outlines issues that an effective climate change treaty must address.
NEWS STORY:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY| ESG
World's Largest Stock Exchange Will Provide ESG Information to Its Listed Companies
Collaboration of NYSE Euronext and ASSET4 will provide companies listed on the exchange with access to ASSET4's database of ESG information on 2,800 of the world's largest companies.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | SUPPLY CHAINS | AFRICA
Coca-Cola Distribution Model Contributes to Entrepreneurship in Africa
Report finds that the company's Manual Distribution Centers have led to the creation of 12,000 jobs while contributing to the Millennium Development Goals.
NEWS BRIEF:
PREDATORY LENDING | CREDIT CARDS
President Obama Signs Credit Card Act of 2009
Act is intended to eliminate unfair rate increases and increase accountability for creditors and regulators.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE | LEGISLATION
Effective Policies Can Limit Competitiveness Impacts of Climate Change Legislation
In the second of a two-part series, the climate change policy implications of the Pew Center's report on competitiveness impacts on US business are explored.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING
Companies Are Slow to Adopt Interactive Technologies in GRI Reporting
Study by the Global Reporting Initiative finds that while most companies provide sustainability information on their web sites, access by users can be hampered by inconsistent terminology.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE | LEGISLATION
How Will Climate Change Legislation Affect US Competitiveness?
Report from the Pew Center on Global Climate Change finds that a flexible cap-and-trade program can reduce emissions while protecting vulnerable industries from foreign competition. First of a two-part series.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Consumer Products Companies Have the Best Reputation Among US Respondents to Survey
Annual study by the Reputation Institute ranks Johnson & Johnson first in corporate reputation, while companies in financial industries suffer the sharpest declines.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | ESG
Corporations Show Improvement on ESG Issues, but Have a Long Way to Go
Research by EIRIS finds that financial institutions score the lowest in managing their ESG risks.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
CalSTRS Issues Guidelines for Adoption of Executive Compensation Policies
Nation's second-largest public pension fund offers principles for the adoption of executive compensation policies, as well as recommendations for addressing issues important to shareowners.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | PROXY VOTING
Activist Shareowners Take to the Web to Challenge ExxonMobil
Web site assists investors in contacting mutual funds to express support for shareowner resolutions addressing climate change and corporate governance.
NEWS BRIEF:
Investors Support Passage of Employee Free Choice Act
In a letter to Congress, a group of institutional investors argue that passage of the bill would restore human rights in US workplaces and contribute to economic recovery.
NEWS STORY:
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT | CDFIS
NCIF Develops Tool to Measure Impact of CDFIs on Low-Income Communities
The National Community Investment Fund finds CDFIs and mission-driven community banks outperform other banks in service to underserved communities by a substantial margin.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | CORRUPTION
CEOs Urge Action Against Corruption
Signatories assert that an implementation review mechanism is essential for ensuring the success of preventive measures and law enforcement provisions included in the UN Convention against Corruption.
NEWS BRIEF:
SUSTAINABILITY INVESTING
TD Asset Management Announces Sustainable Investing Policy for all Operations
Investment firm will incorporate ESG criteria across all investment mandates, and launches Global Sustainability Fund that includes corporate sustainability leaders.
NEWS STORY:
SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTING | CANADA
Canadian SRI Assets Increased to $609 Billion in 2008
Report by the Social Investment Organization finds that SRI has maintained its market share of almost 20%.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Shareowner Resolutions on Say on Pay Gain Widespread Support
More than 100 resolutions targeting executive compensation have been filed in 2009, and ten out of the 29 already voted on win majority support.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | CARBON TRADING | FORESTRY
Reforestation Plays a Growing Role in Corporate Carbon Offset Strategies
Report finds that many companies are purchasing forest carbon offset credits to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and offer carbon-neutral products and services to customers.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE | ELECTRIC UTILITIES
Report Finds that Electric Utilities Are Unprepared for Carbon Regulation
A new report by the Carbon Disclosure Project finds that disclosure by electric utilities on greenhouse gas emissions has improved, but falls short of the demands of a low carbon economy.
NEWS STORY:
COMMUNITY INVESTING | FORECLOSURES
Congress Is Briefed on Plans to Fund Revitalization of Neighborhoods Hit by Foreclosures
NSP funding requires communities to submit action plans detailing their spending, and report by Enterprise Community Partners is the first published effort to study the data.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | BISPHENOL A
Despite Health Risks, Packaged Food Industry Continues to Use BPA
Report by Green Century Capital Management and As You Sow finds that companies have not gone far enough in replacing BPA, and recommends timetables for its elimination.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | WATER SCARCITY
PepsiCo Agrees to Policy Respecting Human Right to Water
Shareowner advocates led by NorthStar Asset Management succeed in engagement with PepsiCo on resolution calling for adoption of water management policy.
NEWS BRIEF:
SUSTAINABLE INVESTING | CLIMATE CHANGE
Opportunities to Address Climate Change Available in all Asset Classes
The Institute for Responsible Investment publishes a handbook to help sustainable investors address risks and opportunities associated with climate change.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | CLIMATE CHANGE
Toy Companies Are Failing to Address Climate Change
Research by Climate Counts finds that toy and children's equipment manufacturers score the lowest of all industry sectors, with eight of thirteen companies receiving scores of zero.
NEWS STORY:
SUSTAINABILITY | COWORKING
New San Francisco Coworking Space Will Benefit Social Entrepreneurs
Social innovators rent space from HUBsf as needed, and share ideas with like-minded entrepreneurs and nonprofits.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | REPORTS
European Commission Is Urged to Mandate ESG Reporting by Corporations
Report from Eurosif recommends regulatory action to increase transparency in corporations and institutional investors, and to enhance the rights of shareowners.
NEWS STORY:
PREDATORY LENDING | CREDIT CARDS
Leading Credit Card Lenders Face Proxy Votes on Predatory Lending
ICCR members submit shareowner proposals requesting evaluations of predatory lending practices, and banks' objections are disallowed by the SEC.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | REPORTS
2008 Sees Increases in CSR Reporting and Adherence to GRI Guidelines
CorporateRegister.com users vote Vodafone as best CSR report overall for the second year in a row, and Royal Dutch Shell for best carbon reporting.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM | MUTUAL FUNDS | GENOCIDE
Vanguard Funds Agrees to Proxy Vote on Investing in Companies Complicit in Darfur Genocide
Shareowner action led by Investors Against Genocide proceeds to proxy ballot after Vanguard is found to have increased its holdings in PetroChina.
NEWS STORY:
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCE INSTITUTIONS
Rating System Helps Investors Assess Social and Financial Performances of CDFIs
In the first quarter of 2009, the CDFI Assessment and Rating System added seven CDFIs to list of 46 that it has analyzed, and it hopes to rate an additional 23 by year's end.
NEWS BRIEF:
SUSTAINABLE INVESTING | AFRICA
Sustainable Investing Fund Is Launched in Africa
The Africa Sustainability Passive Equity Fund, offered to institutional investors by Mauritius-based Sustainable Capital, will apply ESG criteria to both countries as well as companies in Africa.
NEWS STORY:
MICROFINANCE INSTITUTIONS | CLIMATE CHANGE
Microfinance Institutions Begin to Incorporate Climate Change in Development Strategies
Report from CGAP finds that MFIs are well-positioned to contribute to energy efficiency in developing countries, but recommends shift in priorities from loans to financial services that include savings.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY | INDIA
Study Finds that Largest Indian Companies Need to Improve CSR Activities and Reporting
Report by Karmayog gives lowest score to nearly half of the 1,000 largest companies in India, and recommends adoption of Global Reporting Initiative guidelines for CSR reporting.
NEWS BRIEF:
MUTUAL FUNDS|GREENHOUSE GASES
Report Alerts Investors to Carbon Footprints of Mutual Funds
A Trucost report on the carbon footprints of major mutual funds finds that sustainability and SRI funds generally outperform the mainstream, and warns investors to prepare for carbon pricing.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Corporate Efforts to Help Eradicate Human Trafficking and Child Sex Tourism are Insufficient
Organizations dedicated to the eradication of human trafficking and child sex tourism find that US companies are especially reluctant to take action. Second of a two-part series.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORRUPTION: CORPORATIONS: CHINA
Corruption in China Proves Difficult to Uproot, But Corporations Can Mitigate Issue in Their Supply Chains
Briefings from Ethical Corporation Institute find that China's traditional business culture contributes to problem, but government regulation and attention by corporations to supply chains help mitigate corruption.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Human Trafficking and Child Sex Tourism: Crimes of Global Proportions Intersect with Corporate Responsibility
Activist shareowner engagement leads to progress in corporate action against human trafficking and child sex tourism, but much work yet remains to be done, especially among US-based corporations. First of a two-part series.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM: PROXY VOTING
As You Sow Publishes Annual Preview of Shareowner Proposals for 2009
The Foundation counts more than 100 proposals on executive compensation, and reports that health care reform has the largest increase in proposals for the second year in a row.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE: INSURANCE INDUSTRY
Insurers Improve Response to Climate Change
Report from Ceres finds increased awareness of climate risks, and new products and offerings, but concludes that room for improvement remains.
NEWS STORY:
SUSTAINABILITY INVESTING: EMERGING MARKETS
ESG Trends in Emerging Markets Is Focus of New Study
Report from IFC and Mercer finds growth in sustainable investing in emerging markets, but notes need for improvement in such areas as active ownership.
NEWS BRIEF:
ECONOMIC CRISIS: ESG
Leading Sustainable Finance Organizations Call on G-20 to Adopt ESG Considerations
Six organizations provide recommendations for a sustainable economic recovery and implementation of environmental, social, and governance factors in financial regulations.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE
Labor Unions and Environmental Groups Join to Endorse Climate Change Legislation
The Blue Green Alliance announces support for a cap-and-trade system and a renewable electricity standard included in proposed Waxman-Markey clean energy legislation.
NEWS STORY:
CORPORATE TRANSPARENCY: INVESTMENT RESEARCH
European Sustainability Research Association Develops Standards of Performance
The Association of Independent Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility Research releases a Voluntary Quality Standard to ensure that the work of investment research providers is transparent and has verifiable quality.
NEWS BRIEF:
SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT
Real Estate Investors Are Encouraged to Apply Responsible Investment Principles to Property Investments
The UNEP FI Property Working Group finds that equity approaches to responsible investment can be applied to commercial property investment as well.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM: GENOCIDE: SUDAN
TIAA-CREF Commits to Genocide-Free Investing in Sudan
Decision to engage petroleum companies whose operations support genocide in Darfur, and to divest if progress is not made, is applauded by Investors Against Genocide.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE: PAPER PRODUCTS INDUSTRY
Report Challenges Claim of Carbon Neutral Paper Products
Environmental Paper Network recommends that paper industry focus on the production of low carbon paper products by recycling and other gains in efficiency.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM: FINANCIAL INDUSTRY: TARP BANKS
TARP Banks Rebuff Shareowner Request to Create Economic Security Committees
Shareowner proposal introduced by Harrington Investments is excluded from proxy ballots by the SEC, and Bank of America and Citigroup refuse a direct request from Harrington to form a board-level committee.
NEWS BRIEF:
COMMUNITY INVESTING: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS
CDFI Fund Fast-Tracks Capital for Underserved Communities
Community Development Financial Institutions and other Community Development Entities will receive $90 million in June and another $50 million in September.
NEWS STORY:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
IT Companies Improve CSR Performance but Still Face Challenges
Oekom report credits improved reporting by companies for better scores in the IT sector, but warns that compliance in supply chains and environment could be undermined by economic crisis.
NEWS BRIEF:
SUSTAINABILITY INDEXES
Bi-Annual FTSE4Good Index Series Review Completed
Benchmark Index for investors that measures corporate responsibility standards adds 23 and removes 16 constituent companies.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM: FAITH-BASED INVESTORS
Human Trafficking and Abortion Are Top Areas of Concern for Catholic Investors
Survey of institutional investors by Christian Brothers Investment Services helps guide an investment strategy that includes stock screens and shareowner activism.
NEWS STORY:
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT: GREEN BUILDING
Fixed Income Investments Support Green Building
The New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority and Community Capital Management describe how fixed income investment help fund successful rehabilitation of buildings based on green building principles.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
CRO Magazine Publishes List of 100 Best Corporate Citizens for 2009
Bristol Myers-Squibb tops list after failing to appear in 2008, while 50 companies tie for first in reconfigured governance category.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE: CORPORATIONS
Ceres Climate Change Coalition Adds Three New Members
The Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP) lauds Jackson of EPA for emissions reporting proposal and adds Gap, eBay, and Symantec to its membership.
NEWS BRIEF:
SUSTAINABLE INVESTING: STOCK INDEXES
S&P Adds Carbon Index to Its Family of Environmental Indices
Index will rely on research provided by Trucost to determine large cap US constituents of the S&P 500 with the lowest carbon footprints.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM: GENOCIDE
Investment in PetroChina Will Be First Test Case for Vanguard's New Policy on Genocide
Investment management company promises to monitor its mutual funds for investments in companies that contribute to genocide and other crimes against humanity.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE
EPA Proposes Mandated National Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The proposed rule, which would mandate annual reporting from major emitters of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, could lead to mandatory limits on emissions.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE
Corporations Look to Copenhagen for Help in Addressing Climate Change
Report by the Economist Intelligence Unit finds gains in corporate energy efficiency, but little action on the broader impact of climate change.
NEWS BRIEF:
FINANCIAL PRODUCTS: SUSTAINABILITY: GENDER
Goal of New Index Series Is to Advance Gender Equality
Pax World and KLD launch an index series sponsored by the International Finance Corporation to increase gender empowerment.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Investors Want More Disclosure of Climate Risk Data from Corporations
CDP survey of signatory investors finds that integration of climate risk considerations into investment decisions is growing.
NEWS BRIEF:
EMISSIONS STANDARDS: AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY
Investors Call on Auto Industry to Improve Disclosure on Emissions
The risks and opportunities for carbon reduction strategies for the automobile industry are considerable and warrant particular attention from investors.
NEWS BRIEF:
ECONOMIC CRISIS: RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT
PRI Encourages Investors to Take More Active Ownership Role
Principles for Responsible Investment publishes eight-point plan to help institutional investors avoid the pitfalls that contributed to current economic crisis.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE: WATER SCARCITY
Global Water Resources Threatened by Climate Change and Population Growth
Report finds that business is failing to address impact of water scarcity on its operations, and provides investors with questions pertaining to water risks to ask of their portfolio companies.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM
Role of Corporate Boards in Sustainability Issues Is Growing
Survey of board directors finds that as shareowner resolutions increase, more boards of directors are addressing the risks and opportunities of sustainability issues.
NEWS STORY:
ECONOMIC STIMULUS: GREEN TECHNOLOGIES: SOLAR POWER
Solar Expected to Maintain its Status as the World's Fastest-Growing Energy Technology
Decreases in cost of installation and favorable regulatory environment should protect the continued growth of solar in the US from effects of the economic crisis.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate Change Lobbyists Pour into Washington on Behalf of Special Interests
An investigation by the Center for Public Integrity finds an estimated 2,340 lobbyists seeking to influence climate change policy, a 300% increase over five years.
NEWS BRIEF:
GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS: SHIPPING INDUSTRY
Report Finds that Shipping Companies Face Financial Risks Due to Pollution Costs
Eurosif and Trucost find that investors in shipping companies are exposed to profit risks as regulatory agencies are expected to internalize environmental and health-related costs.
NEWS STORY:
ECONOMIC STIMULUS: GREEN TECHNOLOGIES
Economic Stimulus Is Expected to Spur Investment in Renewable Energy
The renewable energy industry and sustainable investors believe stimulus will provide significant investment in green energy infrastructure. Second in a two-part series.
NEWS BRIEF:
RENEWABLE ENERGY: SOLAR POWER
NRG Energy Enters Solar Field with Investment in Solar Power Plants
Investment by NRG will help eSolar build three solar power plants using concentrating solar power technology.
NEWS STORY:
COMMUNITY INVESTING: MICROFINANCE
New Guidelines to Help Investors Measure Success of Microfinance Institutions
Grameen Foundation employs data from its Progress out of Poverty Index to develop checklist of questions for investors to ask about the social benefits of microfinance.
NEWS BRIEF:
MUTUAL FUNDS: SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTING
SRI Fund is Category King for January 2009
Eventide's Gilead Fund is designated top multi-cap growth fund by Wall Street Journal
NEWS BRIEF:
ACQUISITIONS: SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT RESEARCH
Riskmetrics to Acquire Innovest
RiskMetrics cites expansion of research on environmental, social, and strategic governance issues as major reason for purchase.
NEWS STORY:
ECONOMIC STIMULUS: COMMUNITY INVESTING
Economic Stimulus Package Will Help Revitalize Community Investment
Community Development Financial Institutions gain $100 million in new financing with which to support small business and affordable housing. First in a two-part series.
NEWS BRIEF:
MARKETING: GREEN PRODUCTS
Consumer Demand for Green Products is Still Rising, Survey Finds
Survey by Boston Consulting Group of 9,000 consumers worldwide indicates that buying green products remains a priority despite economic downturn.
BOOK REVIEW:
BOOK REVIEW: CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY
Book Review: The Sustainable Enterprise Report Volume 2
Second edition of report offers evidence that the economic downturn provides an opportunity to establish economic, social, and environmental considerations for competitive advantage.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Sustainable Corporations Outperform During Economic Crisis
Study finds that companies with commitment to sustainability have outperformed others by an average of $650 million in market capitalization.
NEWS BRIEF:
PRINCIPLES FOR RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT: PRIVATE EQUITY
Private Equity Firms Sign on to Principles for Responsible Investment
Private Equity Council members adopt PRI framework for incorporating ESG issues into investment decision-making and ownership practices.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM: INTERNET
Who Controls the Internet?
Shareowner proposals challenge Internet Service Providers for greater transparency in decisions on freedom of expression and privacy.
NEWS BRIEF:
ECONOMIC CRISIS: BANKS: SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM
TARP Banks Oppose Shareowner Efforts to Mandate Accountability
Shareowner proposal introduced by Harrington Investments would establish Board Committees on US Economic Security to consider the economic impact of bank policies.
NEWS STORY:
CORPORATIONS: CLIMATE CHANGE
New Climate Risk Profiles Assess Corporate Greenhouse Gas Emissions
ICCR and Trucost collaborate to provide credible assessments for investors to use in the reduction of climate risk in their portfolios.
NEWS BRIEF:
MUTUAL FUNDS: CARBON TRADING
First US-Traded Investment Product Seeks to Capitalize on Growing Carbon Trading Market
AirShares Fund aligns returns with European Union Allowances for carbon emissions, which account for the majority of the world's emissions trading.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY: CLIMATE CHANGE
UN Global Compact Calls on Corporations to Address Climate Change
Marking the tenth anniversary of its formation, the initiative focuses its corporate sustainability efforts on collaboration for a low-carbon economy.
NEWS STORY:
CORPORATIONS: CLIMATE CHANGE
Report on Climate Risks Targets Largest Consumer and Technology Companies
Fourth report from Ceres and RiskMetrics finds some progress in addressing the business challenges of climate change, but too many companies still ignoring the issue.
NEWS STORY:
ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE
Who Cares Wins Initiative Issues Final Report
Final report in a five-year series documents improvements in integration of ESG issues by corporations and investors, but sees much work yet to be done.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
2009 List of Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World Unveiled at Davos
Corporate Knights and Innovest publish fifth annual list of companies best equipped to manage ESG risks and opportunities.
NEWS BRIEF:
INDIVIDUAL INVESTORS: ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTING
US Investors Optimistic About Green Investment
Online survey of individual investors finds that most expect policies of the Obama administration to encourage investment in environmental technology.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM: EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Intel Agrees to Shareowner Vote on Executive Compensation
Endorsement adds another corporation to a growing number opting for engagement in a year when issue commands public attention.
NEWS BRIEF:
RENEWABLE ENERGY
Voluntary Purchases of Renewable Energy by Businesses Reach Record Levels in 2008
Intel and PepsiCo lead corporate efforts in voluntary market for renewable energy certified by Green-e.
NEWS STORY:
COMMUNITY INVESTING
Investors Embrace Community Development Loan Funds to Invest Safely While Earning Interest
As interest in community investing grows, CDLFs are proven vehicles for investment in affordable housing and other projects.
NEWS BRIEF:
HP Is Latest Corporation to Accept Shareowner Votes on Executive Compensation
As pressure on companies to adopt say-on-pay resolutions increases, investors count on Congressional support for mandatory Advisory Votes.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING: WATER USE
Center for Sustainable Innovation Develops Tool for Measuring Sustainable Water Use
Corporate Water Gauge allows organizations to place water use in a local context for sustainability reporting.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM: ECONOMIC CRISIS
Teamsters Proposal to Limit SunTrust Executive Pay excluded by SEC
Shareowner advocates criticize Commission for inconsistent decisions and drift away from mission to protect investors.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM: HEALTH CARE REFORM
Health Care Reform Takes Center Stage for 2009 Proxy Season
Shareowner advocates at ICCR and other faith-based organizations detail progress in engaging corporations on the adoption of health care reform principles.
NEWS BRIEF:
AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRIES: GREEN TECHNOLOGY
Auto Executives Commit to Green Technologies to Lead Industry Back to Profitability
Annual KPMG survey finds increased interest among auto executives in alternative fuel technologies, with a newfound focus on electric cars.
NEWS BRIEF:
BUSINESS ETHICS: SOCIAL INVESTMENT
Ethisphere Publishes List of 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics for 2008
Honorees include several members of the social investment community.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY: PRINCIPLES OF RESPONSIBLE INVESTING
Investors Request High-Quality Communications on Progress
Letter to companies that have joined the United Nations Global Compact praise the reporting of some while identifying as laggards those that have not submitted COPs.
NEWS STORY:
CORPORATIONS: CLIMATE CHANGE
New Climate Risk Profiles Assess Corporate Greenhouse Gas Emissions
ICCR and Trucost collaborate to provide credible assessments for investors to use in the reduction of climate risk in their portfolios.
NEWS BRIEF:
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY: WIND
Wind Industry Lists Accomplishments for 2008
Despite the economic crisis, the American Wind Energy Association reports industry growth in 2008 and anticipates favorable climate for further growth.
NEWS BRIEF:
PLANT CONSTRUCTION: COAL: CLIMATE CHANGE
Dynegy Abandons Plans to Build Five New Coal Power Plants
Houston-based energy company has been target of Sierra Club campaign and criticism for exposing shareowners to risk.
NEWS BRIEF:
SUSTAINABLE INVESTING: BANKS
Wells Fargo Exceeds Environmental Financing Goals
Bank's progress report details $3 billion in financing for green business opportunities over a three-year period.
NEWS BRIEF:
SUSTAINABILITY: CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Report Warns of Unsustainable Consumption
WBCSD report finds consumers willing to embrace sustainable lifestyle, but need access to products and services to do so.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM: CORPORATE DISCLOSURE
Investors Ask Obama to Improve Corporate Financial Disclosure
President-Elect is asked to return SEC to original mission of protecting investors and strengthening shareowner rights.
NEWS BRIEF:
MUTUAL FUNDS: SUSTAINABILITY INDEXES
New Mutual Fund will be First in US to Track Dow Jones Sustainability Index
Dreyfus Fund will include companies listed on Dow Jones Sustainability World Index.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Co-op America Names Top Corporate Scrooges
CEOs named to the list represent a range of business sectors and a diversity of social and environmental malfeasances.
BOOK REVIEW:
SUSTAINABLE INVESTING
Book Review: Investing for Change: Profit from Responsible Investment
Authors Augustin Landier and Vinay B. Nair trace the history of SRI and suggest modifications to traditional screening methods in order to increase profitability.
NEWS BRIEF:
SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT: MUTUAL FUNDS
Calvert Announces Launch of Three New Funds
Offerings follow consolidation with Summit Mutual Funds and include a large cap fund employing a new investment strategy.
NEWS STORY:
INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS: WATER SUSTAINABILITY
Investors Call on World's Largest Companies to Join Water Sustainability Effort
Alliance with assets of $1.5 trillion under management contributes to effort by the UN Global Compact to expand membership in the CEO Water Mandate.
BOOK REVIEW:
SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT
Book Review: Sustainable Investing: The Art of Long Term Performance
Editors Cary Krosinsky and Nick Robins new book compiles eighteen new essays that argue sustainable investing is the key to positive long-term performance and the health of the planet.
NEWS STORY:
CHINA: WORKING CONDITIONS: NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANZIATIONS
US-based Verite Helps Build Coalitions to Improve Working Conditions in China
The organization's report details relationships with academics and civil society organizations to ensure fair labor practices in centers of manufacturing for export.
NEWS BRIEF:
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES: WATER
Report Details Risks and Opportunities Facing Water-Dependent Industries
Eurosif water report finds that increasing water scarcity results in critical issues for many businesses and offers potential solutions to alleviate crisis.
NEWS BRIEF:
ESG: INVESTMENT RESEARCH
New Global Database Will Extend ESG Investment Research
The UN's Principles for Responsible Investment plans to create a tool to help asset managers and investors incorporate ESG issues into long-term investments.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM
Shareowner Advocates Find Hope Despite Troubled Economic Times
SRI community looks beyond traditional methods of corporate engagement to realize opportunities presented by the financial crisis and a new administration.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE: FINANCIAL INDUSTRIES
Principles for Climate Change Developed for Financial Sector
Major financial institutions join with The Climate Group to promote principles of business for a low-carbon economy.
NEWS BRIEF:
MARKETING: CONSUMER BEHAVIOR
Consumers Remain Loyal to Brands that Champion Social Purpose
Study finds that even during a financial crisis, consumers are willing to pay more for brands that support social causes they believe in.
NEWS STORY:
GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS: TECHNOLOGY
Report Finds that Information Technology and Communications Sector can Help Reduce Climate Change
Study of information and communication technology concludes that ICT can be utilized to reduce carbon emissions across all sectors of global economy.
NEWS BRIEF:
SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Business Can Take Leading Role in Alleviating Poverty
Report by WBCSD notes increasing reliance on business as a partner with government and NGOs in sustainable development in developing countries.
NEWS STORY:
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
2008 Accountability Rating Finds More Companies Willing to Address Social and Environmental Challenges
Annual measure of corporate accountability finds telecoms developing effective CSR vision, while oil & gas sector suffers due to operational performance.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ACTIVISM
Shareowners Prepare for the 2009 Proxy Season
SRI leaders reflect on successful shareowner advocacy programs while preparing for increased engagement with corporations in new proxy season.
NEWS BRIEF:
CLIMATE CHANGE
Ceres Joins Forces with Five Leading US Companies in New Climate Change Coalition
Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP) will advocate for aggressive passage of climate and energy legislation.
NEWS BRIEF:
STOCK INDEXES: GREEN COMPANIES
New Index Will Track Pure-Play Environmental Companies
The Global Environment 60 Index will be available to investors through an exchange-traded fund offered by Claymore Investments.
NEWS STORY:
MUTUAL FUNDS: FINANCIAL CRISIS
SRI Funds Post Losses, But Hold Their Own in Relative Performance
While not immune from the battering endured by investors of all stripes, many SRI funds have outperformed mainstream funds on a relative basis this year.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
Survey Finds That Corporate Responsibility Professionals Greet an Obama Administration with Optimism
Conference attendees believe that better corporate responsibility could have lessened severity of fiscal crisis, and expect increased regulation of CR issues.
NEWS STORY:
REPORT: SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM: CORPORATE TRANSPARENCY
Report Finds That Most Corporations Fail to Address Risks That Threaten Long-Term Profitability
EIRIS report on responsible business practices finds insufficient ESG risk management and inadequate disclosure and advocates PRI involvement for responsible investors.
NEWS BRIEF:
MUTUAL FUNDS: SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM: ESG
Report on UK Fund Managers Finds Room for Improvement on ESG Issues
FairPensions surveys thirty of the largest asset managers and finds relatively strong performance in governance but insufficient attention to climate change and social issues.
NEWS BRIEF:
CORPORATE TRANSPARENCY: CLIMATE CHANGE
Institutional Investors Call on SEC to Require Climate Change Disclosure
Fourteen large institutional investors join in request for improved ESG reporting as goal of SEC's 21st Century Disclosure Initiative.
NEWS STORY:
WORKPLACE DIVERSITY: CORPORATE TRANSPARENCY
Corporate Glass Ceiling for Women and Minorities is yet to be Shattered
Reports on diversity in the workplace find women and minorities in executive positions remain in short supply, and corporations resistant to sharing data on diversity practices.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE: ECONOMIC CRISIS
Climate Change Report Finds Silver Lining for Investors in Renewable Energy
Deutsche Bank report on Climate Change emphasizes necessity of carbon pricing, while finding in the economic crisis opportunities for investment in clean technologies.
NEWS BRIEF:
UNEP Launches Green Economy Initiative as Green New Deal
United Nations program warns against retreat from sustainability and proposes global economy based on environment and natural infrastructure.
NEWS STORY:
EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION: SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM: MUTUAL FUNDS
Executive Pay Comes Under Fire from Activist Shareholders for Contributing to Financial Crisis
Study of shareholder voting by mutual funds shows SRI funds leading the way to increased shareholder activism on matter of executive compensation.
NEWS STORY:
ECONOMIC CRISIS: COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT
Studies Rebuff Charges of CRA Complicity in Financial Crisis
Attempts by some conservatives to link the Community Reinvestment Act to predatory mortgage lending are shown to be misleading and often false.
NEWS STORY:
ECONOMIC CRISIS: SUSTAINABLE INVESTING: GREEN COMPANIES
Green Stocks Expected to Rebound in Wake of Financial Crisis
Green stocks are down with rest of market as investor confidence wanes, but new tax credits and the need to address climate change point to likelihood of strong recovery.
NEWS STORY:
ECONOMIC CRISIS: SUSTAINABLE INVESTING: RESPONSIBLE LENDING
Sustainable Investment Strategies Earn Respect in Aftermath of the Financial Crisis
Having sounded warnings for years about the causes of the economic crisis, sustainable and responsible investment may be embraced by more mainstream investors.
NEWS STORY:
INVESTING: CANDIDATES: ENERGY POLICY
Investors Focus on Presidential Candidates' Differences on Future of US Energy Consumption
While both candidates pay homage to energy independence and renewable resources, major differences emerge for responsible investors to consider.
NEWS BRIEF:
MUTUAL FUNDS: RESPONSIBLE INVESTING
Wells Fargo Launches Its First Sustainability Fund
New mutual fund from Wells Fargo invests in large cap companies that meet SRI screening criteria.
NEWS BRIEF:
RESPONSIBLE INVESTING: RESEARCH
Investor Initiatives Join Forces to Call for ESG Considerations in Investment Research
UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment and Enhanced Analytics Initiative have more than $15 trillion in assets and a shared commitment to better research.
NEWS BRIEF:
MUTUAL FUNDS: RESPONSIBLE INVESTING
Calvert Adds Global Water Fund to Series of SRI Portfolios
Anticipating need for $1 trillion investments annually, sustainable investors see water as key opportunity globally.
NEWS STORY:
CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY: CLIMATE CHANGE:
Carbon Disclosure Project Publishes Sixth in Annual Series Detailing Corporate Emissions
Investors network elicits data from corporations globally and finds improved focus on risks and opportunities of climate change.
NEWS BRIEF:
SUSTAINABLE INVESTMENT
European SRI Market Reaches $3.7 Trillion in 2007
Eurosif study finds 102% increase in SRI assets since 2005 fueled by increasing relevance of environmental, social and governance issues for institutional investors and high net worth individuals.
NEWS STORY:
OPPORTUNITY FINANCE
Book Review-Good Policies For a Great America, published by Opportunity Finance Network
A new collection of essays on the impact and possibilities of the opportunity finance industry is a guidebook for the next President and Congress.
NEWS STORY:
PREDATORY LENDING: SHAREHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
SRI Advocates Call for Help Against Foreclosures and Regulation of Wall Street
Responsible investors have led the fight against predatory lending for nearly 10 years with both successes and failures. Advocates see opportunity in current crisis to put end to practice. Last of a three-part series.
NEWS BRIEF:
SHAREHOLDER ENGAGEMENT: SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainable Endowments Institute Releases College Sustainability Report Card
Annual survey encourages commitment to sustainability, including investment priorities, shareholder engagement, and endowment transparency by colleges with largest endowments.
NEWS BRIEF:
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT
Calvert Foundation Receives $10 Million Investment from Merrill Lynch
Investment in foundation's Community Investment Note is intended to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries.
NEWS STORY:
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT
CDFIs Offer Responsible Alternative to Predatory Lending
Community development financial institutions provide housing loans to underserved markets, yet maintain profitability and low net charge-offs. Part II of a three-part series on the credit crisis.
NEWS STORY:
FINANCIAL CRISIS: PREDATORY LENDING
Effects of Predatory Lending Lead to Economic Crisis
Proposed $700 billion bailout by Treasury Department offers measure of relief to roiling markets while raising questions of fairness. Part I of a three-part series.
NEWS BRIEF:
SUSTAINABILITY INDEXES
FTSE4Good Index Series Updates Component Companies and Eligibility Components
FTSE Group added 36 companies and removed 12 in semi-annual update of its leading SRI index.
NEWS BRIEF:
SUSTAINABILITY INDEXES
Dow Jones Sustainability Index Updated
Dow Jones Sustainability World Index lists 320 corporate sustainability leaders, up from 312 in 2007.
NEWS STORY:
GREEN ENERGY:GEOTHERMAL
Investors Take Note of Clean and Sustainable Geothermal Energy Production
New technologies such as EGS offer potential for large-scale electricity production and lead to high-visibility investments.
NEWS STORY:
TRANSPARENCY: ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
Investors Push Companies For Greater Disclosure on Lawsuits
A proposed FASB rule change would require that loss contingencies related litigation be disclosed to investors.
NEWS STORY:
SUSTAINABILITY INVESTMENT REPORT: HIGH NET WORTH INVESTORS
Eurosif Study Finds Increasing Investment in Sustainability by Wealthy Individuals
First-ever study addresses sustainable investment by high net worth individuals.
NEWS STORY:
SOCIAL INVESTMENT REPORT
ESG Criteria Creeping Slowly into Mainstream Investing
New report lays out the five hurdles ESG investing has to clear before it can be incorporated on a large scale.
NEWS STORY:
CORPORATE BOARDS: GOVERNANCE: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Getting on Board with Corporate Social Responsibility
Corporate boards can and should influence their companies' social and environmental performances finds a new report.
NEWS STORY:
SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING
The Assurance Industry Grows in League with ESG Reporting
With more companies publishing sustainability reports, more third parties are stepping in to validate the information in CSR reports.
NEWS STORY:
SUSTAINABILITY RATING
Social Platform for Socially Responsible Investors
The SRI community has a new way to share information about what companies are or aren't doing on social, environmental, and governance issues.
NEWS STORY:
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
It Takes a Village to Raise a Turbine: Making the Case for Community-Owned Windpower
Newly public wind development company is bringing energy ownership and economic improvement to communities.
NEWS STORY:
GREEN INVESTING: WATER
Investing in Water: Bringing Water to the Sea
Whether you wade into investing in water or dive in head first, the water industry offers investors many opportunities.
NEWS STORY:
COMMUNITY INVESTING;HOUSING
Investing to Empower Homeowners
The Calvert Foundation partners with Habitat for Humanity to offer investors a vehicle to drive homeownership while also receiving a financial return.
INTERVIEW:
Sunshine is the Best Disinfectant: Shareholder Activists Promote Corporate Transparency
SocialFunds writer Bill Baue speaks with Sanford Lewis of the Investor Environmental Health Network on his shareholder activism promoting corporate disclosure
NEWS STORY:
GREEN SECTORS
The Very Rich Green Their Portfolios
With European and Middle Eastern investors leading the way, high-net-worth investors are putting their money into green technologies and alternative energy sources.
NEWS STORY:
SCREENING; SUSTAINABILITY
Green Fast Food: Really Here or a Green Dream?
The fast food industry is seeing a growing demand for environmental sustainability. How can investors, consumers, and other stakeholders know which restaurants are truly embracing sustainable development and which are only greenwashing their practices?
NEWS STORY:
RENEWABLE ENERGY:INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS
Renewable Energy Wows World Investors
The United Nations Environmental Program reports a new record in sustainable energy investments in 2007 with more than $148 billion invested globally.
NEWS STORY:
INSITUTIONAL INVESTOR MANAGEMENT STRAGETIES
Mainstream Fund Managers Vary Widely on Social Responsibility
Even as more fund managers accept the impact of environmental, social, and corporate governance issues on performance, the application of responsible investment practices is hit or miss with most mainstream firms.
INTERVIEW:
Bob Monks: ExxonMobil Exemplifies Corpocracy
SocialFunds writers Bill Baue and Francesca Rheannon interview corporate governance advocate Bob Monks about his shareholder activism at ExxonMobil and his new book, Corpocracy.
INTERVIEW:
Shelley Alpern on How Tar Sands Perpetuate Petro-Addiction
SocialFunds writer Bill Baue speaks with Shelley Alpern of Trillium Asset Management about its shareholder activism on oil company exploitation of tar sands.
NEWS STORY:
GREEN COMPANIES
The Sunny Side of the Street: Investing in Solar
More investors are seeing the benefits of buying solar stocks, whether to diversify portfolios or to champion an energy movement.
NEWS STORY:
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Principled Companies Praised
Ethisphere Magazine publishes its second annual list of the World's Most Ethical Companies.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM: HUMAN RIGHTS
Investors Support UN Business and Human Rights Mandate
Coalition of socially responsible investors sends a letter to the United Nations Human Rights Council supporting businesses' responsibility for human rights.
NEWS STORY:
SUSTAINABILITY
Envisioning the Sustainable Supply Chain
Innovative collaborations between suppliers, retailers and consumers need to be forged so future supply chains support businesses and the environment.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM
Executive Pay Weighs Heavy with Shareholders
With more than 90 "say on pay" resolutions this year, shareholders continue to push for advisory votes on executive compensation.
INTERVIEW:
STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Michael Conroy on Activist Campaigns and the Certification Revolution
SocialFunds writer Bill Baue speaks with Michael Conroy about his new book, Branded! How the “Certification Revolution” is Transforming Global Companies
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE:CORPORATE RESPONSIBLITY
Large UK Companies Put Their Best Foot Forward
New study of the FTSE 100 finds most companies, but not all, are improving their performance on environmental, social and governance issues.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM: EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Executive Compensation Consultants: The Next Battlefield for Say on Pay
Investors ask the SEC to mandate disclosure of a company's use of executive compensation consultants and if the consultants are used in other areas of the business as well.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE
Will 2008 Be the Year Congress Acts on Climate Change?
Institutional investors send a message to Congress that action on climate change policy is a business imperative.
NEWS STORY:
LABOR;SUPPLY CHAINS
Disney and McDonald's Take Steps to Protect Global Labor
In partnership with prominent stakeholders, the two companies strive to improve working conditions in factories overseas while new data shows an uptick in companies monitoring suppliers' labor practices.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM
Proxy Voting Made Painless
A new website helps individual investors better understand proxy voting.
NEWS STORY:
SUPPLY CHAIN,CLIMATE CHANGE
Tracking Suppliers' Carbon Footprints
The Carbon Disclosure Project reports on the carbon emissions of some of the world's largest corporations' supply chains.
NEWS STORY:
The Toxic 100: New Report on Polluting Companies Hopes to Empower Communities and Shareholders
Index of top corporate air polluters updated in new report from researchers at University of Massachusetts.
INTERVIEW:
Abolishing Child Labor on West African Cocoa Farms
Mil Niepold of Verité on the International Cocoa Verification Board and Bama Athreya of the International Labor Rights Forum on the Commitment to Ethical Cocoa Sourcing.
NEWS STORY:
SOLAR ENERGY,PERSONAL FINANCE
Sunny Days for New Solar Index and ETF
Claymore Securities launches new ETF based on Melvin & Company's Global Solar Energy Index.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE, SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM
Climate Change Resolutions Picking Up Heat
A new report from Ceres shows mutual funds are starting to move away from voting against climate change resolutions, to not voting on them at all.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM,CLIMATE CHANGE
Ford Establishes Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan
Shareholders withdraw resolutions at Ford after the carmaker agrees to release its plans on how it will decrease greenhouse gas emissions.
NEWS STORY:
SUPPLY CHAIN, CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
Transparent Supply Chain Sends A Clear Message
Hewlett-Packard recently released a list of its largest suppliers in hopes of increasing accountability from factory floors to consumers' front doors.
NEWS STORY:
MUTUAL FUNDS, GREEN INVESTING
New Fund Invests in Tomorrow's Green Stars
ThinkCapital launches a green growth fund that focuses on sustainable companies.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM
Do Your Proxy Votes Really Count?
A new report examines how boards of directors respond to shareholder concerns by adopting or ignoring non-binding shareholder proposals.
NEWS STORY:
PERSONAL FINANCE, MUTUAL FUNDS
Three New SRI Funds from Pax World
Sustainable investing pioneer Pax World adds Global Green, International, and Small Cap Funds to its SRI family of funds.
INTERVIEW:
SCREENING STRATEGIES
Are Alcohol Screens Outdated?
Social investors have used exclusionary alcohol screens for decades. Is it time to reconsider this strategy?
INTERVIEW:
SHAREOWNER ADVOCACY
ICCR Defines the Past, Present, and Future of Shareowner Activism
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility Executive Director Laura Berry speaks with SocialFunds.com about transformative changes in shareowner activism.
NEWS STORY:
ENERGY,SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM
New Coal Plants: At What Cost?
Uncertainties abound around the 100-plus proposed US coal-burning power plants contends a report from the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility.
NEWS STORY:
CLEAN ENERGY, CLEAN TECH
New Energy Technologies Entice Investors
A report from Clean Edge looks at developments in the clean energy markets and forecasts clean energy sectors will continue their rapid rate of expansion.
NEWS STORY:
SCREENING
B Corporations: Verified Sustainability
B Labs takes the guesswork out of which companies are actually working for the future.
NEWS STORY:
PERSONAL FINANCE,SCREENING
EarthFolio Screens the Big SRI Picture
New investment site offers fully managed SRI portfolios for every type of investor, from timid to tenacious.
NEWS STORY:
SCREENING,SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM,COMMUNITY INVESTING
SRI Assets Surge Ahead
New socially responsible investing study reports one dollar out of every nine dollars under professional management is invested responsibly.
INTERVIEW:
SHAREHOLDER ADVOCACY: HUMAN RIGHTS
Shareholder Activists Try New Tactic in Divestment Campaign
Activists are bringing resolutions to shareholder meetings of mutual funds in a bid to widen pressure on companies doing business with the Sudanese government.
NEWS STORY:
CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
Measuring Companies with a Ruler of Responsibility
With 21 return businesses from the 2007 list, CRO's 100 Best Corporate Citizens 2008 ranks large-cap companies' corporate responsibility.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE
Fighting Climate Change, State by State
A core group of state treasurers and controllers are moving their investments into environmentally friendly and clean tech funds, while thinking big about climate change.
NEWS STORY:
MICROFINANCE
MicroPlace: Microfinance for the Masses
US investors with as little as $100 can help fight global poverty at eBay owned MicroPlace.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE; SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM
Institutional Investors Plan Long-term for Climate Change
Summit at the UN unveils an action plan for addressing climate change risks and opportunities.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE: FOUNDATIONS
Foundations Move Toward Mission Related Investing, One Foundation at a Time
Climate change issues may push foundations to examine their portfolios and proxy voting policies.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE: BANKING SECTOR
Three Major Banks Sign The Carbon Principles
With the help of environmental groups and power companies, Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley outline carbon risk management for banks.
NEWS STORY:
RESPONSIBLE PROPERTY INVESTING
Making a Real Difference with Real Estate
The Responsible Property Investment movement gathers momentum with the help of the Responsible Property Investment Center and the backing of UNEP FI.
NEWS STORY:
SUSTAINABILITY
Yearbook Presents Sustainability Trends and Leaders
SAM and PricewaterhouseCoopers offer insights into the sustainability efforts of cutting-edge companies.
INTERVIEW:
ENVIRONMENT: BUSINESS TRENDS
Joel Makower on the GreenBiz.com State of Green Business 2008 Report
GreenBiz founder talks about the inaugural report, which surveys the top 10 green business stories of 2007 and introduces the GreenBiz Index.
NEWS STORY:
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY: PERSONAL FINANCE
Growing Interest In Green Investing
New research shows that individual investors think the environment is hot, with solar energy an important investment opportunity.
NEWS STORY:
CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP
New Survey Uncovers Discrepancies on Corporate Citizenship Issues
There is gap between what executives say on corporate citizenship and what their corporations actually do, finds a survey of over 750 executives.
NEWS STORY:
INDEXES
New Index Contains Companies that Support Stewardship
Index leader launches first index series based on the Dharmic religions.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREHOLDER ACTIVISM
Supreme Court Rules on Naming Secondary Actors in Fraud Cases
In a ruling last week, the Supreme Court laid out what businesses can be held liable under current securities fraud laws.
NEWS STORY:
PERSONAL FINANCE; MUTUAL FUNDS
Social Investment Options on the Rise
A flurry of new socially responsible mutual funds and products makes it easier then ever to invest in a double bottom line.
NEWS STORY:
CLIMATE CHANGE: BANKING
Are Banks Getting Caught With Their Umbrellas Down?
A new report from the RiskMetrics Group ranks 40 of the world's largest banks responses to climate change risks and possibilities.
NEWS STORY:
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT: MICROFINANCE
Microfinance: Catch the Swelling SRI Wave
The microfinance sector offers socially responsible investors a growing arena to create positive social and financial growth according to a new Deutche Bank study.
NEWS STORY:
PERSONAL FINANCE
Top Five Socially Responsible Investing News Stories of 2007
New alternative energy and green funds fuel expansion of socially responsible investing; climate change is pushed to the forefront; community development organizations flourish despite the subprime mortgage debacle; consumers demand healthy products and work environments; and SEC limits shareholder rights.
BOOK REVIEW:
PRODUCT RESPONSIBILITY
Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products
The United States is no longer setting the agenda for manufacturers’ standards and American consumers are paying the price with their health.
NEWS STORY:
PERSONAL FINANCE
Whistling Past the Graveyard—Socially Responsible Investing and the Financial Crisis
SRI thought leaders analyze the potential impacts of the widespread economic downturn caused by the subprime meltdown and deflating dollar.
NEWS STORY:
WORKPLACE
Screening for Satisfaction
The 2007 Moskowitz Prize for Socially Responsible Investing was awarded to a study that shows higher employee satisfaction has historically correlated to higher stock prices.
NEWS STORY:
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT
Buying and Selling Loans for the Good of Communities
The Community Reinvestment Fund USA offers investors a way to help keep capital flowing into community development organizations.
NEWS STORY:
FINANCIAL PRODUCTS
Socially Responsible Investing Branches Out Over Asset Classes
A handbook published by Boston College's Institute for Responsible Investment outlines how managers can diversify socially responsible investments.
NEWS STORY:
COMMUNITY INVESTMENT
Giving to the Givers: Honoring Community Development Organizations
The Wachovia NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance names ACCION Texas and the Latino Community Credit Union for its 2007 $8.25 million prize.
NEWS STORY:
ENVIRONMENT: CLIMATE CHANGE
Burning Bunker Fuel: The Shipping Industry's Dirty, Not-So-Secret Shame
Friends of the Earth is extremely concerned about the greenhouse gases and other pollutants ships spew into the atmosphere. The UN agency working on the issue stands behind the shipping industry's efforts to comply with international protocols.
NEWS STORY:
SHAREOWNER ADVOCACY
SEC Sacrifices Shareholder Rights to Achieve Temporary Certainty
Instead of reaffirming shareholder rights to file resolutions to nominate directors, the SEC cites uncertainty as a rationale for stripping these rights.
NEWS STORY:
Giving the Gift of Gore? Video Game Buyers Beware
ICCR works to educate video game buyers on video games ratings and works with retailers to keep mature and violent video games out of children's hands.
NEWS STORY:
Equalizing the Economic Playing and Farming Fields
Equity Trust invests in farms, non-profits and communities, helping people take charge of their economic futures.
NEWS STORY:
Jolly Green Giant: Google Gives the Green Light to Alternative Energy
Google promises millions of dollars to create inexpensive renewable energy.
NEWS STORY:
Sustainability Issues All Over the Map at Large Cap Companies
An extensive study from RiskMetrics shows sustainability governance among companies varies widely from country to country, and from sector to sector.
NEWS STORY:
Environmental, Social and Governance Standards: Glass Half-Empty or Half-Full?
The spread of voluntary and mandatory ESG disclosure and performance standards for business raises the question, how robust is implementation and enforcement?
NEWS STORY:
Taking the Pulse of the Electric and Natural Gas Utilities Sector
KLD's newest report provides investors with insight on how US and European utilities are dealing with environmental and societal concerns.
NEWS STORY:
Consumers Demand Companies Walk Their Green Talk
The growing number of consumers who identify themselves as "conscious" creates more opportunities for sustainable companies.
NEWS STORY:
Wal-Mart's First Sustainability Report: Just a Gesture or a Just Account?
Many call the biggest retailer's sustainability report a good first step on a long road.
NEWS STORY:
Launch of Five Climate Change Funds May Enrich Investors, But Won't Save the World
Deutsche Bank, F&C, HSBC, Schroders, and Virgin Money launch climate funds, a trend that validates the role of finance in addressing--though not solving--global warming.
NEWS STORY:
Making Toys is Not Child's Play
A group of shareholders have come together to demand safer working conditions for workers along the toy supply chain.
NEWS STORY:
Environment
Growing Up Green: Winslow Offers New Mid-Cap Green Mutual Fund
As the green market place expands, Winslow launches a mutual fund to capitalize on middle-sized growth companies that offer green solutions.
NEWS STORY:
CEOs Add ESG Issues to Business Blueprints
A report from McKinsey & Company finds that more CEOs are including environmental, social, and governance issues in core strategies.
NEWS STORY:
Good Mortgages Still Going to Good People
Community development financial institutions and their customers across the country are disproving the idea that low-income people are mortgage risks.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review: The Clean Tech Revolution
A new book on investing in green technology looks at new and expected developments that hold out promise for big returns over the coming decades.
NEWS STORY:
Green Financial Products Take Root in North America
A new report commissioned by UNEP FI lists green financial services and products as it makes the case for green banking's environmental, social, and economic benefits.
NEWS STORY:
Are Colleges Only Green Skin Deep?
The Sustainability Report Card 2008 examines colleges and universities dedication to sustainability, on campuses and in endowment portfolios.
NEWS STORY:
Connecting the Dots Between Climate Change, Companies, and Financial Performance
Laying the groundwork for new investment products, Innovest releases the first study relating how companies manage climate change risk to their financial performance.
NEWS STORY:
Corporate Operations in Burma Fuel Human Rights Abuses, Say Shareowner Activists
Shareowner letters to Chevron and Total criticize the piping of revenues to the Burmese regime, while the Norwegian Pension Fund defends its decision not to divest from Total.
NEWS STORY:
Engaged Employees Equal Increased Earnings
A recent study by Towers Perrin shows employee engagement and financial performance are intertwined and outlines how companies can help employees become engaged.
NEWS STORY:
Risking the Weather: The Insurance Sector Faces Climate Change
A new report sponsored by Ceres and written by Evan Mills, one of the recipients of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore, highlights new products offered by the insurance sector in response to the changing climate.
NEWS STORY:
Green Angels: Venture and Private Equity Capitalists Help Sprout a New Generation of Environmentally Friendly Companies
Private investors and high-net worth individuals are making a difference--in hopes of making a profit--by actively recruiting start-up and middle-sized companies dedicated to the environment and society.
NEWS STORY:
Emissions Trading Commodifies Carbon, But Does It Really Help Solve Climate Change?
Proponents of carbon trading see markets as the best mechanism for reducing emissions, while critics characterize carbon trading as a devil's bargain that steers profits to polluters.
NEWS STORY:
"Living" Companies Perform Better
Corporations that care about people more than things are more sustainable and profitable, puts forth author and financial counselor Jay Bragdon.
NEWS STORY:
Working for the Earth: Green Companies and Green Jobs Attract Employees
New research shows that employees want to work at green companies and are happiest at companies with solid corporate social responsibility programs in place.
NEWS STORY:
Investors, States, and Activists Petition Securities and Exchange Commission To Mandate Climate Risk Disclosure
Twenty-two petitioners representing investment managers, state officials and environmental groups recently filed a petition with the Securities and Exchange Commission to improve reporting by companies on the financial impact of climate change.
NEWS STORY:
New Pax World Value Fund Follows "Contrarian Value" Strategy
Pax World's new Fund travels the globe looking for sustainable, yet undervalued companies.
NEWS STORY:
KLD's New Index Finds Sustainable Companies the World Over
KLD launches a Global Sustainability Index Series to benchmark top companies in all sectors across Asia Pacific, Europe and North America.
NEWS STORY:
Ardour Global Index Offers Unique Alternative Energy Universe
Ardour Global Index adds new companies in quarterly rebalancing, including US manufacturer Beacon Power.
NEWS STORY:
Contracting Human Rights? Ruggie Teams with IFC on Study
Empirical research conducted by John Ruggie and the International Finance Corporation examines if foreign investment contract clauses enable human rights violations.
NEWS STORY:
Companies, Carbon and Climate Change: The Carbon Disclosure Project Issues its 5th Global Corporate Climate Change Report
More companies are moving from simple carbon awareness to carbon action, but further work still needs to be done.
NEWS STORY:
Big Bosses Embrace Corporate Responsibility
A new survey of executives finds many companies are increasing their spending on environmental, social, and governance issues, in spite of a decline in business confidence.
NEWS STORY:
Canada is Coming Clean: First Canadian Global Clean Energy Fund Launched
Criterion Investments has announced its Global Energy Fund, reflecting a growing enthusiasm for clean energy by investors, companies and governments.
NEWS STORY:
Where in the World is Corporate Responsibility?
EIRIS' new report "The State of Responsible Business" details growing corporate responsibility in businesses worldwide.
NEWS STORY:
Excessive CEO Compensation Hurting US Companies and Society
A new report claims that excessive executive compensation in the US is taking a staggering economic and social toll on American society, threatening leadership in the business, government, and nonprofit sectors and creating instability in the economy.
NEWS STORY:
Businesses and Water Shortages: A Drought of Risk Management
The Marsh Center for Risk Insights' new survey reports that although most businesses are aware of the risks of water shortages, most businesses don't have a risk management plan in place.
NEWS STORY:
The Subprime Meltdown and SRI: Engage, Avoid, Predict
Shareowner activists engaged banks on predatory lending long before the subprime crisis climaxed, and SRI research predicted the meltdown in time to avoid some impacts.
NEWS STORY:
17th and Jackson: Community Development in Action, Turning a Vacant Lot into Affordable Housing and More
Non-traditional financing, including an investment by Enterprise Community Investment, funds a green multi-use building in Seattle's Central Area Neighborhood.
NEWS STORY:
Shareholder Activists Turn Up Heat on the SEC
The Social Investment Forum and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility launch a website as part of a campaign to garner support against SEC's proposals limiting shareholder rights.
NEWS STORY:
Leave Only Footprints: Measuring and Managing Corporate Carbon Emissions
Corporate carbon footprinting is on the rise, but so too is the number of footprint methodologies, challenging companies and investors to discern the best options. Part two of a two-part article.
NEWS STORY:
Green Outsourcing: Companies Demanding More Environmentally Sound Suppliers
Brown-Wilson Group's newest "Black Book of Outsourcing" reports that businesses are including more environmental factors when choosing suppliers.
NEWS STORY:
JPMorgan Chase Committed to Helping Low- and Moderate-income Communities
Reporting in its third year, Chase is on target to invest $800 billion over ten years to benefit low- and middle-income people and neighborhoods.
NEWS STORY:
Fiddling While The Planet Burns: Mainstream Investment Funds Blinkered To Climate Risk
Part one of a two-part article looks at the lack of climate risk calculations by UK fund managers. Part two will examine some new tools for assessing climate risks to investments.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review-World Inc: How the Growing Power of Business is Revolutionizing Profits, People and the Future of Both
Author Bruce Piasecki argues that better products will help make a better world as companies face the "S" frontier.
NEWS STORY:
To Avoid Risk of Alien Tort Claims Act Cases, Companies Must Improve Human Rights
The first-ever corporate ATCA verdict of not guilty does not diminish the ongoing liabilities companies face in US courts for human rights violations committed overseas.
NEWS STORY:
A Win for Generic Drugs: Indian Court Rules Against Drug Maker Novartis
In a test case for drug patents in developing nations, Novartis loses an attempt to challenge an Indian patent provision.
NEWS STORY:
Jitters About Regulatory Outlook Rile Confidence in Coal Mining Stocks
Growing political momentum for enacting state and national laws to reduce CO2 emissions is raising worries among investors of the long term viability of the coal industry.
NEWS STORY:
Proxy Advisors Come Out Clean
A report from the Government Accountability Office finds that the largest proxy advisor ISS and other advisor firms disclose potential conflicts of interest.
NEWS STORY:
Merrill Lynch Offers New Energy Efficiency Index
Merrill Lynch expands its line of "green" indexes with a new product that tracks the growing movement to reduce energy costs and CO2 emissions.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review-A Billion Bootstraps: Microcredit, Barefoot Banking and the Business Solution for Ending Poverty
Phil Smith and Eric Thurman offer a primer on microcredit for businesspeople who want the best bang for their charitable bucks.
NEWS STORY:
Many Sustainability Reports Upbeat, Ignoring Climate Change Risks
A new study from GRI and KPMG on sustainability reports notes that companies highlight new business opportunities created by climate change and shy away from risks associated with climate change.
NEWS STORY:
SEC Chair Cox Votes For Two Opposing Proxy Access Proposals--Both May Curtail Shareowner Rights
Republican commissioners support a proposal barring shareowners from nominating directors; Democrats support one allowing it, though it introduced other reductions in shareowner power.
NEWS STORY:
Executives and the Environment: Looking Back at Proxy Season 2007
With the 2007 proxy season over, shareholders saw a jump in the number of socially responsible proposals, with support growing for climate change proposals and accountability for executive pay.
NEWS STORY:
Twenty Diverse Companies Make the Sustainability Cut
With some help from KLD, SustainableBusiness.com releases their 6th annual Sustainable Business 20 List: The World's Top Sustainable Stocks.
NEWS STORY:
BSR Proposes Going Beyond Monitoring to Achieve Truly Sustainable Supply Chains
The new report from Business for Social Responsibility posits a four-pronged vision for shifting supply chain management from a surveillance model to a comprehensive, proactive solution.
NEWS STORY:
One and Two Percent Allocations Add Up for Social and Community Development
TIAA-CREF allocates 2% of its Social Choice account for proactive social investments and the Social Investment Forum and Co-op America's 1% or More for Community campaign aims to double the amount invested in community development.
NEWS STORY:
Helping Close the Capital Gap in Africa: Two Big Investments in African Microfinance
More than half of all South Africans still have no access to banking reports Shared Interest, a non-profit investment fund that guarantees bank loans for South Africa's poorest communities. Many Africans suffer from lack of available capital, where only 7 million of Africa's estimated 940 million people had access to microcredit in 2005, according to the State of Microcredit Summit Campaign Report 2006.
NEWS STORY:
Sustainability Picks Up Where Supply and Demand Meet
Both investors and companies are working on sustainability issues as new reports by UN PRI and Goldman Sachs show ESG issues are gaining momentum.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--Ethical Markets: Growing the Green Economy
Author Hazel Henderson's exhaustive survey of the sustainable business landscape serves as a perfect primer on green economics and tracks lesser-known trends and developments.
NEWS STORY:
Selling As A Clear Message: Investors Rid Their Portfolios Of Companies With Ties To Sudan
Claymore/KLD offers the First Sudan Free ETF for retail investors while the SEC's new list of companies operating in "States of Terrorism" is seen by some as too broad.
NEWS STORY:
MMA Helps People Far and Near With its New OneWorld Community Development Investment Program
MMA and the Mennonite Economic Development Associates have created a program for investors to help capital reach poor neighborhoods in the US and abroad.
NEWS STORY:
Wachovia NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance Honor CDFIs
Three heavy-hitters come together to support community development financial institutions with $42.5 million pledged over the next five years in grants and loans.
NEWS STORY:
Seeing Retirement Investment Through Green-colored Glasses
A new report shows that Americans have more SRI retirement choices than ever before, but it remains to be seen if people chose to put their savings in socially and environmentally screened funds.
NEWS STORY:
ABN Amro: Honored for its Global Sustainability Work and Called Out for Its Climate Change Finance
The Financial Times awards banking goliath ABN Amro its 2007 Sustainable Banking Award while a new report points to the bank's carbon-intensive investments.
NEWS STORY:
Biofuels: Keeping Good Intentions on the Right Path
With the biofuels industry growing by leaps and bounds worldwide, controversy is erupting over whether this important new energy source is truly as sustainable as it claims to be.
NEWS STORY:
New Eurosif Reports Identify ESG Challenges in the European Food and Insurance Sectors
Eurosif's raises awareness of social and environmental issues across European companies in a series of sector-by-sector reports, the two newest covering the insurance and food production sectors.
NEWS STORY:
Forget Fossil Fuels, Calvert Now Offers Global Alternative Energy Fund
Calvert releases a survey of US investors on climate change and expands its family of funds with an alternative energy fund.
NEWS STORY:
One and Two Percent Allocations Add Up for Social and Community Development
TIAA-CREF allocates 2% of its Social Choice account for proactive social investments while the Social Investment Forum and Co-op America's 1% or More for Community campaign aims to double the amount invested in community development.
NEWS STORY:
MMA Now Offers Small Cap and Growth Index Funds
Leading faith-based investment company MMA Praxis Mutual grows its offerings with two new screened funds.
NEWS STORY:
SustainAbility Predicts How Sustainable Development Will Play Out Over Next Two Decades
Part two of this two-part article looks at a recent report from SustainAbility that projects four scenarios of potential developments in sustainability over the next 20 years.
NEWS STORY:
Shareholders Push Social and Environmental Issues to the Forefront
Proxy season 2007 sees a huge number of social and environmental resolutions at US companies with the growing support of voters.
NEWS STORY:
Brundtland Report Celebrates 20th Anniversary Since Coining Sustainable Development
Part one of this two-part article examines how the Brundtland Report has promoted sustainable development over the past two decades.
NEWS STORY:
Gabelli Launches New Value-Oriented SRI Fund
Gabelli Funds offers its first open SRI Fund, backed up by years of SRI experience working with institutional investors.
NEWS STORY:
Calvert's New Growth Fund Has Global Focus
American SRI pioneer Calvert launches the Calvert International Opportunities Fund, a small and mid-cap fund with UK-based F&C Management as sub-advisor.
NEWS STORY:
Principles For Responsible Investment Quadruples Assets in First Year
The United Nations sponsored Principles for Responsible Investment is only one year old, but have already reached $8 trillion plus in assets and expect to keeping on growing.
NEWS STORY:
Shareholder Resolutions on Climate Change to Heat Up ExxonMobil's Annual Meeting
A broad coalition of shareholders is seriously concerned about ExxonMobil's lackluster response to global climate change and plans to give thumbs down to board member Michael Boskin.
NEWS STORY:
Nanotechnology: The Smallest Green Revolution?
A new report from the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies touts "green" nanotechnology, and calls for Federal oversight.
NEWS STORY:
Innovative Fund Looks to Johnny Appleseed for Inspiration
The Appleseed Fund offers social investors a fresh venue for investing in undervalued companies selected for their social and environmental records.
NEWS STORY:
Fidelity Divests Large Chunk of Sudan-Related Holdings
Despite similar pressure from Sudan divestment activists, Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway retain holdings in PetroChina, which is linked to genocide in Darfur.
NEWS STORY:
Proven Community Investment Fund Now Open to All
Access Capital Strategies changes the structure of its Community Investing Fund to allow individuals and small institutions to invest in the Fund.
NEWS STORY:
Banking on the Future: The Two Biggest US Banks To Dedicate Billions to Halting Climate Change
Citigroup and Bank of America have pledged billions of dollars to help fight climate change while a new report questions Chinese banks' environmental policies.
NEWS STORY:
Opening Up Pandora's Box: SEC Proxy Roundtable Questions Role of Non-Binding Resolutions
SEC officers and panelists discuss the possibility of removing non-binding resolutions from the proxy and replacing them with online communications between shareowners and companies.
NEWS STORY:
Risky Business: The Outlook for Investing in Nuclear Power
A new report scrutinizes the nuclear industry from an investor's perspective and finds a rotting fantasy of cheap energy and huge returns.
NEWS STORY:
Going In and Out the Windows: Weaving a Web of Political Accountability
The Center for Political Accountability's new report "Open Windows" calls on companies for greater transparency and accountability in political giving and outlines a model of political accountability.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review: Deep Economy: The Wealth Of Communities And The Durable Future
Author Bill McKibben's latest book helps lay the groundwork to create a more livable and viable world in which less is actually better.
NEWS STORY:
Grading Sustainability Reports: Creating the Curve
As more and more companies publish sustainability reports, awards and studies of these reports help raise reporting standards.
NEWS STORY:
Shareholders One Step Closer to Having a "Say on Pay"
The US House of Representatives votes to give shareholders an advisory non-binding vote on executive compensation.
NEWS STORY:
Yes and No: Newmont Recommends Voting For One Resolution, Petitions SEC to Omit Another
The actions span the gamut of corporate responses to shareowner resolutions on environmental, social, and governance issues, from wholehearted support to forceful opposition.
NEWS STORY:
Over the Hedge: New Green Hedge Fund of Funds
Kenmar plans to launch socially responsible hedge fund of funds for institutional investors.
NEWS STORY:
Shareholders Work to Make AIDS Drugs Available Worldwide
Abbott Labs changes its tune and lowers price of AIDS fighting drugs in low-and-middle income countries.
NEWS STORY:
Corporate Social Responsibility: Perfect Playing Field for Tipping Points and Cognitive Frames
The Lifeworth review of CSR developments in 2006 fuses two popular concepts on social beliefs and change to promote personal, corporate, and societal transformation.
NEWS STORY:
Surveillance, Schmurveillance?
Wal-Mart's apparent research and surveillance activities geared toward shareholders raises troubling, but perhaps fleeting questions about trust.
NEWS STORY:
If You Tag It, It Will Be Used: Sustainability Reporting in XBRL
Weeks after the latest SEC roundtable on interactive data, the Global Reporting Initiative releases a draft taxonomy of XBRL tags mapped to G3 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines.
NEWS STORY:
Water, Water, But Not Everywhere
The entry of private equity firms and consolidation of utility operations by large conglomerates are poised to change the water industry over the next 20 years.
NEWS STORY:
Spectra Green Fund Offers a Different Shade of Green
The Spectra Green Fund, from Fred Alger Management, broadens approach to selecting sustainable and environmentally conscious companies.
NEWS STORY:
Porter and Kramer Framework Melding CSR with Business Strategy Wins Harvard Award
The Harvard Business Review grants the 2006 McKinsey Award to an article arguing companies create competitive advantage by integrating social and environmental issues into core strategy.
NEWS STORY:
Subprime Lending Hurts Homeowners
The Center for Responsible Lending contends that subprime lending has led to a net loss in homeownership.
NEWS STORY:
Carbon Offsets: Modern-Day Indulgences to Assuage Carbon Guilt or Market Mechanism for Supporting Clean Energy
Even as they gain popularity as a climate change solution, carbon offsets have come under considerable criticism for diluting action on global warming--the truth likely resides between these extremes.
NEWS STORY:
Canadian SRI Assets Leap to More Than $500 Billion Canadian
A new survey from the Social Investment Organization shows Canadian SRI assets ballooning thanks to increased institutional interest and new methodology.
NEWS STORY:
The World's Poor: Huge Market or Just a Marketer’s Fantasy?
New report from the International Finance Corporation and World Resources Institute measures the market-size of the Earth's people who live in poverty.
NEWS STORY:
Concerned Investors and Businesses Call for Congress to Pass a Carbon-Cap or Wear a Dunce Cap
A large group of institutional investors and US companies call on the federal government to pass legislation to fight climate change that includes a demand for mandated cuts in greenhouse gasses.
NEWS STORY:
Shareowner Activism Precedes Development of SRI Slavery Screen
Most slavery exists far up the supply chain, and auditing practices do not yet exist to monitor for slavery at second- or third-tier suppliers, so it is too early to enact an enforceable slavery screen.
NEWS STORY:
ABN AMRO Asset Management Launches First Indian SRI Mutual Fund
New fund focuses on companies screened by Indian research and ratings company CRISIL.
NEWS STORY:
TIAA-CREF Ups the Ante With New Stance on ESG Issues
TIAA-CREF’s new policy statement and proxy voting guidelines address social, environmental and governance issues, moving SRI arguments into the mainstream.
NEWS STORY:
Ruggie Report Says Voluntary Human Rights Initiatives Set Stage for Binding Global Standards
While the report finds significant flaws with voluntary collaborations between corporations and civil society, they currently fill the gap created by nation-states failing to protect human rights.
NEWS STORY:
S&P Tracks Sustainability With a New Global Index
S&P jumps into the growing pool of sustainability indexes with the launch of its Global Thematic Index Series.
NEWS STORY:
Mutual Funds Inch Toward More Conscientious Proxy Voting on Social and Environmental Resolutions
Corporate social responsibility resolutions addressing climate change reveal the increasing complexity of assessing proxy voting records.
NEWS STORY:
Carrying the Shield for Responsible Investing in Canada
Corporate Knights magazine names top Canadian SRI mutual funds and releases survey that finds SRI funds mirror market performance.
NEWS STORY:
Chocolate Giant Commits to Responsible Supplier Code
The Hershey Company is working to create a supplier code of conduct that goes above and beyond just cocoa suppliers.
NEWS STORY:
New Bond Index Focuses on Climate Change
JP Morgan Chase and Innovest introduce the first bond index that addresses climate change risks and possibilities.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--The New Capitalists: How Citizen Investors Are Reshaping the Corporate Agenda
This book introduces a series of new concepts such as the civil economy, the circle of accountability, and the capitalist manifesto that harness capitalism toward social purpose.
NEWS STORY:
Toxic Cosmetics Getting Under the Skin of Concerned Investors
Health-conscious investors and consumers are starting to demand cosmetic companies report and ban toxic ingredients.
NEWS STORY:
New Ethical Fund Brings Value-Based Investing to High Street
Marks & Spencer Money, a former division of the top English retailer Marks & Spencer, has started offering a new SRI fund called the M & S Ethical Fund, which will be managed by two well-respected SRI mangers.
NEWS STORY:
Citigroup, Lehman Brothers, and UBS Report on Climate Risks and Opportunities for Investing
Lehman Brothers and UBS agree climate change represents a market failure for neglecting to price carbon externalizations in valuations, while Citigroup makes specific stock picks.
NEWS STORY:
New Fund for Affordable Housing In Latin America
With $100 million pledged from OPIC, the Alsis Latin America Fund supports home construction and local capital markets in Latin America.
NEWS STORY:
Aflac Shareholders Get Say on Executive Pay
Aflac becomes the first major US company to offer shareholders a non-binding vote on executive compensation packages.
NEWS STORY:
Business for Social Responsibility Fuses the Theoretical and Practical to Promote Sustainability
SocialFunds.com speaks with Aron Cramer, CEO of Business for Social Responsibility, about past developments in corporate social responsibility and future trajectories of sustainability.
NEWS STORY:
Shareholders Ask Companies for Transparency on Corporate Political Giving
With 43 companies facing shareholder resolutions on political accountability this proxy season, a handful of companies have already reached agreements with filers on this issue.
NEWS STORY:
Top US Jewelry Retailers Get the Gold for Signing Responsibility Pledge
In time for Valentine’s Day, seven out of the top ten US jewelry retailers sign No Dirty Gold’s "Golden Rules" to back responsible gold mining practices.
NEWS STORY:
The Gates Foundation and Mission Related Investing: Room for Alignment?
An investigative report into the investment practices of the Gates Foundation has reinvigorated the debate over the obligation of foundations to align their missions with their investments.
NEWS STORY:
Social(k) Catalyzes SRI Retirement Opportunities for Employees
Social(k)’s online retirement platform expands companies’ retirement options by offering over 100 SRI funds.
NEWS STORY:
Proxy Votes on Sexual Orientation Nondiscrimination Draw Strong Support
Shareholder resolutions calling for equal rights for all employees at Commercial Metals and Micron highlight growing support for companies to include sexual orientation in their nondiscrimination policies.
NEWS STORY:
S&P 500 Lags on Climate Disclosure, Electric Utilities Burning Economic Value Into Carbon
Two recent reports use findings of the 2006 Carbon Disclosure Project to assess limits of transparency on climate risks and opportunities and drag on value creation at electric utilities.
NEWS STORY:
Top CEOs Address Climate Change
A collaboration between ten major US companies and four environmental organizations calls on the Federal government to quickly enact strong legislation to reduce greenhouse emissions.
NEWS STORY:
"Say on Pay" Highlighted in the Upcoming 2007 Proxy Season
Institutional investors band together, asking for the right to weigh in on top executive compensation packages.
NEWS STORY:
Inaugural Report Card Grades College Sustainability on Endowment and Campus Efforts
The Sustainable Endowments Institute study finds endowment sustainability lagging campus sustainability policies and initiatives.
NEWS STORY:
Global 100 List Raises the Profile of Sustainability at the World Economic Forum (and Beyond)
Competition to make the third annual list of the 100 most sustainable companies--based on ratings by Innovest--continues to spur strong corporate social and environmental performance.
NEWS STORY:
Surveyed Managers Emphasize Socially Responsible Issues
EIRIS’ newest survey asserts that both SRI and mainstreams investors view specific environmental, social, and governance factors as important when applied to certain sectors.
NEWS STORY:
From Competition to Cooperation: Companies Collaborate on Social and Environmental Issues
Collaborative initiatives bring together companies, investors, and activists to address issues such as online freedom of expression, climate change, and labor rights in the global supply chain.
NEWS STORY:
MicroVest Secures Mutual Fund Investor
Meritas Jantzi Social Index Fund Invests with MicroVest
NEWS STORY:
The Problem with Voluntary Corporate Initiatives Is -- Well, They Are Voluntary
A Harvard study identifies the voluntary nature of such corporate social and environmental initiatives as their pitfall, limiting the ability to gauge their effectiveness.
NEWS STORY:
Study Links Options Backdating to Corporate Governance Weaknesses
Harvard Professor Lucian Bebchuk and colleagues use a new method of identifying CEO and outside director manipulation of stock option timing and assert correlations to governance problems.
NEWS STORY:
New Domini Funds Invest in the World
Domini charts new territory with the creation of the Domini PacAsia Social Equity Fund and the Domini EuroPacific Social Equity Fund.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--Make Poverty Business: Increase Profits and Reduce Risks by Engaging with the Poor
The co-authors provide a blueprint for on-the-ground managers of multinational corporations to create sustainable profits and reduce country risk by helping alleviate poverty.
NEWS STORY:
Top Five Socially Responsible Investing News Stories of 2006
Green investing booms, microfinance pioneer wins Nobel Peace Prize, shareowner democracy increases, resolutions receive record votes, and UN launches Principles of Responsible Investment
NEWS STORY:
Launch of Three New Clean Tech Indexes Culminates Banner Year for Green Investing
The three Jefferies Global Clean Technology Indexes join the half-dozen green indexes introduced this year.
NEWS STORY:
Costs of Carbon and Coal: Examining Emissions Trading Scheme Impact on Shareowner Value
WWF and SAM Group collaborate on a study modeling impacts of rising costs of carbon dioxide emissions on the valuation of German utility RWE, the biggest private carbon emitter in Europe.
NEWS STORY:
Rainforest Action Network Seeks to Stem Flow of Financing to TXU Coal Project
Part two of this two-part articles addresses how RAN sent a letter to 54 banks urging them to withhold funding from a TXU plan to build 11 pulverized coal-burning power plants in Texas.
NEWS STORY:
TXU Shareowners File Three Resolutions Questioning Wisdom of Pulverized Coal Plants
Part one of this two-part article examines how shareowners are raising environmental and regulatory concerns over the TXU coal expansion plan, as well as environmentally preferable alternatives to coal such as energy efficiency.
NEWS STORY:
Swedish Government Facilitates Corporate Responsibility
A SocialFunds.com interview with Elisabeth Dahlin, Ambassador, Head of Global Responsibility, Sweden.
NEWS STORY:
Institutional Investors in France Foresee Continuing Growth of Socially Responsible Investing
A Novethic survey tells some of the story behind the numbers documented in the September 2006 Eurosif report on the growth of SRI in Europe.
NEWS STORY:
Retailers Improve on Keeping Violent Video Games Out of the Hands of Children
An Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility report also identifies several areas where the seven companies examined stand to improve performance--predominantly on disclosure.
NEWS STORY:
Another Clean Energy Exchange Traded Fund to Launch
First Trust Advisors is slated to introduce an ETF that tracks the NASDAQ Clean Edge US Liquid Series Index early next year.
NEWS STORY:
Marriott Combats Child Sexual Exploitation
Shareowner engagement by Boston Common Asset Management and the First Swedish National Pension Fund prompts Marriott to explicitly address child sex tourism in its human rights policy.
NEWS STORY:
How to Do Sustainble Banking
BankTrack, a coalition of nongovernmental organizations promoting social and environmental responsibility in the finance sector, issues a guide to best practices in sustainable banking.
NEWS STORY:
Eight Percent of Fortune 500 Taking EPA Challenge to Double Their Green Energy Use
Fortune 500 companies are installing renewable energy generation on-site as well as purchasing green power directly or through renewable energy certificates.
NEWS STORY:
Pharma Companies Need to Keep Improving AIDS Response, Says ICCR and Nigerian Doctor
Chukwumuanya Igboekwu of Physicians for Social Justice adds his own critiques to the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility study on pharmaceutical industry shortcomings in addressing AIDS.
NEWS STORY:
The Growth of Green Building Funds
A new urban green real estate fund from Revival Fund Management exemplifies a budding trend toward private funds capitalized by accredited investors.
NEWS STORY:
Corporate Accountability Improves, Progressing on Stakeholder Engagement But Not Assurance
Vodafone, BP, and Shell top the annual Global Accountability Rating by AccountAbility and CSRnetwork, with Home Depot rising 10 percentage points and Chevron falling 20.
NEWS STORY:
Ecosystem Depletion Presents Businesses with Risks and Opportunities
Four prominent environmental and business organizations report on the business risks and opportunities associated with ecosystem crises such as climate change and water scarcity.
NEWS STORY:
New Exchange Traded Fund Tracks Domini 400 Social Index
Barclays Global Investors launches the iShares KLD 400 Social Index ETF.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review: Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage
The plethora of real-life examples of corporate environmental initiatives is where readers will find value in this book from two authors associated with Yale.
NEWS STORY:
Dear Sir or Madam: Stakeholder Letters Push Corporate Sustainability Improvements
Letters remains an important mode for addressing environmental, social, and governance issues, encompassing a broader swath than simply communication between shareowners and companies.
NEWS STORY:
Merrill Lynch and World Resources Institute Issue Second Auto Sector Climate Change Report
The report again balances stock picking and investment analysis with in-depth discussion of regulatory and market developments in response to global warming and energy security concerns.
NEWS STORY:
Sustainability Reporting Improving, But Not Necessarily Contributing to True Sustainability
The biennial survey of global reporters by SustainAbility assesses disclosure on sustainability performance, but refrains from directly assessing corporate sustainability performance.
NEWS STORY:
Study Finds Corporate Political Donations Increase Share Price, But Ignores Potential Risks
The academic paper documents up to six percent annual return increase when companies support more candidates, but it neglects to address rising legal risks of donations being defined as bribes.
NEWS STORY:
Merrill Lynch Uses CDFI Assessment and Ratings System on $93 Million Community Investment
While many investors use the CARS ratings as secondary information in their community investment decisions, Merrill Lynch will use it as its primary underwriting tool.
NEWS STORY:
KLD Fills Gap in Socially Responsible Investing by Launching Equity Income Index
The KLD Dividend Achievers Social Index, created in partnership with Mergent, provides a new option for passive investment vehicles in this previously underdeveloped asset allocation in SRI.
NEWS STORY:
As Climate Debate Matures, Companies Strategize Solutions and Investors Push for Disclosure
Companies are taking tangible actions to minimize risks and seize opportunities related to climate change, while investors promote more robust climate-related disclosure.
NEWS STORY:
Two New ETFs Fight Climate Change: One Bridges Shift to Cleaner Energy, One Pushes Cleantech
The PowerShares WilderHill Progressive Energy Portfolio and the PowerShares Cleantech Portfolio offer investors increasing choice for investing in climate change solutions.
NEWS STORY:
Glass Lewis Adds KLD Proxy Voting Guidelines to Proxy Voting Platform
The move increases the availability of socially responsible investing proxy voting guidelines, but it remains to be seen if it inspires Glass Lewis to support more SRI resolutions in its own guidelines.
NEWS STORY:
Pax World Drops Zero Tolerance Screens on Alcohol and Gambling
SocialFunds.com speaks with Pax World CEO Joe Keefe about changes approved today, including the addition of governance, climate change, and human rights screens.
NEWS STORY:
Winslow Conservation Index Outperforms the S&P 500 and Russell 2000
Winslow Management Company back-tested five-year performance of 15 companies focused on conservation, an oft-overlooked component of the alternative energy equation.
NEWS STORY:
PepsiCo and Coca-Cola Get Cs on Report Card for Ten Percent Recycled Content in Bottles
The report, conducted by the As You Sow (AYS) Foundation and the Container Recycling Institute, graded the ten other beverage companies D- and F on recycling.
NEWS STORY:
Votes for Social and Environmental Resolutions Rising, But Proxy Firm Support Still Lagging
Over a quarter of social and environmental resolutions topped 15 percent support this proxy season, but proxy advisory firm recommendations supporting such proposals remain low.
NEWS STORY:
(PRODUCT) RED Combats HIV/AIDS by Funneling Portions of Sales to the Global Fund
Gap Inc commits half of profits from its RED-branded product line to the Global Fund, exemplifying this new business model for generating sustainable funds for addressing the AIDS pandemic.
NEWS STORY:
Nobel Prize Links Microfinance to Peace
The granting of the Nobel Peace Prize to Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank breaks new ground by explicitly linking economic development to peace development.
NEWS STORY:
Blue Funds to Invest in Companies that Support Democrats
The two new funds seek to capitalize on research that finds that Democrat-supporting companies significantly outperform Republican-supporting companies.
NEWS STORY:
Global Compact Aligns with GRI and the Practical Side of the Change Agenda
In part two of this two-part interview, SocialFunds.com speaks with Georg Kell about new alliances facilitating Communication on Progress reporting as well as broader issues facing the Global Compact.
NEWS STORY:
Global Compact Puts 335 Companies in Deep Freezer Until They Communicate on Progress
In part one of this two-part interview, SocialFunds.com speaks with Georg Kell about the de-listing of 335 companies from the Global Compact for failing to issue Communication on Progress reports.
NEWS STORY:
Microfinance Crosses Continental Divide with $100 Million Commitment from TIAA-CREF
TIAA-CREF inaugurated its Global Microfinance Investment Program by purchasing from ProCredit Holdings $43 million in private equity shares, a new strategy in microfinance.
NEWS STORY:
Investors Call on S&P 500 Companies to Use New Global Reporting Initiative G3 Guidelines
Only 13 percent of the S&P 500 issues GRI reports--those that do see the move as insulating them against the possibility of future mandated disclosure on issues such as climate risk.
NEWS STORY:
FTSE4Good Deletes Nine Companies on Environmental and Supply Chain Labor Standards
FTSE4Good criteria promote incremental progress in corporate social responsibility performance, and climate change is the latest topic covered in newly proposed standards.
NEWS STORY:
New Socially Responsible Investing Portfolios Offer Alternatives to SRI Mutual Funds
Investment advisors can now offer retail clients separate accounts tracking seven different indexes, and a new index is geared toward high net worth individuals with Catholic values.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review: The Business Case for Diversity
DiversityInc presents compelling anecdotal evidence supporting the business case for diversity as well as copious empirical evidence, some of which is marred by editorial oversights.
NEWS STORY:
Why Aren't We Here Yesterday? A Conversation with Social Investment Forum CEO Lisa Woll
SocialFunds.com speaks with Lisa Woll as well as SIF President Tim Smith about the new CEO position and the future direction of SIF and socially responsible investing generally.
NEWS STORY:
BP, John Deere, Goldman Sachs, and Allianz Among Renewable Energy Award Winners
The third annual award ceremony, sponsored by Euromoney and Ernst and Young, took place during the Renewable Energy Finance Forum.
NEWS STORY:
Emerging Markets Emerging as Socially Responsible Investing Opportunities
A report by the Ethical Investment Research Services examines 50 emerging market companies using various SRI screens, and finds a number of possible plays.
NEWS STORY:
Mainstreaming of SRI Boosts Assets in Europe Over One Trillion Euros
The latest report by Eurosif on socially responsible investing in Europe notes the distinction between core SRI, which is steady, and broad SRI, which is fueling the growth.
NEWS STORY:
Pennsylvania Treasurer Keys into Clean Tech Investing and Green Screens
Keystone Green Investment Strategy commits state to $40 million in green private investments, $50 million shifted to managers investing in clean tech, and environmental screening.
NEWS STORY:
Canadian Social Investment Organization Recommends Mandating Global Reporting Initiative
In a submission to the National Roundtables on Corporate Social Responsibility, SIO advocates for amending the Canada Business Corporations Act to mandate annual GRI reporting.
NEWS STORY:
Carbon Disclosure Project Finds Tipping Point in Awareness But Not Action on Climate Risks
CDP4 reveals almost three quarters of FT500 tracking their greenhouse gas emissions, but less than half of those who think climate change poses risks are reducing GHG emissions.
NEWS STORY:
Academic Joins Shareowners in Advocating Corporate Lobbying Reform
Yale University Professor Bob Repetto issues paper calling for companies to rapidly adopt best practice on corporate lobbying, including oversight and approval by independent directors.
NEWS STORY:
Court Affirms Shareowner Right to File Resolutions on Proxy Access for Nominating Directors
The decision, which simply upholds existing rules that SEC practice had departed from, fills the void left when the SEC proposed then abandoned a rule on proxy access for nominating directors.
NEWS STORY:
DJSI Takes Holistic Approach to Assessing and Promoting Corporate Sustainability
Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes assesses overall sustainability performance, driving constant improvement through the competitiveness to attain best-in-class status.
NEWS STORY:
Barclays Files for Permission to Launch iShares ETF Tracking the Domini Social Index
The exchange-traded fund will likely have a low expense ratio, but will not conduct shareowner engagement like the other fund tracking the DSI, the Green Century Equity Fund, does.
NEWS STORY:
The Ratio of Greed: Report Pierces Numbing Numbers of Executive Excess
United for a Fair Economy and Institute for Policy Studies publish 13th annual study examining CEO compensation, which continues its upward trend while worker pay stagnates.
NEWS STORY:
Pax World and Citizens Announce Engagement
The marriage would consolidate two leading socially responsible investing firms with primarily complementary offerings.
NEWS STORY:
Hydropower Stocks as an Alternative Energy Play
Phaethon and Creative Investment Research recommend hydro to gain exposure to the energy boom, contending new technologies offer potential for reducing environmental impacts.
NEWS STORY:
Green Century Equity Fund Seeks Shareowner Okay to Continue Tracking Domini Social Index
Green Century also announced its intention to lower the expense ratio for the fund with aim of enlarging the fund's investor base.
NEWS STORY:
How Insurers Are (and Are Not) Tackling Climate Risk in Underwriting, Investing, and Policies
A new report from Ceres identifies almost 200 activities recently introduced by insurers to address climate change, but calls on the industry for further action.
NEWS STORY:
Trucost Joins Yale Professor to Devise Tool to Gauge Financial Cost of Environmental Impacts
Professor Robert Repetto and Trucost Researcher Dan Dias apply the TRUEVA methodology for measuring externalities in financial terms to the US electric sector, which scores terribly.
NEWS STORY:
Domini Shareowners Approve Shift from Index Tracking to Active Management
The transition carries implications for investors, such as capital gains taxes, which Domini is strategically mitigating.
NEWS STORY:
EPA Workers Want SRI Funds in Retirement Plan, But Congress Drags Its Feet on Bill
A 2005 survey finds almost all Environmental Protection Agency employees want socially responsible investing options, while a Bill adding a SRI option languishes two years in committee.
NEWS STORY:
ICCR Benchmarks Pharma Responses to AIDS and Diseases of Poverty in Emerging Markets
The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility report assesses 15 pharmaceutical companies, and finds all of them falling short of best practice in most areas on AIDS and neglected diseases.
NEWS STORY:
Alternative Energy Revolution Fueled by New Fund Launches Despite Sector Downturn
The launch of the Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy Fund testifies to optimism about the sub-sector echoed by the launch of the first renewable energy hedge fund by Ardsley Partners.
NEWS STORY:
Benchmarking Corporate Climate Change Mitigation to Scientific Targets
The Center for Sustainable Innovation launches a new tool for measuring corporate sustainability using emissions reductions goals set by science, not business or politics.
NEWS STORY:
Calvert and Ford Foundations Help Launch Public Radio Fund to Democratize the Airwaves
The foundations jointly seeded $4.5 million in the revolving loan fund administered by Denver-based Public Radio Capital to provide low-interest loans to public radio projects nationally.
NEWS STORY:
Shareowners Push TimeWarner on Movies Depicting Smoking, Recycled Paper, and Pay Disparity
Part two of this two-part article documents steps forward made by TimeWarner, as well as areas where shareowner activists continue to press for progress.
NEWS STORY:
Shareowner Activists See Progress at TimeWarner, and Room for Improvement
In part one of this two-part article, activists applaud the company on its first corporate social responsibility report while continuing to push on environmental, social, and governance issues.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--International Documents on Corporate Responsibility
A comprehensive compendium of important codes on corporate social responsibility.
NEWS STORY:
ADVANCE Converts Corporate Environmental Metrics Into Monetary Terms
The transparent methodology stands to advance corporate social responsibility and socially responsible investing, but it remains to be seen if it measures true sustainability.
NEWS STORY:
Biofuels May Not Be Sustainability Panacea, According to Bank Sarasin Report
The report identifies strengths and weaknesses of biofuels from social and environmental perspectives, as well as positing minimum sustainability criteria to qualify for investment.
NEWS STORY:
BP, Suncor, and Shell Top Oil Sector Sustainability Rating; Chevron and ExxonMobil Rank Low
The report by Jantzi Research examines 23 oil companies worldwide on environmental issues such as greenhouse gas emissions as well as human rights and other social issues.
NEWS STORY:
First Socially Responsible Investing Portfolio Devoted to Diversity Launched
Minority-owned Creative Investment Research conceived of the portfolio to promote corporate diversity while targeting women and minority investors for economic empowerment.
NEWS STORY:
The Pages of Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility
Books addressing climate change dominate the fourth annual SocialFunds.com Summer Reading List recommended by socially responsible investing and corporate social responsibility leaders.
NEWS STORY:
Executives and the Environment: Looking Back at Proxy Season 2007
With the 2007 proxy season over, shareholders saw a jump in the number of socially responsible proposals, with support growing for climate change proposals and accountability for executive pay.
NEWS STORY:
Nuns and Priests File Depleted Uranium Bunker Buster Resolution at Three Weapons Companies
The resolution goes to vote next week at Alliant Techsystems, and already received more than double the support needed to re-file next year at Lockheed Martin and Textron.
NEWS STORY:
Survey Examines Nomenclature and Numbers Fueling SRI and Extra-Financial Research
The fourth annual survey from Thomson Extel and the UK Social Investment Forum looks beyond the numbers to assess the role of language in promoting uptake of SRI research.
NEWS STORY:
Trillium Takes the Reins from Winslow in Managing the Green Century Balanced Fund
The transition in portfolio managers has shifted the fund back to its roots as a core portfolio holding by reducing risk and diversifying holdings across the multi-cap space.
NEWS STORY:
Filing Resolutions at Mutual Funds: The Next Frontier for Shareowner Activism?
Eight years after the Northwest Corporate Accountability Project first filed an environmental shareowner resolution, it will finally go to vote at the Merrill Lynch Global Allocation Fund.
NEWS STORY:
Parnassus Small Cap Fund Identifies Unique Sustainability Characteristics to Outperform Russell 2000
While the introduction of the Parnassus Workplace Fund a year ago piqued interest, the Parnassus Small Cap Fund unveiled at the same time is turning heads with strong financial performance.
NEWS STORY:
UN Advances Business Case for Materiality of SRI, Leaving Skeptics Little Wiggle Room
A new UNEP FI report assesses how investment banks are integrating environmental, social, and governance factors and linking them to financial performance in their research.
NEWS STORY:
Survey Reveals TIAA-CREF Investor Desire to Up Commitment to SRI
TIAA-CREF promises to respond to participants, of whom over three-quarters prioritize social and environmental considerations in investing choices.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--The Triple Bottom Line: How Today's Best-Run Companies Are Achieving Economic, Social, and Environmental Success--And How You Can Too
The book lays out a framework for companies to follow on the path toward integrating the triple bottom line of economic, social, and environmental sustainability.
NEWS STORY:
Revised Equator Principles Fall Short of International Best Practice for Project Finance
While some observers praise the strengthening of labor rights, others decry the failure to implement adequate transparency, accountability, and governance mechanisms.
NEWS STORY:
Some Applaud Rise in Sustainability Reporting, Others Say It Masks Corporate Un-sustainability
A new study documents the increase in sustainability reporting, but a paper by St. Andrews researchers considers corporate sustainability an unrealistic goal under current economic system.
NEWS STORY:
Missouri Farmers Union Credit Union Supports Sustainability in Low-Income Rural Areas
The new credit union supports cooperative entrepreneurial models that advance social responsibility and environmental sustainability in low-income agricultural regions.
NEWS STORY:
Assessing Job Creation as a Social Indicator Correlating to Financial Performance
A new study from Switzerland-based Pictet & Cie argues that job creation eclipses all other labor issues as a key indicator of corporate social responsibility, and measures its impact on returns.
NEWS STORY:
Recycling 1.2--Dell, HP, and Apple Upgrade Takeback Programs to Slouch Toward Sustainability
The Computer TakeBack Campaign applauds the improvements while mapping the long road the computer industry still has to travel to attain true sustainability.
NEWS STORY:
Does Trucost Measurement of Corporate Carbon Footprints Reduce Environmental Impacts?
Trucost ranks the carbon intensity in UK portfolios, arguing for overweighting companies with lower carbon footprints to reduce ecological impact while maintaining performance.
NEWS STORY:
Sending Funds Home to Mexico Just Got Cheaper for Latino Community Credit Union Members
The Durham, North Carolina-based community development credit union will charge a flat $3 fee, use the exchange rate set by the Fed, and allow recipients to set up accounts in Mexico.
NEWS STORY:
Missouri Treasurer Implements Anti-Terrorism Screen on State Fund
The screen excludes Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism, not necessarily as a genocidal regime, distinguishing this strategy from other Sudan-related state divestment strategies.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--Shareholder Participation and the Corporation: A Fresh Inter-disciplinary Approach in Happiness
Australian Law Professor James McConvill applies empirical research on happiness to corporations, specifically focusing on the case it makes for shareowner empowerment.
NEWS STORY:
Semantics and Semitics: Presbyterian Church Investment to Focus on Israeli-Palestinian Peace
A recommendation approved by the church General Assembly apologizes to Jews and refines language while reaffirming commitment to corporate engagement with divestment as last resort.
NEWS STORY:
Stratfor Analysis Says Rise in Support for Shareowner Activism is Hitting a Plateau
The analysis suggests that corporate executives are building up a tolerance to higher resolution votes; mutual fund proxy voting transparency represents the next frontier for shareowner activists to boost votes.
NEWS STORY:
Canadian SRI Funds Perform On Par with Mainstream Funds
A survey of Canadian socially responsible investing funds finds a broad range of rigorousness in assessing corporate social and environmental sustainability.
NEWS STORY:
Correlating Proxy Advisory Firm Recommendations with Voting Results
A look at the link between recommendations by Institutional Shareholder Services, Glass Lewis, and PROXYGovernance and voting results at Citigroup, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Wal-Mart.
NEWS STORY:
Norwegian Government Pension Fund Dumps Wal-Mart and Freeport on Ethical Exclusions
The $230 billion global fund--one of the largest pension funds in the world--cited Wal-Mart for systematic human rights violations and Freeport for serious environmental damage.
NEWS STORY:
World Resources Institute and Citigroup Team Up to Report on Solutions to Climate Change
The report recommends a dozen companies poised to profit from a carbon-constrained future, including Archer Daniels Midland, Caterpillar, Cypress Semiconductor, GE, Itron, Johnson Controls, Monsanto, and Waste Management
NEWS STORY:
Why Do Minorities Receive More Subprime Mortgages? Can You Say, Kickback?
A new Center for Responsible Lending study shoots holes in industry rationale that bad credit histories of African-Americans and Latinos account for disproportionate subprime mortgages.
NEWS STORY:
Winslow and Jupiter Launch Global Green Fund Using Only Positive Environmental Criteria
The Jupiter Green Investment Trust pioneers cross-continent collaboration and evolution from negative screening to positive sustainability criteria.
NEWS STORY:
Corporate Shenanigans: Companies Dis Shareowners at Annual Meetings
Home Depot exemplifies a phenomenon of companies manipulating annual meeting protocols to disempower shareowners, following in the footsteps of Weyerhaeuser, Whole Foods, and others.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--Managing the Business Case for Sustainability: The Integration of Social, Environmental, and Economic Performance
The book presents a wide breadth of academic and practitioner perspectives on corporate social and environmental sustainability.
NEWS STORY:
Bank of China International Investment Managers Launches First SRI Fund in China
The fund combines quantitative screening with qualitative assessment on issues such as corporate governance and social responsibility, but it is unclear how it will handle human rights.
NEWS STORY:
The Numbers--and the Stories Behind Them--on Community Development Financial Institutions
CDFI Data Project recently released the most comprehensive report on the CDFI industry, with statistics documenting CDFI growth and case studies illustrating positive social impacts.
NEWS STORY:
Wainwright Bank and Equal Exchange Partner to Offer the First Branded Certificate of Deposit
This new branded CD model is particularly suited to socially responsible banks, companies, and investors, as the increased social returns can counterbalance the slightly higher financial risks.
NEWS STORY:
Survey Starts to Pry Open Black Box of University Endowment Holdings and Proxy Voting
The survey, conducted by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, finds the vast majority of universities and colleges veiling their holdings and proxy voting records in secrecy.
NEWS STORY:
Applying an Ant Colony Mentality to Extra-Financial Factors and Enhanced Analytics
A report from the Universities Superannuation Scheme, a member of the Enhanced Analytics Initiative, calls for diverse, community-wide advocacy of factoring extra-financials into research.
NEWS STORY:
Domini Fund to Shift from Indexing to Active Management
Domini Social Investments proposes shifting the Domini Social Equity Fund from tracking the Domini 400 Social Index to being actively managed by Wellington Management.
NEWS STORY:
Listmania! Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility Lists Drive Improved Performance
CSR lists take the old adage--what gets measured gets managed--one step further by spotlighting the ranking process, thereby encouraging better corporate social and environmental performance.
NEWS STORY:
Using the Same Tape Measure: MicroRate To Launch Tool for Rating Microfinance Funds
The rating tool, a project supported by Gray Ghost Microfinance Fund, Omidyar Network, and Gates Foundation, is yet another step toward establishing microfinance as a distinct asset class.
NEWS STORY:
Ecological Community Loan Pool Directly Links Ecologically Minded Investors to Eco-Preneurs
The portal created by Ecostructure Financial tweaks the community development financial institution model to allow investors to lend directly to startups solving environmental problems.
NEWS STORY:
Japanese Fund First to Track KLD Global Climate 100 Index
The construction methodology of the Global Climate 100 distinguishes it from other clean energy indexes, and distinguishes this fund from other Japanese eco funds.
NEWS STORY:
The Case for Categorizing Community Development Venture Capital as a New Asset Class
A white paper by Pacific Community Ventures lays out the argument and identifies steps to promote growth in community development venture capital, such as standardizing social return metrics.
NEWS STORY:
Chemical Companies Unprepared to Reduce Toxicity for European REACH Regulations
An Ethical Investment Research Service report finds on Akzo Nobel advanced in preparation for REACH, while an Innovest report debunks industry claims that the rules will cripple them.
NEWS STORY:
Amgen Recommends Support for Political Donations Resolution, Bolstering Broader Campaign
The Center for Political Accountability, which coordinates the political contributions campaign, released a report on trade association contributions that previews its 2007 proxy season strategy.
NEWS STORY:
Hog Manure Fertilizes Improvements in Environmental Management at Smithfield Foods
Fines for Clean Water Act violations and a lawsuit settlement spur Smithfield to clean up its act and move toward environmental leadership, but it still has a way to go to complete a turnaround.
NEWS STORY:
Digging for More than Gold: SRI Letter Asks Newmont to Address Western Shoshone Concerns
The letter cites a recent decision by the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to support Western Shoshone claims.
NEWS STORY:
Another Clean Energy Index Launches to Capitalize on Transition from Dependence on Fossil Fuels
The NASDAQ Clean Edge US Index joins several other recently launched clean energy indexes tracking solar photovoltaic, biofuel, wind, and fuel cell companies.
NEWS STORY:
Confirming the CalPERS Effect: Academic Study Links Shareowner Activism to Financial Gain
Examining companies targeted for governance reform by the CalPERS Focus List, the study presents data correlating activism to increasing shareowner value as well as cautionary notes.
NEWS STORY:
Proxy Season Report Geared to Foundations Helps Others Navigate Proxy Landscape
As You Sow Foundation and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors report allows for stepping back by providing a useful overview as well as an in-depth look at behind-the-scenes dialogue.
NEWS STORY:
Student-Managed Socially Responsible Investing Fund Outperforms the Market
The faculty advisor to the Arnone-Lerer SRI Fund at Villanova University attributes a quarter of the outperformance to environmental, social, and governance factors.
NEWS STORY:
Investor Environmental Health Network Addresses Product Toxicity Through Safer Alternatives
The network is coordinating 11 shareowner resolutions addressing product toxicity at companies such as Avon, Becton-Dickinson, CVS, Dow, DuPont, and Whole Foods Market, among others.
NEWS STORY:
Shareholders One Step Closer to Having a “Say on Pay”
The US House of Representatives votes to give shareholders an advisory non-binding vote on executive compensation.
NEWS STORY:
United Nations Endorses SRI Strategies in Launching Principles for Responsible Investment
Some 50 institutional investors globally representing $4 trillion in assets have signed on to the Principles, which promote the consideration of environmental, social and governance factors.
NEWS STORY:
Survey Shows Public Corporations Upping Green Initiatives While Smaller Companies Lag
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--Values-Driven Business: How to Change the World, Make Money, and Have Fun
The first in the Social Venture Network book series provides loads of anecdotal advice on how to establish a values-driven business, but little on how to retain social responsibility in a buy-out.
NEWS STORY:
Conflict of Interests Policies and Practices Vary Widely at Proxy Advisory Firms
Part two of this two-part article examines how Institutional Shareholder Services, Glass Lewis, and PROXY Governance handle potential conflicts of interest.
NEWS STORY:
Voting Recommendations on Shareowner Resolutions Vary Widely at Proxy Advisory Firms
Part one of this two-part article compares Institutional Shareholder Services, Glass Lewis, and PROXY Governance vote recommendations on resolutions at Citigroup and Chevron.
NEWS STORY:
Wal-Mart Discloses Equal Employment Opportunity Data
The company joined six others in the S&P 100 that publicly disclose their EEO-1 report, but Wal-Mart still faces shareowner action on union-busting and selling gems mined in Burma.
NEWS STORY:
Enterprise Social Fund First to Tap Corporate Community for Community Investing
The fund partners Enterprise Community Partners, which will manage the portfolio, with Deutsche Bank, which will seek investment from socially responsible companies and individuals.
NEWS STORY:
New Analysis of Sustainability Risks and Opportunities in Developing Asian Markets
New report from ASrIA and IFC seeks to bring consideration of environmental, social, and governance factors into investment decisions in developing Asian markets.
NEWS STORY:
Is Contrarian Investing Consistent With or Contrary to Socially Responsible Investing?
SRI practitioners say that the contrarian focus on long-term prospects and overall health of a company suggest yes, while its focus on timing suggests maybe no.
NEWS STORY:
Bush Administration Proposes Axing Equal Opportunity Survey
The survey gathers tenure-track and compensation information by gender and race that is unavailable elsewhere, prompting socially responsible investors and others to oppose the move.
NEWS STORY:
Common Good Bank Advances One Branch of Community Investing Evolution
The bank promotes the common good by distributing excess profits to the community and by making all lending and spending decisions through participatory democracy.
NEWS STORY:
Analysis Advocates Strategic Approach to Corporate Social Responsibility
McKinsey Quarterly provides in-depth analysis of its January 2006 survey documenting increasing executive interest in CSR, a finding correlated by an American Society for Quality poll.
NEWS STORY:
Amana Funds Continue Strong Performance
The Amana Funds' Islamic principles coincide with sound investment strategies that have helped fuel strong financial performance over the past three years.
NEWS STORY:
Social Footprint Introduces Simple Elegance in Measuring Corporate Sustainability Performance
The method conceived by the Center for Sustainable Innovation for quantifying corporate social and environmental impacts uses quotients to compare company action to sustainability goals.
NEWS STORY:
Shareowner Resolutions Overcome Obstacles to Promote Sustainability Reporting
A campaign advocating for sustainability reporting refines its strategies, shifting from requiring adherence to recommending Global Reporting Initiative guidelines.
NEWS STORY:
Corporate Action on Climate Change Improves Over Past Three Years, But Still Insufficient
A report from Ceres benchmarks corporate governance on climate change, finding steady gains by leaders while some laggards leapfrog toward the top and other laggards stagnate at the bottom.
NEWS STORY:
White House and Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility Address Pediatric AIDS
Bush Administration launches a new public-private partnership on Pediatric AIDS, an area where ICCR engages pharmaceutical companies in shareowner advocacy.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--Responsible Investment
An impressive and wide-ranging list of contributing writers advance a balance between elucidating the strengths of socially responsible investing while also exposing its weaknesses.
NEWS STORY:
Facing Campaign on Farm Working Conditions, McDonald's to Heed Independent Study Results
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers urges McDonald's to improve farm working conditions, which the company is addressing through a study by the Center for Reflection, Education, and Action.
NEWS STORY:
Cost of Clean Energy Decreases to Compete with Its Dirtier Counterparts, According to Report
The Clean Edge report surveys clean energy, documenting market growth, strong stock performance, and expansion of venture capital investment, as well as projecting future trends.
NEWS STORY:
Thirty Years and Counting: Cofounder Wayne Silby Recounts the Birth of Calvert
To celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of Calvert, SocialFunds.com speaks with co-founder Wayne Silby about its genesis, development, and future.
NEWS STORY:
A Serendipitous Match: Davis Advisors Takes Over MMA Praxis Core Stock Fund
The portfolio holding of Wal-Mart exemplifies (oddly enough) how both Davis Advisors and MMA Praxis emphasize the importance of stewardship and shareowner empowerment.
NEWS STORY:
FTSE4Good Semi-Annual Review Boots 16 US Companies on Environmental Criteria
Of the 19 deletions, only one company was dropped due to human rights (instead of environmental) criteria, and all but three deletions were US-based companies.
NEWS STORY:
US Banks Sink to the Bottom of the Barrel on Latest Sustainability Ratings from Oekom
Most US banks fail to disclose enough information on their social and environmental performance to qualify for analysis, and only four of 21 analyzed earned above D-level grades.
NEWS STORY:
Whole Foods Market Gags Shareowners at Annual Meeting
A leader on corporate social responsibility, Whole Foods lags on corporate governance by stymieing shareowner democracy.
NEWS STORY:
Sudan Presents Investment Risk as Genocidal Regime and State Sponsor of Terrorism
Socially responsible investing research provider IdealsWork Financial now offers data from Conflict Securities Advisory Group on corporate exposure to human rights abuses in Sudan.
NEWS STORY:
Wells Fargo Issues Alternative Energy Report to Join Ranks of Banks Advancing SRI Research
The report provides an overview of the alternative energy market as well as the pros and cons of investment opportunities in wind, solar, hydroelectric, hydrogen, biomass, and even nuclear.
NEWS STORY:
SEC Forces Chevron, Dow, and CVS to Include Shareowner Resolutions on Their Proxies
Part two of this two-part article examines no-action activity thus far in the 2006 proxy season, focusing on attempts to apply the personal grievance rule and expand a new risk assessment rule.
NEWS STORY:
Resolution Withdrawals Signal Success in Shareowner Advocacy Early in 2006 Proxy Season
Part one of this two-part article examines withdrawal of resolutions on climate change, sexual orientation nondiscrimination, political contributions, and HIV/AIDS policies.
NEWS STORY:
SRI Community Adding Its Two Cents to Comments on GRI G3 Guidelines
The Global Reporting Initiative is seeking public comments on its new sustainability reporting guidelines by March 31st.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Stakeholders in a Global Environment
The book maps the landscape of CSR, advocates a strategic approach taking global stakeholders into account, and presents a wealth of case studies to illustrate its points.
NEWS STORY:
State Laws Effectively Curb Predatory Lending Without Stifling Subprime Market, Study Finds
The Center for Responsible Lending study rebuts opponents of state anti-predatory lending laws, and suggests significant implications for the two competing anti-predatory bills now in Congress.
NEWS STORY:
Bank Policies Fail to Meet International Social and Environmental Standards, Report Says
The 39 banks assessed fall far short on global sustainability standards, and fail to disclose enough information on implementation to even be assessed by NGO coalition BankTrack.
NEWS STORY:
Evergreen Solar and Energy Conversion Devices Rated Outperformers in Piper Jaffray Solar Report
The report continues a trend of mainstream equity research using socially responsible investing strategies, and SRI funds confirm this assessment through wide exposure to these two companies.
NEWS STORY:
Defining Corporate Complicity in Human Rights Abuses
Business and Human Rights Seminar report maps the landscape of corporate complicity in human rights abuses, and addresses the dichotomy of mandatory laws versus voluntary codes.
NEWS STORY:
Opening the Umbrella of Socially Responsible Investing to Include Energy Efficient Mortgages
Indigo Financial Group promotes energy efficient mortgages, which have long been available through a Fannie Mae program but have yet to reach their market potential.
NEWS STORY:
IT Company Collusion with Chinese Authorities to Repress Free Expression Shorts Shareowner Value
Boston Common Asset Management submits testimony to congressional hearings asserting that protecting shareholder value and respecting human rights are not mutually exclusive mandates.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review: Economic Apartheid in America: A Primer on Economic Inequality & Insecurity
The revised and updated edition of this text (originally published in 2000) examines how excessive executive compensation contributes to the widening gulf between rich and poor.
NEWS STORY:
Financial Wonks Meet Treehuggers: New Tool Places Valuation on Corporate Sustainability
The sdEffect analytical framework takes the next step in establishing metrics to translate sustainable development into valuation.
NEWS STORY:
Two New Indexes Help Wean Us From Oil Addiction Via Clean Energy and Cleantech
The WilderHill New Energy Global Innovation Index tracks clean energy companies internationally, while the Cleantech Index tracks cleantech companies in the US.
NEWS STORY:
Shareowner Action on Product Toxicity Shifts from Isolated Resolutions to Become a Campaign
Fueling this development is the increasing visibility of product toxicity in the news, with the Environmental Protection Agency issuing record fines.
NEWS STORY:
Calvert Rates Environmental, Social and Governance Practices of 100 Largest US Companies
The move increases transparency of socially responsible investing research while maintaining the proprietary nature of the Calvert investment process.
NEWS STORY:
KLD and ISS Offer Research Tools for Divesting from Sudanese Genocide and Terrorism
The KLD tool focuses narrowly on the Illinois law mandating divestment from companies doing business with the Sudan; the ISS tool focuses beyond divestment and on other state sponsors of terrorism.
NEWS STORY:
Using Mutual Fund Proxy Voting Data to Promote More Conscientious Voting
The final installment of this multi-part series steps back to consider the implications of the findings and how to harness them to push mutual funds to support corporate social responsibility.
NEWS STORY:
Two Sides of the Same Coin: Surveys Track Growth of Interest in CSR and SRI
Part two of this two-part article focuses on a survey by McKinsey Quarterly on increasing interest from global corporate executives in corporate social responsibility.
NEWS STORY:
Two Sides of the Same Coin: Surveys Track Growth of Interest in SRI and CSR
Part one of this two-part article focuses on a survey by Mercer Investment Consulting on increasing interest from institutional investors in socially responsible investing.
NEWS STORY:
How to Determine the Top 100 Sustainable Companies in the World
Innovest Strategic Value Advisors and Corporate Knights announce the Global 100 Most Sustainable Companies at the World Economic Forum, documenting financial outpeformance.
NEWS STORY:
Social Investment Forum Trends Report Tracks Rises and Falls of Socially Responsible Investing
The 2005 report documents increases since 2003 in assets overall in SRI, in SRI mutual funds, and in shareholder advocacy, but decreases in overall screened assets and in screened separate accounts.
NEWS STORY:
Eroding Support for Shareowner Resolutions on Climate Change Revealed by Unpublished Data
In part three of this multi-part article, SocialFunds.com examines unpublished data associated with a recent report on mutual fund proxy voting from The Corporate Library, and finds decreasing support for climate change resolutions.
NEWS STORY:
In the Year of the Oil Boom, Some SRI Funds Look Elsewhere for Strong Performance in 2005
The top-performing socially responsible investing funds compared to their category peers (SRI and non-SRI alike) drew strong performance from pharma, tech, and financials.
NEWS STORY:
Whole Foods, FedEx Kinko's Snap up Renewable Energy Credits
Renewable energy credits continue to gain ground in North America as FedEx Kinko's and organic supermarket chain Whole Foods Market each announce major new purchasing deals.
NEWS STORY:
Unpublished Data Clarifies SRI Proxy Voting on CSR Resolutions
In part two in this multi-part series, SocialFunds.com examines unpublished data associated with a recent report from The Corporate Library, and finds that statistics are not always what they seem at first glance.
NEWS STORY:
The Corporate Library Report on Mutual Fund Proxy Voting Finds Stagnation and Even Retreat
Part one of this multi-part series discusses the report findings on decreasing mainstream fund support for CSR resolutions; subsequent articles examine unpublished data from the research.
NEWS STORY:
GE Comes Clean, Disclosing Costs Related to PCB Cleanup on the Hudson
The move prompts the Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment, which characterized some of these expenditures as delay tactics, to withdraw its shareowner resolution requesting this information.
NEWS STORY:
New Domini Funds Invest in the World
Domini charts new territory with the creation of the Domini PacAsia Social Equity Fund and the Domini EuroPacific Social Equity Fund.
NEWS STORY:
Majority-Vote Director Election Shareowner Resolutions To Top 100, Dominate Proxy Season
A memo from corporate law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz opines that majority-vote elections will become universal, but shareowners still seek proxy access to nominate directors.
NEWS STORY:
Wal-Mart Faces Host of Shareowner Resolutions, From Union-Busting to Sustainability Reporting
The broad range of resolutions suggests that the sustainability commitments announced by Wal-Mart last year did not convince shareowners that the company has solved all its challenges.
NEWS STORY:
Top Five Socially Responsible Investing News Stories of 2005
Socially responsible investing, corporate social responsibility, and microfinance embraced by the mainstream; shareowner advocates withdraw several climate change resolutions as companies agree to report; and exchange traded funds apply SRI strategies.
NEWS STORY:
Alien Tort Claims Act Lawsuit Alleges Slavery and Child Labor on Liberian Firestone Plantation
The International Labor Rights Fund calls this its strongest ATCA case yet because the evidence of forced labor is so clear and Firestone owns and operates the plantation.
NEWS STORY:
Socially Responsible Property Investment Still on the Drafting Table
A blueprint of the fledgling field of socially responsible real estate investment.
NEWS STORY:
Are European Finance Sector Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives Adequate?
A report from a recent EU conference on CSR suggest so, while a Corporate Responsibility Coalition report says voluntary CSR initiatives and current regulation fall short.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism
The newest in the Megatrends series advances a framework for conscious capitalism that highlights socially responsible investing.
NEWS STORY:
Verite Report Identifies Exploitation of Foreign Contract Laborers in Asia and the Middle East
The report uncovers placement fees that exceed legal limits, forced overtime, loans with interest rates of up to 60 percent, and so-called runaway insurance deposits that are not refunded.
NEWS STORY:
EPA Tries to Pull a Disappearing Act on the Toxics Release Inventory
In response to the Environmental Protection Agency proposal to dilute TRI, the socially responsible investing community launches the SaveTRI.org website.
NEWS STORY:
Solar Energy Helps Fuel Socially Responsible Investing
Managers from Winslow Green Growth Fund, New Alternatives Fund, and Portfolio 21 discuss the opportunities and challenges of investing in solar power.
NEWS STORY:
SRI Community Releases Retailer Guidelines to Avoid Violent Video Game Sales to Kids
The Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility guidelines address underage exposure to graphic violence, strong sexual content, and racist themes, as well as impact on shareholder value.
NEWS STORY:
Tool for Tracking Greenhouse Gas Reductions Launched at UN Climate Change Conference
The World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the World Resources Institute release a GHG accounting tool for projects to complement their existing corporate-wide tool.
NEWS STORY:
Socially Responsible Investing Advances Anti-Racism in Helping Rebuild New Orleans
In addition to supporting community investment and leveraging influence through shareowner advocacy, social investors can help rebuild in the aftermath of Katrina by naming root problems.
NEWS STORY:
UK Kills Operating and Financial Review of Environmental and Social Information
The move, which was seen as capitulation to the business community, leads to legal challenges.
NEWS STORY:
Australian Report on Globalization of the Mainstreaming of Socially Responsible Investing
New report examines how governments worldwide promote the mainstreaming of SRI, focusing on Australian policy options in a way that exemplifies issues facing other governments.
NEWS STORY:
PROXY Governance Diversifies Proxy Advisory Choice
The new proxy advisory firm expands options for fiduciaries.
NEWS STORY:
First Steps: Corporate Engagement on HIV/AIDS Improves Since Last World AIDS Day
Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS Best Practice AIDS Standard represents an important step forward, and companies such as Intel are responding to shareowner dialogue with ICCR.
NEWS STORY:
A Light Bulb Turns On: Goldman Sachs First Investment Bank to Adopt Environmental Policy
The policy matches the robustness of other such policies recently adopted by global financial institutions, but the status of Goldman Sachs as an investment bank brings added significance.
NEWS STORY:
Calvert World Values Fund Tackles Challenges of International Socially Responsible Investing
The fund delivers double-digit three-year returns for shareholders while screening for corporate environmental, social, and governance performance in international and emerging markets.
NEWS STORY:
New International Finance Corporation Sustainability Standards: Watershed or Watered Down?
A group of socially responsible investors express concern over perceived shortcomings in the proposed IFC policy revisions, while the IFC points out where the policies break new ground.
NEWS STORY:
Citigroup Smith Barney Report Seeks to Bridge Divide Between SRI and Traditional Analysis
The report seeks to cross the metaphorical river dividing socially responsible investing analysts, who assess sustainability, from traditional analysts, who examine financial fundamentals.
NEWS STORY:
Fonkoze Helps Transform Microfinance to Reach the Poorest of the Poor in Haiti
After convening a summit on how to modify microfinance to serve the extreme poor, Fonkoze adapts a model pioneered by the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee.
NEWS STORY:
Radical/Conservative: Innovest Integrates Sustainability Factors into Financial Analysis
Innovest Strategic Value Advisors reconciles socially responsible investing research with traditional investment research by fusing social, environmental, and financial considerations.
NEWS STORY:
Shareowner Empowerment Is Alive and Well: a Preview of the 2006 Proxy Season
Part two of this two-part article examines the developing trends in shareowner activism as resolutions are filed for the upcoming proxy season.
NEWS STORY:
Forging Ahead from the Crossroads: Reviewing the 2005 Proxy Season
Part one of this two-part article looks back at this year's proxy season, which was highlighted by majority vote director election proposals while part two previews the upcoming proxy season.
NEWS STORY:
One Year On: Global Compact Maps Progress on Mainstreaming ESG Considerations
Two recent reports paint a vivid picture of developments over the past year on integrating environmental, social, and governance considerations into traditional financial analysis.
NEWS STORY:
Consortium Advances Microfinance as an Emerging New Asset Class
The Global Commercial Microfinance Consortium, with its $75 million fund, links mainstream financial institutions to socially responsible investment practitioners with microfinance experience.
NEWS STORY:
Tearing Down the Great Firewall
Social investors issue a statement holding information technology companies accountable for collusion with repressive regimes such as China that stifle dissent expressed on the Internet.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--The Challenge to Power: Money, Investing, and Democracy
John Harrington compiles voluminous evidence to diagnose what ails modern corporatocracy, and prescribes a comprehensive cure with socially responsible investing playing a key role.
NEWS STORY:
Fiduciary Duty Redefined to Allow (and Sometimes Require) Environmental, Social and Governance Considerations
A report commissioned by UNEP FI and prepared by Freshfields attorneys dispels the persistent myth that laws prevent fiduciaries from considering environmental, social, and governance issues.
NEWS STORY:
Insurers at the Crossroads: Intersection Between Insurance and Sustainability is a Busy Corner
Swiss Re exemplifies global sustainability leadership, as the chair of its US arm gives the keynote address at a summit on climate change and insurance in Connecticut.
NEWS STORY:
Counting Stars: Top Morningstar Ratings Bespeak Strong Performance for SRI Funds
Of the 60-odd broadly-screened socially responsible investing funds tracked by SocialFunds.com, three earn 5-star ratings and 12 earn 4-star ratings from Morningstar.
NEWS STORY:
SRI Research from UBS Strikes Balance Between Ethics and Economics
The new socially responsible investing team at UBS quantifies the costs of corporate social and environmental impacts as a means of effecting ethical and economic rectification.
NEWS STORY:
Transforming the Myth of Democratic Shareholder Power into a Reality
A new paper by Harvard Professor Lucian Bebchuk debunks the myth of shareholder power to replace directors, and recommends reforms that could jumpstart the stalled SEC proxy access rule.
NEWS STORY:
Wal-Mart Embraces Sustainability: Does the SRI Community Buy It?
Socially responsible investors cautiously applaud Wal-Mart for committing to social and environmental sustainability, but remain highly skeptical about actual implementation.
NEWS STORY:
Community Development Financial Institutions Spread Like Wild Grass in Indian Country
First Nations Oweesta Corporation serves as a national umbrella organization providing the structural framework and organizational support to fuel current exponential Native CDFI growth.
NEWS STORY:
Institutional Investors Drive Research on Mainstreaming of SRI by Investment Managers
A new line of research at Mercer Investment Consulting rates proxy voting, shareholder engagement, and analysis of environmental, social, and governance issues by mainstream investment managers.
NEWS STORY:
New Index and Exchange Traded Fund Expose Risks and Potentials in Nanotech
The Innovest Nanotech Index assesses social and environmental risks, while the PowerShares Lux Nanotech Portfolio focuses more on investment opportunities.
NEWS STORY:
Scaling Community Investment: Report Addresses Growth in Community Development Finance
An Aspen Institute report serves as the basis of a series of conferences at regional federal reserve banks on how to best scale up community investment.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--The False Promise of Pay for Performance: Embracing a Positive Model of the Company Executive
According to James McConvill, the problem with perverse executive compensation is not managerial power, as an earlier book suggests, but rather the very pay for performance system.
NEWS STORY:
Rising Oil Prices Fuel Investment Returns in Renewable Energy for New Alternatives Fund
The first environmental mutual fund is also globalizing its reach to capitalize on innovative developments in alternative energies in other countries.
NEWS STORY:
Moskowitz Prize Winning Study Correlates Corporate Eco-Efficiency and Financial Outperformance
The paper finds a significant and positive relationship between Innovest eco-efficiency ratings and both market-based and accounting-based financial performance metrics.
NEWS STORY:
Divining the Future of Socially Responsible Investing
A study commissioned by Vancity Credit Union surveys 42 SRI thought leaders to identify trends, opportunities, and obstacles, as well as potential developments that defy prediction.
NEWS STORY:
Business Roundtable May Be Seeing the Light with New Initiative
The SEE Change program hints at a tipping point for US business community engagement of social, environmental, and economic issues, but the program's success may depend on how critics view its performance.
NEWS STORY:
SRI Utilities Fund Flicks Switch to Power Strong Returns
The Flex-funds Total Return Utilities Fund uses environmental and social screening in addition to fundamental analysis to identify sustainable utilities.
NEWS STORY:
Changing of the Guard: Vanguard Pulls a Switcheroo on SRI Index Providers
Vanguard is swapping the benchmark for its socially responsible investing index fund from the Calvert Social Index to the FTSE4Good US Select Index.
NEWS STORY:
Spreading SRI: Goldman Sachs Adds Its Own Twist in Social and Environmental Assessment
As socially responsible investment strategies migrate into the mainstream, mainstream analysts apply social and environmental considerations in innovative ways.
NEWS STORY:
ICCR Online Database Eases Access to Information on Shareowner Resolutions
EthVest, the new web-based tool from the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, provides access to 2,000-plus shareowner resolutions and 12-plus years of shareowner action.
NEWS STORY:
Lighthouse G3: Third Generation GRI Guidelines Shine a Beacon for Sustainability Reporters
The Global Reporting Initiative dubbed its guidelines overhaul and update "G3," in which it is defining metrics for the Indicators and integrating the Principles with the Indicators.
NEWS STORY:
Insurers Behind the Curve on Addressing and Disclosing Risks of Climate Change
Two reports, one from Ceres and one from Friends of the Earth, concur that climate change is catching insurance companies, which are particularly impacted by global warming, unawares.
NEWS STORY:
GAO Finds Federal Corporate Social Responsibility Programs Widespread But Uncoordinated
The Congressional Human Rights Caucus convenes a briefing today to discuss the findings of a Government Accountability Office report on US government initiatives on CSR.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review---An Unreasonable Woman: The True Story of Shrimpers, Politicos, Polluters, and the Fight for Seadrift, Texas
Shrimper-turned-grassroots environmental activist Diane Wilson transforms her experience fighting corporate toxic emissions into a literary work of art imbued with the rugged beauty of the Texas coast.
NEWS STORY:
Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes Launch United States and North America Indexes
The new indexes apply a best-in-class approach that differs from the approach of US socially responsible investing indexes currently available, which focus on exclusionary screening.
NEWS STORY:
Domini Goes Abroad with New European Fund
The fund allows US social investors to diversify their portfolios into a region with attractive investment opportunities and corporations with strong sustainability commitments.
NEWS STORY:
Third Carbon Disclosure Project Survey Finds Increasing Action on Climate Change
CDP3, now sponsored by 155 institutional investors with more than $21 trillion in assets, also reveals some significant footdragging by the Financial Times 500 companies.
NEWS STORY:
Community Investment Bridges the Gap from Destitution to Restitution After Hurricane Katrina
Predominantly low-income African Americans were barred from crossing the bridge out of New Orleans, but now community development bridge loans are spanning the gulf back to stability.
NEWS STORY:
AccountAbility Cooks Up a New Recipe with Stakeholder Engagement Standards
An exposure draft of new AA1000 Stakeholder Engagement Standards to be released next week may prove useful to the socially responsible investment community of shareholder activists.
NEWS STORY:
Taking Account of Corporate Social Responsibility Reports
A Pleon survey of CSR reporting finds differing opinions on best practice for report assurance and verification amongst respondents as well as professional experts.
NEWS STORY:
Business Impacts on Millennium Development Goals: A Virtuous Cycle or a Coin Toss?
A new World Business Council for Sustainable Development report profiles corporate initiatives to alleviate poverty, but focuses less attention on how business may confound such goals.
NEWS STORY:
A Next Generation SRI Strategy: The Henderson Industries of the Future Fund
By extending to its entire portfolio a focus on ten sustainability industries, Henderson has conceived of a novel approach to socially responsible investing.
NEWS STORY:
A Semantic Hermeneutics of SRI
KLD Research & Analytics Founding President Peter Kinder examines limitations of the term socially responsible investing, and identifies both overemphasized and overlooked distinctions.
NEWS STORY:
Banks and Financial Service Providers Figure Prominently in FTSE4Good Attrition, DJSI Matriculation
Corporate social responsibility plays an important role at banks and financial service companies, which are not only recipients but also increasingly purveyors of socially responsible investment.
NEWS STORY:
Blogging SRI
SRI Notes and SRI-Extra harness the strengths of weblogs to comment candidly on developments in socially responsible investment as they happen.
NEWS STORY:
Labor Day List Celebrates Corporate-Union Collaboration
The inaugural list launched by American Rights at Work spotlights positive relationships between companies and their workers.
NEWS STORY:
War Millionaires: Defense Contractor CEO Pay Up 200 Percent Since 9/11
The ratio between CEO and worker pay across the market climbs to 431 : 1, up from 301 : 1 last year, according to a new CEO pay study from United for a Fair Economy and the Institute for Policy Studies.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--The Market for Virtue: The Potential and Limits of Corporate Social Responsibility
David Vogel scrutinizes the business case for CSR and finds no causal link between corporate virtue and profitability, but rather finds a robust niche market for it.
NEWS STORY:
Toxic 100 Uses Enhanced Toxics Release Inventory Data to List Top Corporate Polluters
The Toxic 100 aggregates facility-level TRI data to compute company-wide toxic emissions performance.
NEWS STORY:
Shareowner Resolution Asks Monsanto to Create Ethics Oversight Committee
The company stonewalls inquiries related to the resolution, which springs from a $1.5 million settlement with the SEC and DOJ earlier this year regarding a bribe Monstanto paid in Indonesia.
NEWS STORY:
Human Rights Site Spotlights Bank Investment in Chinese Manufacturer Linked to Forced Labor
The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre posts an article alleging Chinese firm Henan Rebecca uses forced labor, as well as responses from banks implicated through investment for their clients.
NEWS STORY:
World Bank and IMF: Indicators of Investor Opportunity or Red Flags of Investor Risk?
Two academic papers produce empirical evidence that World Bank and International Monetary Fund loan conditions stipulating market reform may prove counterproductive and fuel backlash.
NEWS STORY:
Social(k) Allows Socially Responsible Investment Retirement Portfolios to More Fully Diversify
ExpertPlan administers a 401(k) platform that solves the problem of limited asset class diversification by offering 25 SRI funds from nine fund families than span the spectrum.
NEWS STORY:
Most Canadian Extractive Companies Behind the Curve on Human Rights Policies
Ethical Funds surveys Canadian energy and mining companies and finds less than a handful with comprehensive human rights policies, management systems, and disclosure mechanisms.
NEWS STORY:
Generation Gap: Young Sell-Side Analysts Fail to Fill Void in Sustainability Research
A survey expecting to find the upcoming generation of securities analysts eagerly assessing environmental, social, and governance issues in their recommendations discovers the exact opposite.
NEWS STORY:
Lack of Human Rights Policy Concerns Chevron Shareowners in Light of Unocal Merger
Part two of this two-part article examines the implications of the delay in adopting a human rights policy given the inheritance of Unocal holdings in Burma and Alien Tort Claims Act cases.
NEWS STORY:
New Document Alleges Tie Between Chevron and Human Rights Abuses in Nigeria
Identified in the discovery phase of a case proceeding at state and federal levels, the invoice and receipt indicate Chevron paid Nigerian soldiers for services on a day several villagers were allegedly killed (part one of a two-part article.)
NEWS STORY:
Arthur D Little Study Identifies Trends in Sustainability Innovation
The report finds increasing corporate commitment to sustainability innovation, though it demonstrates room for more growth.
NEWS STORY:
CalSTRS Follows Calvert Blueprint to Capitalize on Money Manager Diversity
Both CalSTRS and Calvert see efforts to identify emerging money managers as smart business and socially responsible as well.
NEWS STORY:
Power to the People: Amnesty Launches Grassroots Shareowner Advocacy Program
The SharePower program encourages ordinary people to tell institutional investors holding shares in their name to vote for shareowner resolutions supporting human rights.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--Profitable Socially Responsible Investing?: An Institutional Investor's Guide
An invaluable tool for fiduciaries considering SRI, the book advances original research finding competitive financial performance for positive screening.
NEWS STORY:
Winslow Green Growth Fund: On the Rise Again
Following up on its stellar 2003 performance, the environmentally-focused fund is again significantly outperforming its peers and benchmark.
NEWS STORY:
Retirement Plans, Fiduciary Duty, and SRI: Complicated But Compatible
A paper published in a professional journal establishes the validity of employing socially responsible investing in retirement plans while also outlining the complexities of the practice.
NEWS STORY:
New Report Links Industrial Business Performance, Environmental Compliance
Report finds industrial competitiveness can be improved by boosting waste management capabilities that also make it easier for companies to comply with environmental regulations.
NEWS STORY:
New Study Shows Benefits of Sustainable Forestry Certification
Third-party verification leads to measurable improvements in the protection of forests, wildlife, and stakeholder rights.
NEWS STORY:
Ethical Investment Research Service Follows Socially Responsible Investing Growth around the Globe
Spawned by the anti-apartheid movement seeking information on companies operating in South Africa, EIRIS has since grown astride with the expansion of SRI.
NEWS STORY:
Shell Doubles Cost Projections of Sakhalin II, Project Critics Redouble Opposition
The largest oil and gas project in the world meets resistance over concerns about its social and environmental impacts, as well as its economic sustainability.
NEWS STORY:
Oneida Nation Loan to Lakota Fund Marks First Intertribal Community Development Financing
While the World Bank Global Fund for Indigenous Peoples covers only developing nations and socially responsible investors have yet to support the Lakota Fund, a fellow tribe fills gap.
NEWS STORY:
The Lowdown from Corporate Governance and Proxy Advisory Experts on ISS-IRRC Merger
Implications of the buyout of the Investor Responsibility Research Center by Institutional Shareholder Services on social research and competition in proxy advisory services.
NEWS STORY:
TIAA-CREF Creates New Director of Social Investing Post But Refrains From Some SRI Strategies
TIAA-CREF enhances its proxy voting and practices some community investment, but finds obstacles to supporting community development financial institutions and SRI venture capital.
NEWS STORY:
Gap and Nike Engage Stakeholders For Assurance Statements on Sustainability Reports
Sustainability reports, whose credibility is enhanced by such stakeholder engagement and assurance statements, are gaining in significance, as KLD indexes add Nike due in part to its report.
NEWS STORY:
Thinking Outside the Big-Box: Report Suggests Smart Growth for Retailer Siting Decisions
Domini Social Investments and Christian Brothers Investment Services provide retailers nine recommendations, examples of best practice and cautionary tales, and helpful resources.
NEWS STORY:
Appalachian Federal Credit Union Celebrates Silver Anniversary With New HQ
With $16 million in assets, AFCU helps counteract poverty in one of the poorest regions of the US by providing fairly priced loans to low-income earners, even those with bad credit histories.
NEWS STORY:
French Pension Reserve Fund Commits 600 Million Euros to Socially Responsible Investment
The fund seeks to drive innovation and best practice through this significant infusion of cash into the European SRI asset management community.
NEWS STORY:
Vigeo-Ethibel Merger Forms New European Socially Responsible Investment Research Firm
The Vigeo Group becomes the largest corporate social responsibility rating agency in Europe, with global operations that the newly-created company plans to expand.
NEWS STORY:
New KLD Index Benchmarks 100 Global Companies Proactively Addressing Climate Change
While the G8 agreement on climate change may amount to hot air, the KLD Global Climate 100 Index will allow investors to support high-profile large-cap companies as well as little-known small caps actively mitigating climate change.
NEWS STORY:
Chicago Climate Exchange Prepares 4-year Extension
There are now over 100 members in the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX).
NEWS STORY:
Sustainable Summer Reading
Experts in the SRI and CSR arenas offer their recommendations for books to take on vacation this summer.
NEWS STORY:
Annual LOHAS Survey Finds High Consumer Interest in Corporate Responsibility
LOHAS represents a quarter of the US population, according to surveyor Natural Marketing Institute.
NEWS STORY:
The Calvert Group Funds Film on Social Entrepreneurs Airing on Public Broadcasting System
One segment of the film profiles Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus, who pioneered the microcredit model promoted by Calvert Foundation and other community investment advocates.
NEWS STORY:
Panning for Gold: Principle Profits Applies Socially Responsible Investing to Microcaps
Massachusetts firm examines financial, social, and environmental performance to identify future winners.
NEWS STORY:
KPMG Finds More Than Half of Fortune 250 Issuing Standalone Sustainability Reports
Surveying the top 250 companies in the Fortune 500, the percentage rises to almost two thirds when considering annual financial reports that address corporate responsibility.
NEWS STORY:
Merrill Lynch and World Resources Institute Analyze Climate Change Investment Opportunities
The jointly-produced report, the first such collaboration between a mainstream US investment bank and a environmentalist nonprofit, breaks new ground by issuing stock recommendations.
NEWS STORY:
Women's Equity Mutual Fund Supports Businesswomen Through Screening and Now Microfinance
Subadvisor Walden Asset Management provides research on how companies treat women, and Blue Orchard Finance provides a new securitized product supporting microfinance institutions.
NEWS STORY:
The Power of Three: SJF Ventures Sets Precedent in Community Development Venture Capital
SJF and its partners won all three award categories at the annual conference of the Community Development Venture Capital Alliance, which promotes economic, social, and environmental advancement.
NEWS STORY:
Business for Social Responsibility Suggests Improvements to the Global Reporting Initiative
A BSR report surveys 19 member companies on their experience and opinions of sustainability reporting according to GRI guidelines, identifying both strengths and weaknesses.
NEWS STORY:
Mount Holyoke First US College to Dedicate Fund Exclusively to Community Investment
While other schools have devoted some funds to community investment, this move by the Massachusetts-based women's college sets precedent and may lead to its use of other SRI strategies.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--The Next Sustainability Wave: Building Boardroom Buy-In
Longtime IBM Canada executive authors a sequel book, adding new sustainability drivers and providing a comprehensive tool for convincing management to consider sustainability.
NEWS STORY:
Nuclear Power: Still an Environmental Scourge or Now a Climate Change Mitigator?
Despite prominent environmentalist opinions that low greenhouse gas emissions of nuclear power eclipse its problems, socially responsible investment funds still screen nukes out.
NEWS STORY:
Canadian Corporate Sustainability Reporting In Its Infancy, Shows Signs of Growth
A lengthy report released yesterday by the Certified General Accountants Association of Canada provides a primer on sustainability reporting as well as a statistical snapshot.
NEWS STORY:
Gabelli Asset Management Launches SRI Hedge Fund Focused on Catholic Values
The fund uses short-selling and merger arbitrage strategies, and screens out companies involved in abortion, contraception, stem cells, and pornography, as well as the top 50 defense contractors.
NEWS STORY:
Report Equips Investors With Tools To Analyze Climate Risk in Uncertain Policy Atmosphere
Investor Network on Climate Risk and World Resources Institute team up on a report that provides a framework for valuating climate risk in the absence of regulatory clarity.
NEWS STORY:
As HIV/AIDS Migrates Beyond Africa to Other Emerging Markets, So Too Do Business Risks
Concern over HIV/AIDS-related business risks is also shifting from the socially responsible investment community to the mainstream investment community.
NEWS STORY:
Students and States Seek to End Genocide in Sudan Through Divestment Campaigns
Students urge Stanford University to follow in the footsteps of Harvard University by divesting, and urge California senators to pass legislation like Illinois did.
NEWS STORY:
Sustainable Asset Management Signs On to Eurosif Transparency Guidelines
Although SAM already practices comprehensive disclosure, its fulfillment of the European Social Investment Forum guidelines reveals the strengths and weaknesses of standardization.
NEWS STORY:
Microfinance and Donor-Advised Fund Provide Tsunami Relief
A Grameen Foundation USA report examines barriers and opportunities for using microfinance as tsunami relief, and the Calvert Foundation funnels donations to tsunami-ravaged Sri Lanka.
NEWS STORY:
The Ghost of a Shareholder Resolution Haunts ExxonMobil Annual Meeting
Despite an unprecedented 28 percent vote for a first-year climate change resolution and strong support for seven others, the censoring of a resolution quashes shareholder democracy.
NEWS STORY:
The Value of Local Expertise in SRI Research: Jantzi Research Knows Canada
Jantzi Research conducts socially responsible investment research and corporate social responsibility rating and ranking focused on the Canadian market primarily for institutional investors.
NEWS STORY:
Catching a Rising Knife: Sophia Collier Manages the Citizens Value Fund
Whereas former portfolio manager Shelly Meyers tried to catch falling knives, Ms. Collier shifted to a more conservative strategy that has generated much better returns.
NEWS STORY:
Ethical Funds Hires Manning & Napier to Manage Its North American Equity Fund
Former portfolio manager Alliance Capital Management got the boot due to poor performance and a lack of diverse strategies to navigate market cycles.
NEWS STORY:
LISC Commits $300 Million to Preserve Affordable Housing for Low-Income Earners
The Local Initiatives Support Corporation will work with its affiliates, the National Equity Fund and the Community Development Trust, to counteract expiration of affordable housing subsidies.
NEWS STORY:
Report Ranks Best German Corporate Sustainability Reports
Henkel, adidas-Salomon, Volkswagen, BMW, and Deutsche Telekom rank in the top 10 of the 150 German companies surveyed.
NEWS STORY:
IFC Urged to Include Corporate Screens and Address Climate Change in New Standards
A group of socially responsible investment practitioners recommends revisions to new International Finance Corporation social and environmental sustainability standards.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--The Bhopal Reader: Remembering Twenty Years of the World's Worst Industrial Disaster
A collection of primary and secondary sources spanning the twenty-year quest for corporate accountability from Union Carbide and now Dow for the 1984 chemical leak that killed thousands upon thousands.
NEWS STORY:
Institutional Investors Call on SEC, Wall Street, and Companies to Address Climate Risk
The second Investor Summit on Climate Risk focused on information, from the perspectives of disclosure, data generation, and analysis, as a key to transforming climate risk into opportunity.
NEWS STORY:
Virgin Trees in Kleenex: Greenpeace Lambasts Kimberly-Clark Fiber Sourcing
Between 15 and 30 percent of K-C tissue products fiber originates from the Canadian Boreal Forest, according to a Greenpeace report, and only 19 percent of its fiber is recycled.
NEWS STORY:
Long-term Performance of 15 Year-Old Domini 400 Social Index Helps Validate SRI
Since its 1990 inception, the DSI has outperformed the S&P 500, helping quash the widespread perception that socially responsible investing automatically underperforms.
NEWS STORY:
Report Asserts Shareholders Have The Right To Know More About DuPont PFOA Liabilities
The report documents information on perfluorooctanoic acid, a Teflon ingredient associated with human health hazards, which DuPont withheld from federal regulators and investors alike.
NEWS STORY:
Newly-Launched Funds Advance the Maturation of Socially Responsible Investment
Calvert launches two fund of funds comprised of existing Calvert funds across a range of asset classes; Domini releases load-share clone of flagship fund for use by commission-based brokers.
NEWS STORY:
JPMorgan Chase Environmental Policy Triggers Tipping Point for US Bank Sustainability
The JPMC policy surpasses environmental best practice established by Citigroup and Bank of America in some areas, but also lags these sustainability leaders in others.
NEWS STORY:
Parnassus Workplace Fund Launches Today, Along With New Small- and Mid-Cap SRI Funds
While many socially responsible investment funds assess workplace criteria, the Parnassus fund is the first to lead with this issue.
NEWS STORY:
Pharma and Biotech Companies Just Starting to Pass the Transparency Litmus Test
oekom research rates the social and environmental sustainability performance of 27 pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and finds disclosure lacking across the board.
NEWS STORY:
Study Argues Less is More in Socially Responsible Investment Research
The proposed method may correlate environmental sustainability to financial performance well, but the radical reductionism seems ill-suited to a field that thrives on diversity of approaches.
NEWS STORY:
Measuring Social Returns on Community Development Venture Capital Investment
The Community Development Venture Capital Alliance releases the Measuring Impacts Toolkit, which attempts to quantify social returns from community investments.
NEWS STORY:
Weyerhaeuser To Screen Shareholder Questions at Annual Meeting Tomorrow
Shifting from the standard open-mic Question and Answer format, the CEO will act as gatekeeper for shareholder questions, a practice viewed by shareholders as restricting their rights.
NEWS STORY:
Climate Change Offers Opportunities: An Interview with Tim Wirth, President of the UN Foundation
At the Ceres conference in Boston last week, SocialFunds.com sat down with Tim Wirth to discuss the opportunities for companies presented by the climate change issue.
NEWS STORY:
CARS Hits the Road: First Seven Community Development Financial Institutions Rated
The National Community Capital Association CDFI Assessment and Rating System has another 11 ratings in the works, and expects to by fully operational by 2007.
NEWS STORY:
Vermont Issues Call to Investment Managers for Environmentally Sustainable Portfolio
Request for Information asks investment managers about their positive and negative screening practices as well as financial performance, particularly of environmentally sustainable portfolios.
NEWS STORY:
SRI Funds Vote Proxies More Conscientiously Than Conventional Funds on Corporate Governance
A study on proxy voting by socially responsible investment and conventional funds finds SRI funds voting against management more often on social, environmental, and governance issues.
NEWS STORY:
Ecuadorian Attorney General Tells ChevronTexaco Shareholders Remediation Agreement May Be Invalid
The questionable validity of the remediation agreement indemnifying ChevronTexaco could carry implications for the lawsuit and beyond (part three of a multipart article).
NEWS STORY:
Asphalt Jungle: Did Oil Drilling by Texaco Create Environmental and Social Harm in Ecuador?
Both ChevronTexaco and lawsuit plaintiffs are finding evidence of contamination during judicial site inspections: the question is, does it pose human health or environmental risks? (part two of a multi-part article.)
NEWS STORY:
Oil Spread Upon the Waters of Ecuador May Return Harm for ChevronTexaco Shareholders
A shareholder delegation surveys the environmental and social impact of oil operations, assessing potential risk from a twelve-year old lawsuit in its judicial inspection phase (part one of a multi-part article).
NEWS STORY:
Globalizing Corporate Citizenship: An Interview with Center for Corporate Citizenship Executive Director Bradley Googins
At the recent CCC annual conference in Boston, SocialFunds sat down with Dr. Googins to survey the roadmap for increasing the uptake of corporate citizenship.
NEWS STORY:
New SRI Managed Account Uses Options to Capitalize on Market Ups-and-Downs
The socially responsible investment team at Piper Jaffray screens the new Redwood Account, which applies the covered options strategy of Kelmoore Investment Company.
NEWS STORY:
Campus Activists and Alumni Donors Want Proxy Voting and Endowment Holdings Disclosure
While some US colleges and universities are enhancing endowment transparency and engaging in socially responsible investment, most oppose disclosure and are also retreating from SRI.
NEWS STORY:
To Screen Or Not To Screen?: That May Not Be The Question For Fiduciaries
Part two of this two-part article examines the opportunities and limitations that social and environmental sustainability screens present to pension funds and other institutional investors.
NEWS STORY:
Shareowner Activists on Sustainability Take Baby Steps Into Sustainability Screening
Part one of this two-part article surveys the landscape of US public pension fund screening of corporate social and environmental sustainability.
NEWS STORY:
Caterpillar Bulldozes Shareowner Concern Over Aiding Alleged Israeli War Crimes
Caterpillar faces a shareowner resolution as well as a lawsuit filed by the family of peace activist Rachel Corrie that cites the Nuremberg Tribunal as precedent in alleging war crime complicity.
NEWS STORY:
Coffee, Tea, or . . . Liqueur? Pax World Alcohol Screen Forces Reluctant Divestment from Starbucks
While Pax World applies a zero tolerance alcohol screen, other socially responsible investment firms set thresholds for retailers based on the percentage of revenues derived from alcohol sales.
NEWS STORY:
Faith-Based and Environmentalist Shareowners Withdraw Climate Change Resolutions at Six Companies
The six oil and gas companies commit to measure, mitigate, and disclose data related to global warming, and evangelicals join their faith-based compatriots in concern over climate change.
NEWS STORY:
Wanted: Socially Responsible Real Estate Investments
An academician searches for socially responsible real estate investment trusts, finding few that fit the definition, as well as disagreement over what criteria define SRI REITs.
NEWS STORY:
EPA Expands Program Recognizing Corporate Environmental Performance
Environmental Protection Agency Performance Track Program certifies a new crop of company facilities, honors company-wide performance, and serves as an indicator for SRI research.
NEWS STORY:
Not Just for Corporations: Six Microfinance Banks on Three Continents Use GRI Guidelines
Microfinance institutions in Africa, Asia, and South America are issuing sustainability reports using Global Reporting Initiative guidelines, as are other non-corporate entities such as GRI itself.
NEWS STORY:
US Representatives Introduce Anti-Predatory Mortgage Lending Bill
The bill, based on an effective North Carolina anti- predatory lending law, and is supported by anti-predatory lending activists such as the Center for Responsible Lending and Fair Finance Watch.
NEWS STORY:
A Mainstream Investment Strategist Comes Home to Socially Responsible Investment
Adam Seitchik views his move from Deutsche Asset Management, where his team managed $60 billion in assets, to Trillium Asset Management, which manages around $1 billion, as upward mobility.
NEWS STORY:
Biting the Hand That Feeds: Mutual Fund Ties to Corporate Clients Can Affect Proxy Voting
Study reveals that individual mutual fund firms do not alter proxy voting whether companies are clients or non-clients, but fund firms with more clients tend to vote and adopt voting policies favoring management.
NEWS STORY:
Taco Bell Agrees to Pay Florida Tomato Pickers A Penny More Per Pound to End Boycott
Shareowner activists will also withdraw their resolution if parent company Yum! Brands agrees to join agricultural supply chain working group to address industry-wide reform.
NEWS STORY:
Comparing Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase Policies: Which Stems Illegal Logging in Indonesia?
Before providing funding, financial institution policies requiring documentation certifying legitimate timber sourcing may help promote sustainable logging in Southeast Asia.
NEWS STORY:
Campaign to Enhance Pharma Industry Accountability Broadens Shareowner Action
The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility sent letters to over 2,750 institutional investors seeking support for three resolutions filed at nine pharmaceutical companies.
NEWS STORY:
Community Credit Union Brings Hope to Low-Income Residents of the Mississippi Delta
Hope Community Credit Union launched a $15 million initiative supported by corporate investment and New Markets Tax Credits to promote economic justice in the Mid-South.
NEWS STORY:
Carrots and Sweets: Tying Executive Remuneration to Extra-Financial Performance Indicators
A report from Henderson Global Investors and Universities Superannuation Scheme finds incentives for extra-financial performance tied to short-term instead of long-term indicators.
NEWS STORY:
MMA Praxis International Fund Buoyed by Strong Performance in Global Markets
Growth is concentrated in sectors and companies that are excluded by social and environmental screens.
NEWS STORY:
Tale of Two Reports: Sustainability Yearbook Compares Extra-Financial to Financial Reporting
Published jointly by Sustainable Asset Management and PricewaterhouseCoopers, the yearbook shows how adding extra-financial data to a financial report increases buy recommendations.
NEWS STORY:
Web Design, Lobbying Disclosure Fuel Co-Operative Bank Win of UK Sustainability Reporting Awards
The award judges distinguished between sustainability and corporate social responsibility reporting, noting that many reports identifying themselves as the former (which are more rigorous) were actually the latter.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--Corporations and the Public Interest: Guiding the Invisible Hand
Steve Lydenberg eloquently describes corporate social responsibility and socially responsible investment, fields in which he is an expert, and recommends mechanisms to fuel their trajectories.
NEWS STORY:
Binding Resolutions and Coordination Circumvent Structural Limitations of Shareowner Action
A preview of the 2005 proxy season reveals tactics that challenge the systemic imbalance of power favoring corporate management and directors over shareowners.
NEWS STORY:
Deafening Silence: Corporate Political Contribution Non-Disclosure Impacts Shareowner Value
A Center for Political Accountability report documents corporate secrecy on political donations, and a Common Cause report reveals how mutual funds fail to support contribution transparency.
NEWS STORY:
Bush Budget Ghettoizes 18 Community Development Programs, Slashing Their Funds
Community development advocates criticize the proposed budget for fiscal year 2006, as the consolidated programs will have to compete with one another for a smaller pool of funds.
NEWS STORY:
First Australian and Israeli Socially Responsible Investing Indexes Launched
The Maala SRI Index goes live on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, and both the Australian SAM Sustainability Index and the RepuTex SRI Index will launch imminently down under.
NEWS STORY:
Mixed Messages and Flip-Flops as the SEC Director Nomination Rule Stagnates
While the SEC retracts its promise to allow shareowners to file director nomination resolutions, lawsuits secure shareowner rights to nominate directors.
NEWS STORY:
Benchmarking Corporate Governance on Product Toxicity and Safer Alternatives
The benchmark, released by the Rose Foundation today, addresses the scientific uncertainty of product toxicity through risk assessment and opportunity identification instead of inaction.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--Cause for Success: 10 Companies that Put Profits Second and Came in First
The profiles present a wealth of information supporting the claim that corporate social responsibility can enhance profitability, but little information critiquing this claim.
NEWS STORY:
Academic Study Links Predatory Lending to Increased Risk of Foreclosure
Prepayment penalties increase the risk of foreclosure by 20 percent, while balloon payments raise the risk to almost 50 percent, according to the University of North Carolina study.
NEWS STORY:
Speaking From Both Sides of the Mouth: The Art and Science of Corporate Tax Avoidance
Three reports--by a US tax watchdog, a pair of US academics, and a UK socially responsible investment firm--find troubling trends in corporate tax strategies.
NEWS STORY:
Community Investment Surpasses the $1 Billion Mark at The Rock
The Prudential Financial Social Investment Program, one of the oldest community investment programs in the country, has distributed more than $1 billion before its 30th anniversary.
NEWS STORY:
List of Global 100 Most Sustainable Companies Highlights Alcoa, BP, and Toyota
Canadian corporate social responsibility magazine Corporate Knights sponsored the list, which is based on sustainability ratings from Innovest Strategic Value Advisors.
NEWS STORY:
Two Socially Responsible Investment Exchange Traded Funds Launch
The iShares KLD Select Social Index Fund seeks broad diversification and low risk, while the PowerShares WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio ETF invests in renewable energy companies.
NEWS STORY:
Calvert Foundation Community Investment Notes Go Electronic
For the first time, individual and institutional investors will be able to support community investment in the same way they transact most other investments--via computer.
NEWS STORY:
Reigning In Raines on Bonuses Based on Earnings Before Restatements
With restatements of financial earnings reaching record levels in 2004, the question arises whether executive bonuses based on incorrect earnings statements should be recalculated.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--Faith and Fortune: The Quiet Revolution to Reform American Business
Fortune magazine writer Marc Gunther documents the growing link between spiritual values, which he defines broadly to include sustainability, and business conduct.
NEWS STORY:
Pax World Tells Its Shareowners That Market Timers Hit Its High Yield Fund in 2003
In a letter to shareowners, Pax said it believes the market timing differed from the abusive forms associated with the mutual funds scandal and that shareowners did not suffer any material losses.
NEWS STORY:
World Economic Forum Report Finds Decreasing Corporate Awareness and Response to AIDS
The report also finds an increase in companies adopting HIV/AIDS policies, a trend confirmed by the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS.
NEWS STORY:
Monsanto $1.5 Million Fines for Genetic Engineering Bribe Illustrates Risks of GE Strategy
The penalties, levied by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice, may lend credence to a shareowner resolution asking Monsanto to report on GE risks.
NEWS STORY:
Enhanced Analytics Initiative Picks Sell-Side Brokerage Houses with Best Intangibles Research
EAI awards seven firms and three runners-up for outstanding sell-side analysis of corporate social and environmental issues.
NEWS STORY:
2004 Socially Responsible Investment Fund Performance
Of the broadly-screened SRI mutual fund tracked by SocialFunds.com, two earned over 20 percent returns, and six others joined them in outperforming more than 80 percent of their SRI and non-SRI peer funds.
NEWS STORY:
World Economic Forum and AccountAbility Report on Mainstreaming Responsible Investment
The report, based on three roundtables convened by the report sponsors, is particularly illuminating in representing attitudes and perceptions toward social and environmental issues of roundtable participants from the mainstream investment community.
NEWS STORY:
ConocoPhillips Bows Out of Arctic Power, Green Century Withdraws ANWR Resolution
The oil company left the group lobbying to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge a year ago and neglected to inform resolution filers, who were nonetheless pleased with the development.
NEWS STORY:
Top Five Socially Responsible Investing News Stories of 2004
Shareowner engagement shifted from confrontational to collaborative, sustainability analysis fused with financial analysis, and fiduciary duty expanded to include social and environmental issues.
NEWS STORY:
Addressing the Israel-Palestine Conflict Through Shareowner Action and Selective Divestment
Part two of this two-part article examines the Presbyterian Church USA's policy of "phased, selective divestment" and the Episcopal Church's decision to study the issue before responding.
NEWS STORY:
To Divest or Not to Divest: Ethical Considerations of Addressing the Israel-Palestine Conflict
Part one of this two-part article examines across-the-board divestment from companies profiting off Israeli policies that harm Palestinians, and the case against divestment.
NEWS STORY:
Latin American Forest Products Company Illustrates Best Practice Sustainability Reporting
Terranova issues its second Global Reporting Initiative-based sustainability report, exhibiting many exemplary practices such as stakeholder engagement and external verification.
NEWS STORY:
Calvert First SRI Firm to Issue Global Reporting Initiative-Based Sustainability Report
While many small-to-medium-sized enterprises consider sustainability reporting prohibitive, Calvert finds value in doing what it asks publicly traded companies to do.
NEWS STORY:
Report Finds Bank Sector Assessment of Impact on Disadvantaged Communities Lacking
AccountAbility and Business for Social Responsibility to apply their new assessment methodology to the pharmaceutical, agricultural, and extractive sectors next.
NEWS STORY:
Bushwick Cooperative Federal Credit Union Democratizes Financial Service in Brooklyn
This three-and-a-half year-old community development credit union fills the gap left vacant by formal sector financial institutions, empowering members through financial education.
NEWS STORY:
Dell and Starbucks First Companies to Endorse Calvert Women's Principles
The two companies publicly commit to implement the code in their business practices, setting a precedent for other companies to follow in promoting parity for women in business.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--Capitalism at the Crossroads: The Unlimited Business Opportunities in Solving the World's Most Difficult Problems
According to author Stuart Hart, sustainable global enterprise holds the key to reducing poverty, reversing environmental destruction, and even counteracting terrorism.
NEWS STORY:
UNEP Report Takes First Steps Toward Understanding Slow Consumer Uptake of Sustainability
While advancing interesting findings, the report is marred by lack of adequate documentation.
NEWS STORY:
Unocal Alien Tort Claims Act Case Settlement Boosts Corporate Accountability
Some interpret the settlement between the energy company and Burmese villagers as setting a practical precedent for holding companies responsible for indirect human rights abuses.
NEWS STORY:
New Indexes Seek to Link Corporate Governance and Diversity to Financial Performance
A DiversityInc index and joint FTSE-ISS indexes try to answer if diversity and corporate governance, respectively, correlate to financial outperformance.
NEWS STORY:
Divesting from Genocide: More Conversation with Eric Reeves of the Divest Sudan Campaign
In part two of this two-part interview, Mr. Reeves discusses the significance of actions by the investment and legislative communities to address the humanitarian crisis in Sudan.
NEWS STORY:
Divesting From Genocide: A Conversation with Eric Reeves of the Divest Sudan Campaign
In part one of this two-part interview, Mr. Reeves explains why shareowner action and direct dialogue with companies operating in Sudan is not an option in the context of genocide.
NEWS STORY:
Corporations Fight to Keep Political Contributions in the Closet
The Center for Political Accountability expands its campaign by advancing shareowner resolutions asking companies to disclose political donations and to provide a business rationale for them.
NEWS STORY:
Two Reports Reveal Proxy Votes Rubber-Stamp Management Recommendations
One finds the majority of top US mutual funds voting against climate change resolutions, the other finds contradictory proxy by Canadian pension fund managers.
NEWS STORY:
Ford HIV Report Exemplifies New Shareowner Action Strategy
Ford joins Coca-Cola, Cinergy, and others heeding shareowner resolutions requesting reporting on social and environmental issues, but it remains to be seen how far the strategy will extend.
NEWS STORY:
Bhopal, Climate Change Require Shift From Legal Liability to Moral Accountability
A report by SustainAbility examines how increasing legal liabilities are blending into moral liabilities, forcing companies to face social and environmental accountability.
NEWS STORY:
Gap-Verite Collaboration Exemplifies Award-Winning Practice on Social Responsibility
Verite wins a Social Capitalist Award for labor standards monitoring such as its work with the Gap, whose Social Responsibility Report earns a Social Reporting Award.
NEWS STORY:
ICCR Spends World AIDS Day Preparing Shareowner Resolutions for Upcoming Proxy Season
This year's resolution has expanded to cover operations in India and China as well as Africa, and ICCR is campaigning for pharma companies to provide better access to medicines for children.
NEWS STORY:
FTSE4Good Raises the Bar With New Supply Chain Labor Standards Criteria
Launched last week, the new criteria allow companies already in FTSE4Good indexes limited time to implement policies, systems, and eventually reporting on supply chain labor standards.
NEWS STORY:
Enhanced Analytics Initiative Offers Sell-Side Analysts Cash to Cover Intangibles
A group of European institutional investors launched EAI to encourage mainstream investment analysts to include issues such as corporate governance and climate change in their research.
NEWS STORY:
Rating Corporate Sustainability: Behind the Scenes at Oekom Research
SocialFunds.com visits Oekom Research to get a more in-depth look at corporate social and environmental sustainability research.
NEWS STORY:
European Socially Responsible Investment Firms Let the Sun Shine In
The European Social Investment Forum releases transparency guidelines covering seventeen socially responsible investment practitioners.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty through Profits
C. K. Prahalad seeks to solve global poverty by turning the bottom of the socioeconomic pyramid from victims of globalization into its beneficiaries through consumerism.
NEWS STORY:
Integrating Sustainability at Xerox: A Talk with VP for Environment, Health, and Safety Jack Azar
In part two of this two-part interview, Mr. Azar discusses how Xerox integrates sustainability into its policies and practices.
NEWS STORY:
Zero Waste and Industrial Ecology: A Talk with Xerox VP for Environment, Health, and Safety Jack Azar
In part one of this two-part interview, Mr. Azar discusses the history of waste-free policies and practices at Xerox.
NEWS STORY:
Al Gore and David Blood Graft Sustainability Research into Traditional Investing Analysis
The former US vice president and the former Goldman Sachs CEO launch a new investment firm whose research team fully integrates sustainability with fundamentals.
NEWS STORY:
Sustainability Reporting Improves, But Falls Short on Linking to Financial Performance
A new benchmarking survey correlates the top 50 corporate non-financial reports to credit ratings, but reports themselves fail to link financial and sustainability performance.
NEWS STORY:
Paul Hawken Critiques Socially Responsible Investment: Is He On Target or Off Base?
A Natural Capital Institute report criticizes SRI for lack of standards and transparency on screening and holdings for shareowner action.
NEWS STORY:
Graphing Graft: Transparency International Finds Rampant Corruption in 60 Countries
The tenth annual Corruption Perceptions Index highlights the acute problem of corruption in oil-rich countries.
NEWS STORY:
How to Open Your Own Socially Responsible Investment Retirement Portfolio
In this real-life profile, an SRI-oriented financial planner advises a 34 year-old woman how to transfer her non-SRI retirement account into a portfolio of SRI mutual funds.
NEWS STORY:
Is CRA the Right Remedy for Race-Based Disparity in Mortgage Lending?
A new study finds significant disparity between lending to minorities versus whites, but a Community Reinvestment Act expert questions the focus on CRA as the cure.
NEWS STORY:
European Utilities Top Oekom Sustainability Rankings, US Utilities Crowd the Bottom
Corporate sustainability rating firm Oekom Research rewards climate change mitigation and enhancing energy accessibility for the economically disadvantaged in its latest report.
NEWS STORY:
SEC Decision on Shareowner Nomination of Corporate Board Directors Still Pending
Supporters and opponents of the proposed SEC rule granting shareowner access to the proxy to nominate directors advance their causes while the rule languishes in limbo.
NEWS STORY:
Moskowitz Prize Study Removes Doubt Over Link Between Strong Corporate Social and Financial Performance
The study analyzes over 50 published studies on corporate social performance and corporate financial performance, and finds an unambiguous positive relationship.
NEWS STORY:
Fonkoze Partners With Zanmi Lasante to Link Microfinance and Health in Haiti
The largest microfinance institution in Haiti teams with a renowned community health provider to launch a new bank and hospital in a rural village.
NEWS STORY:
Socially Responsible Investment Assets On the Up and Up Down Under
The Ethical Investment Association in Australia reports that SRI assets have doubled in the three years it has been producing benchmarking surveys.
NEWS STORY:
Are Electronic Components Producers Ready for Environmental Regulation?
A Citizens Advisors study surveys 26 electronics components companies, and projects that many of them will be unprepared for European Union laws taking effect in 2006.
NEWS STORY:
FDIC Proposes Rule Watering Down Community Reinvestment Act Requirements
The SaveCRA.org website promotes opposition to the rule change, posting information and a sample letter to file with the FDIC before the end of the comment period tomorrow.
NEWS STORY:
Abortion, Sexual Orientation Reveal Diversity of Socially Responsible Investment
The umbrella of socially responsible investment encompasses a wide diversity of values, running the gamut from social progressivism to cultural conservatism.
NEWS STORY:
Book Inspires Symposium on How Governance Codifies Excessive Executive Pay
The book is written by Harvard Law Professor Lucian Bebchuk and Berkeley Law Professor Jesse Fried, and the Symposium is hosted by Columbia Law School.
NEWS STORY:
Shell and BP Top Innovest CSR Ratings of Integrated Oil and Gas Companies
Marathon and several companies operating in emerging markets sink to the bottom of the rankings of corporate social responsibility performers.
NEWS STORY:
Calvert Fills Gap in Small- and Mid-Cap SRI Value Categories With Two New Funds
The two new funds add diversification options to the socially responsible investment (SRI) palate.
NEWS STORY:
Morningstar Grades Mutual Fund Governance, SRI Funds Rate Well
Morningstar Fiduciary Grades find relatively few areas of weak performance for those socially responsible investment mutual funds rated.
NEWS STORY:
Memo From: SRI Analysts To: Companies--Use GRI Sustainability Reporting Platform!
A coalition of 17 socially responsible investment firms recommends that companies disclose social and environmental data using the Global Reporting Initiative.
NEWS STORY:
Global Survey of Socially Responsible Investment Finds Information Lacking
Questionnaire respondents express frustration over the reliability of social and environmental information on their SRI holdings, and financial planner ignorance of SRI.
NEWS STORY:
Disclosure: How SEC Proxy Voting Rules May Shift the Definition of Fiduciary Duty
Will mandatory disclosure of mutual fund proxy voting records drive change in the general definition of fiduciary duty, or will the principle of undivided loyalty prevent this development? Part two of a two-part article.
NEWS STORY:
Fiduciary Duty, Undivided Loyalty, and Socially Responsible Investment Performance
Does the principle of undivided loyalty preclude fiduciaries from practicing SRI, or will competitive SRI financial performance shift the definition of fiduciary Duty? Part one of a two-part article.
NEWS STORY:
Apple Added, Time Warner and Petro-Canada Deleted from FTSE4Good Index Series
The biannual review of FTSE4Good constituents resulted in the addition of 79 companies and the deletion of 23.
NEWS STORY:
Blueberries, Bats, and Barns: How Community Investing Aids Small Family Farms
The Community Investing Program of the Social Investment Forum and Co-op America honors nine community investment organizations for assisting small family farms.
NEWS STORY:
Material Risks of Genetic Engineering Undisclosed by Food Companies, Report Says
A survey of the 35 largest food processors finds only two mentioning genetic engineering risks in their annual reports, and none analyzing these risks.
NEWS STORY:
Institutional Investors Can Now Hedge Climate Risk With New Investment Strategy
The strategy combines the investment algorithms of State Street Global Advisors with an environmental overlay from Innovest Strategic Value Advisors.
NEWS STORY:
As Socially Responsible Investment Grows in Japan, FTSE4Good Launches New Index
Following on the introduction of the first SRI index by Morningstar Japan last year, FTSE4Good unveils the second SRI index covering the Japanese market exclusively.
NEWS STORY:
EHS Auditors Slow to Take Up GRI
Part two of this two-part article addresses changes Environmental, Health & Safety auditors are making in response to the Global Reporting Initiative.
NEWS STORY:
Sarbanes-Oxley Moves EHS Auditing From the Backroom to Boardroom
Part one of this two-part article addresses changes Environmental, Health & Safety auditors are making in response to Sarbanes-Oxley; part two addresses changes prompted by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).
NEWS STORY:
SEC Asked to Let the Sun Shine on Corporate Political Contributions
A group of state and city treasurers and a watchdog group sent letters to the Securities and Exchange Commission requesting mandatory political contributions disclosure.
NEWS STORY:
Report Advocates Breaking Down Barriers to Global Corporate Sustainability Reporting
An Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and CorporateRegister.com report tracking sustainability reporting worldwide finds its growth hampered by obstacles.
NEWS STORY:
About Face: Cintas Settles Lawsuit and Supports Vendor Standards Resolution
In his apology, Tim Smith of Walden Asset Management highlights the need for accurate information, which Cintas promises to supply in the report requested by the resolution.
NEWS STORY:
Conference Promotes Sustainability Through Corporate Collaboration
The Society for Organizational Learning (SoL) Business Innovation for Sustainability Forum calls for cooperation amongst companies as well as with stakeholders.
NEWS STORY:
New Web Tool Identifies Climate Risk and Opportunity in 24 Biggest Mutual Funds
KLD Research & Analytics information reveals both positive and negative corporate performance on climate change, allowing retail investors to lobby their mutual funds.
NEWS STORY:
First Alternative Energy Index Spawns Exchange Traded Fund
The WilderHill Clean Energy Index, published by the American Stock Exchange, will serve as the basis for an exchange traded fund from PowerShares Capital Management.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--Corporate Social Opportunity: Seven Steps to Make Corporate Social Responsibility Work for Your Business
Book provides extensive real-world examples and hypothetical scenarios to help business people transform corporate responsibility from risks to opportunities.
NEWS STORY:
Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes Add General Electric and Drop Electrolux
The annual change in the DJSI is based on recent assessment of corporate economic, environmental and social performance.
NEWS STORY:
As Mutual Funds Prepare to Reveal Proxy Votes, Guideline Disclosure Acts as Acid Test
Investor-friendly website accessibility to mutual funds' proxy voting guidelines may signal proxy voting record accessibility and investor-friendly proxy voting.
NEWS STORY:
Got Water? Report Recommends Solutions for Businesses To Address Water Scarcity
A new Pacific Institute report outlines the impacts on business of water scarcity, and offers ten steps companies can take to help solve these problems.
NEWS STORY:
Tax Cuts Slash Google IPO Capital Gains Payments to $11 Million
A new report uses the Google initial public offering to illustrate how tax cuts reward individuals while robbing programs supported by taxes that incubate business success.
NEWS STORY:
US Banks Criticized for Involvement in China State Bank Bonds
Nongovernmental organizations and socially responsible investing firms criticize US banks for selling Chinese bonds that fund socially and environmentally problematic projects.
NEWS STORY:
First and Largest International Microfinance Bond Issued
Grameen Foundation USA joins forces with two socially responsible investment firms to issue a $40 million bond to support microfinance institutions in nine developing nations.
NEWS STORY:
Handbook Reports on Sustainability Practice in South Africa
Trialogue and the African Institute of Corporate Citizenship join forces to create a comprehensive text placing South African sustainability practice in a global context.
NEWS STORY:
How Do SRI Firms Walk Their Talk When It Comes to Corporate Social Responsibility?
Socially responsible investment firms take particulars such as scale and sector into account in their CSR expectations at the companies they own and in their own operations.
NEWS STORY:
Accuracy of Dow Chemical Statements and SEC Filings Questioned
On behalf of two socially responsible investment firms, an environmental attorney asks the SEC to probe the factuality of public statements and filings made by Dow Chemical.
NEWS STORY:
The Value of Transformation: The Catholic Equity Fund
After transforming itself from three actively managed funds into one index fund, the Catholic Equity Fund works to transform corporate practice through shareowner advocacy.
NEWS STORY:
CRAFund Goes Retail
Formerly available only to institutional investors, the Community Reinvestment Act Qualified Investment Fund is now available to individuals through Charles Schwab.
NEWS STORY:
Climate Change a Nuisance? Nine State and City Attorneys General Bet a Lawsuit On It
The first climate change lawsuit against corporations, aimed at the top five US carbon dioxide emitters in the utility industry, cites federal common law on public nuisance.
NEWS STORY:
Microcredit Development Fund Helps Transform Household Scraps into Sustainable Entrepreneurship
The Deutsche Bank Microcredit Development Fund seeks to alleviate poverty worldwide by helping microfinance institutions grow to scale and achieve sustainability.
NEWS STORY:
Can Corporate Social Responsibility Put the Brakes on HIV in Africa?
A field report from Africa by Dan Rosan of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility.
NEWS STORY:
Stakeholder Engagement, Verification, and Transparency in ISO Social Responsibility Standards: An Interview with ISO Secretary-General
International Organization for Standardization Secretary-General Alan Bryden discusses these issues and more in the final installment of this three-part interview article.
NEWS STORY:
ISO and Social Responsibility--A Closer Fit Than You Might Think: An Interview with ISO Secretary-General
International Organization for Standardization Secretary-General Alan Bryden discusses divergences and convergences of ISO technical standards with social responsibility guidelines (part two of a three-part article).
NEWS STORY:
Answering the Market Call for Social Responsibility Standards: An Interview with ISO Secretary-General
International Organization for Standardization Secretary-General Alan Bryden discusses the history and implications of ISO's new social responsibility standards (part one of a three-part article).
NEWS STORY:
Keeping Score: The Mathematics and Linguistics of the World Bank Extractive Industries Review
World Bank Group management and socially responsible investors interpret EIR recommendations differently.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--Raising the Bar: Creating Value with the United Nations Global Compact
Primarily a guidebook for companies to navigate Global Compact participation, the book also reports on a study suggesting a Global Compact market premium.
NEWS STORY:
Sell-Side Analysts Confirm the Materiality of Sustainability Issues in UN Report
A United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative report documents belief in the materiality of corporate social responsibility issues by 11 brokerage houses.
NEWS STORY:
House Votes to Kill Mandatory Expensing of All Stock Options, Sending Bill to Senate
The House's passage of the Stock Option Accounting Reform Act reverses Sarbanes-Oxley's commitment to protect independence of FASB as the arbiter of accounting rules.
NEWS STORY:
Two Socially Responsible Investing Funds Generate Double-Digit Year-to-Date Returns
The Ariel Fund and the Pax World Growth Fund perform well in the first half of this year.
NEWS STORY:
Assets in CDFIs Grew Twice as Fast as Those in Commercial US Banks
A new study of community development financial institutions highlights several key distinctions between CDFIs and mainstream financial institutions.
NEWS STORY:
Senate Calls on the SEC to Enforce Environmental Disclosure Regulations
A series of reports issued at a Senate symposium detail how insufficient disclosure of environmental liabilities results from lack of SEC enforcement.
NEWS STORY:
Harvard Study Correlates Staggered Boards With Lower Shareowner Value
Evidence presented in the study suggests that staggered boards do not simply reflect lower firm value, but rather that they bring about lower firm value.
NEWS STORY:
How HIV/AIDS Impacts Corporations, and How Corporations Can Impact HIV/AIDS
The World Economic Forum and the International Labor Organization report on the impact of HIV/AIDS on business, but will companies respond by addressing HIV/AIDS?
NEWS STORY:
The Responsible Summer Reading List
Fifteen recommended books on corporate sustainability and our general welfare
NEWS STORY:
Trends in Sustainability Reporting
Part two in this two-part article looks at how the present trends in sustainability reporting project into the future.
NEWS STORY:
A Brief History of Sustainability Reporting
Part one of this two-part article outlines the history of sustainability reporting up to the present; part two projects trends in sustainability reporting into the future.
NEWS STORY:
Does Supreme Court Validation of Alien Tort Claims Act Apply to Corporations?
Human rights organizations say yes, lawyers representing corporations in ATCA cases say no, but the Supreme Court opinion itself remains vague on the issue.
NEWS STORY:
How Sustainable Is the Asia Pulp & Paper Sustainability Action Plan?
WWF Indonesia calls off its partnership with Asia Pulp & Paper after the company fails to implement commitments to end sourcing of illegal timber (part three of a three-part article.)
NEWS STORY:
Calvert Group Launches Code for Corporations to Profit by Promoting Gender Equality
Calvert links equality for women to sustainable development, making the ethical and business cases for implementing its corporate code of conduct for empowering women.
NEWS STORY:
Community Investment Benefits Middle Income Earners in Los Angeles
The Genesis Workforce Housing Fund develops the first institutional investor-backed project promoting home-ownership for middle-income earners in the US.
NEWS STORY:
Indonesian Forestry and International Finance Move Toward Sustainability
A profile of Asia Pulp and Paper and ABN AMRO focusing on their efforts to reverse environmental, social, and financial devastation through sustainable practices (part two of a three-part article).
NEWS STORY:
How Unsustainable Forestry Practices in Indonesia Impact Sustainable Practice in the US
Part one of a three-part article exploring the complex global relationship between sustainable and unsustainable forestry practices.
NEWS STORY:
Auditing Sustainability Reporting
As sustainability reporting increases in significance, so too does the auditing of it.
NEWS STORY:
Report Finds CSR Policies on the Rise in Asia, Europe, and North America
University of Hong Kong survey overturns some assumptions about the development and prevalence of corporate social responsibility policies.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--Profits With Principles: Seven Strategies for Delivering Value with Values
Pertinent case studies that illustrate corporate social responsibility best practice abound in this well-structured and well-written book.
NEWS STORY:
Community Investment Institutions Managed By and Benefiting African Americans
Generations Community Credit Union, Carver Bancorp, and UrbanAmerica are three African American managed community investment institutions.
NEWS STORY:
Rule Proposal Requires Canadian Mutual Funds To Disclose Proxy Votes and Guidelines
New Canadian Securities Administrators rule closely resembles the US Securities and Exchange rule.
NEWS STORY:
The Emergence Story Behind Indigenous Peoples Rights Screens
Socially responsible investment firms also engage in shareowner action on indigenous peoples rights issues.
NEWS STORY:
Governance Overhaul: An Interview with Tyco Corporate Governance VP Eric Pillmore
Mr. Pillmore speaks candidly with SocialFunds.com about rebuilding reputation and trust, engaging stakeholders, and increasing transparency.
NEWS STORY:
US Socially Responsible Investment Indexes Diverse in Style, Study Says
A study presented at a recent socially responsible investment conference finds variability in US SRI index construction.
NEWS STORY:
Are the Equator Principles Sincere or Spin?
A report calls into question whether signatory banks are complying with the Equator Principles.
NEWS STORY:
Sarona Supports Microfinance To Help Alleviate Poverty in Developing Regions
The Sarona Global Investment Fund finances starch processing in Paraguay, a foundation supporting small enterprises in Romania, and a savings and loan cooperative in Haiti.
NEWS STORY:
New SRI Index Optimizes Social and Environmental Performance and Controls Risk
The KLD Select Social Index caters to institutional investors by underweighting companies with weak social and environmental performance instead of excluding them.
NEWS STORY:
UK Prepares To Mandate Environmental and Social Reporting
Proposed guidelines for Operating and Financial Review reports require British company directors to discuss the effects of social and environmental issues on business.
NEWS STORY:
ExxonMobil Mocks Climate Change, Maine Treasurer Finds It No Laughing Matter
Senior management remains resolute in its disbelief of climate change risk.
NEWS STORY:
New Bank of America Policy Sets Best Practice on Climate Change in US Bank Sector
Environmentalist organization Rainforest Action Network helps usher Bank of America into the vanguard of US banks improving their environmental responsibility.
NEWS STORY:
Baker & McKenzie Paper Concludes Social Investing Consistent with Fiduciary Duty
The opinion of a major US corporate law firm sets the bar for the fiduciary case for SRI.
NEWS STORY:
Companies Ignore Majority Votes on Shareowner Resolutions
Some high-profile companies are taking advantage of the non-binding nature of shareowner resolutions.
NEWS STORY:
Carbon Disclosure Project Report and Greenhouse Gas Protocol Release Second Editions
Climate change initiatives get a significant boost this month with the release of two revised editions of a report and a protocol for addressing global warming.
NEWS STORY:
Matchmaker Boosts FDIC Limit to $5 Million for Community Development Banks
A new system allows community development banks to trade portions of deposits, upping the amount covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to $5 million.
NEWS STORY:
Shareowner Resolution Withdrawn as JP Morgan Chase Addresses Environmental Risks
A group of socially responsible investment advocates withdrew a shareowner resolution from JP Morgan Chase when the company established an office of environmental affairs.
NEWS STORY:
Dell First US Computer Company to Commit to a Global Recycling Goal
In its 2004 Sustainability Report, Dell commits to increase its fiscal year 2005 computer recycling 50 percent over fiscal year 2004 levels.
NEWS STORY:
ChevronTexaco Faces Class-Action Lawsuit in Ecuador Over Environmental Damage
A resolution asking ChevronTexaco to report on new initiatives to address its legacy of environmental damage in Ecuador gained nine percent support from shareowners.
NEWS STORY:
Daiwa Launches Japan's Newest Socially Responsible Investment Fund
The new Daiwa SRI Fund will focus not only social and environmental issues, but also corporate integrity, ethics compliance, and transparency.
NEWS STORY:
Avon Shareowners Withdraw Two Resolutions Before Annual Meeting
Avon agreed to hold annual board of director elections and to phase out phthalates from its products, prompting shareowners to withdraw their resolutions on these two issues.
NEWS STORY:
Three More Companies Address Climate Risk, So Shareowners Withdraw Resolutions
Shareowners withdrew climate change resolutions at Southern Company and TXU, which agreed to issue reports, and at Reliant, which agreed to expand disclosure.
NEWS STORY:
Jewish Institutional Investors Form Shareholder Engagement Network
The Jewish Shareholder Engagement Network is based on the notion that Jewish tradition supports such shareowner action as active proxy voting and dialogue with companies.
NEWS STORY:
First-Year Resolution on HIV/AIDS Garners Significant Support at Pharmaceuticals
The HIV/AIDS pandemic threatens human life and shareowner value, according to a shareowner resolution filed at companies in the pharmaceutical, oil, and beverage sectors.
NEWS STORY:
Sustainability Report Awards Reward Disclosure on Environmental, Social Performance
Canada-based Suncor and Dofasco, Texas-based Dell and Kinko's, and Michigan-based Ford win sustainability reporting awards from CERES and ACCA.
NEWS STORY:
The Diversity of Diversity Best Performance Rankings
A comparison of the DiversityInc list of the top 50 companies for diversity and a report from Diversity Best Practice and Business Women's Network that reviews 45 such lists.
NEWS STORY:
Community Foundations and Community Investment: An Obvious But Underused Link
The Vermont Community Foundation recently broke new ground by launching a first-of-its-kind community investment program with the support of the Calvert Foundation.
NEWS STORY:
Forget Sit Ins: Student Activists Now Promote Socially Responsible Investment
Students and alumni from 22 prestigious colleges and universities launch the Responsible Endowment Coalition to urge schools to practice socially responsible investing.
NEWS STORY:
Tyco Recommends Vote in Favor of Shareowner Resolution, Joining Three Others
While companies routinely recommend voting against shareowner resolutions, four companies so far this proxy season have bucked this standard approach.
NEWS STORY:
Women Directors Rare Even in Developed Economies, According to First Global Study
A UK-based socially responsible investment research firm study of companies in global developed economies finds only seven percent of board seats occupied by women.
NEWS STORY:
Thirteen Pension Funds Call on SEC to Require Disclosure on Climate Change Risk
Institutional investors ask the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue a clarification that climate change is a material risk which must be disclosed in filings.
NEWS STORY:
Oekom Rates Food and Beverages Industry Average in Sustainability Performance
The example of Starbucks illustrates how Oekom Research rates food and beverage companies as average performers in social and environmental sustainability.
NEWS STORY:
Stock Option Dilution Rose But Granting Slowed in 2003, Anticipating Mandatory Expensing
Right after the Financial Accounting Standards Board called for mandatory option expensing, the Investor Responsibility Research Center released its yearly dilution study.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--The Best Business Stories of the Year: 2004 Edition
Ethics, disclosure, labor relations, executive compensation, and insider trading are among the topics related to socially responsible investment in this collection of business articles.
NEWS STORY:
Social and Environmental Best Practice Linked to Financial Outperformance in Electric Sector
Innovest releases another sector report correlating progressive social, environmental, and governance practices and policies with financial outperformance.
NEWS STORY:
Socially Responsible Investment Runs the Gamut on Animal Welfare and Testing
Investors who prioritize respect for animals have a range of options, from funds that use shareowner action alone to specialty SRI firms with stringent animal welfare screens.
NEWS STORY:
Nuke Producer GE Energy Buys Solar Producer AstroPower
The GE Energy buyout of AstroPower represents a Catch 22 for social investors, who generally seek to support renewable energy but screen GE for its nuclear production.
NEWS STORY:
Diversifying Asset Allocation in Socially Responsible Individual Retirement Accounts
Diversifying in SRI IRAs can be challenging, as asset allocation in retirement accounts has few steadfast guidelines.
NEWS STORY:
Into Africa: The Paradox of Socially Responsible Investing in the Developing Continent
To support sustainability in Africa, social investors can invest directly outside the SRI community, or else they can pursue community investment and shareowner action.
NEWS STORY:
Wisconsin Energy Reaps External and Internal Benefits from Social and Environmental Reporting
Wisconsin Energy won accolades for its Global Reporting Initiative-based report, which also raised internal awareness of social and environmental performance.
NEWS STORY:
A Passage to India: Report Asks If BT Offshoring Is Socially Responsible
A recent report by SustainAbility assesses whether offshoring and corporate social responsibility are compatible, focusing on the case of British Telecom.
NEWS STORY:
Philips Extends Sustainability Expectations to Suppliers, Including Child Labor Ban
In its 2003 Sustainability Report, Philips Electronics introduced provisions requiring its 50,000 suppliers worldwide to practice social and environmental sustainability.
NEWS STORY:
Business Group Links Social and Environmental Performance with Shareowner Value
A recent Global Environmental Management Initiative report adds to the growing body of evidence correlating social and environmental performance with shareowner value.
NEWS STORY:
Social Investors Urge World Bank to Adopt Extractive Industries Review Proposals
If adopted by the World Bank, EIR recommendations could serve as a social and environmental best practice benchmark for oil, gas, and mining companies.
NEWS STORY:
Corporate Social and Environmental Performance Varies Widely Across Far-East Asia
A Kingsway survey finds differences in cultural norms and government policies in East Asian countries dictate diverse corporate social and environmental performance.
NEWS STORY:
Occidental To Adopt Formal Human Rights Policy, Shareowners Withdraw Resolution
Successful shareholder action results in steps towards Occidental formalizing its human rights policy.
NEWS STORY:
MMA Praxis Eliminates Soft Dollar Arrangements
MMA Praxis joins Domini in disavowing soft dollar use; other socially responsible investment firms continue the practice within legal limits while some consider cessation.
NEWS STORY:
Starbucks Provides Loan Capital for Coffee Farmers
Starbucks is providing a $1 million loan to the Calvert Foundation to support microfinance to Latin American coffee farmers, and it answers critics of its Fair Trade commitment.
NEWS STORY:
Corporate Responsibility Index Launched in Australia
A coalition of nonprofit, media, and accounting organizations recently introduced the first index to measure corporate social responsibility in Australia.
NEWS STORY:
Socially Responsible Index Funds: Passive Management Means Less Expense
SRI index funds offer competitive performance with lower expense compared to actively managed SRI funds.
NEWS STORY:
Disney Vote and California Bill May Affect SEC Shareowner Director Nomination Rule
The significant withhold vote at Disney and a bill being considered by the California State Legislature may have a bearing on the SEC's proposed rule on shareowner director nominations.
NEWS STORY:
Report on SRI Research Organizations Characterized as Valuable But Also Controversial
A recent report from SustainAbility, onValues, and Mistra provides valuable insight on SRI research organization methodologies but lacks some needed transparency.
NEWS STORY:
Welcome to the Jungle: CSR Questionnaire Incompatibility Hampers Applicability
A Nordic Partnership report finds wide variance in questions posed in corporate social responsibility surveys, calling into question their comparability and applicability.
NEWS STORY:
Report Urges Foundations to Vote Their Proxies
Surprisingly few foundations regularly vote their proxies, according to a new report written by the As You Sow Foundation, an advocate of active proxy voting.
NEWS STORY:
Students Call for More Disclosure on University Hedge Fund Investments
Frustrated by the opacity of universities' hedge fund investments in terms of their social and environmental impacts, students request dialogue with hedge fund firm.
NEWS STORY:
Piper Jaffray Consulting Division Marries Best Asset Managers with Customized Social Screening
Socially responsible investment consultant can apply social screens to best asset managers, even if they do not usually practice SRI.
NEWS STORY:
Critics Challenge Christian Aid Report as Biased, Cynical, and Inaccurate
Part two of this two-part article considers defenses of corporate social responsibility against attack by a recent Christian Aid report.
NEWS STORY:
Report Favors International Regulation Over Voluntary Corporate Social Responsibility
A recent report by Christian Aid argues against the voluntary aspect of CSR and for international regulation. Part one of this two-part article discusses support for the report; part two presents criticism of the report.
NEWS STORY:
Study Finds Loans to Low-Income Borrowers No More Risky than Conventional Loans
Research released yesterday finds that community development financial institutions serving low-income clients have a lower rate of loan write-offs than mainstream banks.
NEWS STORY:
Five Companies Comply with Terms of Shareowner Resolutions in One Week
In less than seven days, Dover, Masco, Cinergy, AEP, and Bank of Montreal all abided by the requests of investors, a major achievement for shareowner action.
NEWS STORY:
Fifth Third Bank Shareowners To Decide on Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Policy
In an unusual move, Fifth Third Bank is leaving it up to its shareowners to decide by their proxy vote whether or not the company will adopt a sexual orientation non-discrimination policy.
NEWS STORY:
Moving From the Business Case for SRI and CSR to the Fiduciary Case
The business case for socially responsible investing and corporate social responsibility may not drive individual investors, but the fiduciary case engages institutional investors.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--What Matters Most: How a Small Group of Pioneers is Teaching Social Responsibility to Big Business, and Why Big Business is Listening
Seventh Generation CEO Jeffrey Hollender relates the historical development of socially responsible business, revealing its interconnections and assessing its pros and cons.
NEWS STORY:
CRA Fund Helps Transform Environmental Liabilities Into Social Assets
The CRA Fund supports environmental remediation of brownfield sites, helping transform them into socially beneficial projects.
NEWS STORY:
Cintas Defamation Suit Challenges Shareowner Free Speech Rights
Cintas files a defamation lawsuit against Tim Smith of Walden Asset Management for alleging that the company uses sweatshop labor in Haiti.
NEWS STORY:
California Treasurer Proposes Environmental Screening for State Pension Investments
California Treasurer Phil Angelides pitches the Green Wave Initiative to CalPERS and CalSTRS, the state's huge pension funds, asking them to support green investments.
NEWS STORY:
The Leviticus Fund Helps Shelter the Homeless and Provide Care for Children
In its third decade, the Leviticus 25:23 Alternative Fund lending program continues to grow and now offers a return for social investors.
NEWS STORY:
Meritas Launches First Canadian SRI Rebalancing Fund of Funds
The Meritas Balanced Portfolio Fund uses Modern Portfolio Theory to build a single fund that balances asset allocations between its five existing funds.
NEWS STORY:
ExxonMobil Contributed Five Percent of Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Last 120 Years
Friends of the Earth releases two studies that attribute one twentieth of global climate change to ExxonMobil. The company questions these findings, as it questions climate change.
NEWS STORY:
French SRI Assets and Funds Grow in 2003
Novethic documents growth in the number of socially responsible investing funds available in France, as well as the amount of SRI assets under management.
NEWS STORY:
Study Dissects SRI Performance by Different Social and Environmental Factors
A Pictet study correlates financial performance with specific aspects of socially responsible investment, such as corporate governance and stakeholder relations.
NEWS STORY:
Restatements of Annual Filings Continue to Rise
While restatements of annual filings are still increasing, overall restatements, including quarterlies, are starting to taper off, according a summary report by Huron Consulting.
NEWS STORY:
Community Investment Advocates Question Bank of America/FleetBoston Merger
Bank of America is responding to critics of its proposed merger with FleetBoston.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--The Corporate Responsibility Code Book
This book is no thriller, but it is indispensable for anyone seeking to grasp the complex landscape of the multitudinous tools that measure corporate social responsibility.
NEWS STORY:
Sarbanes-Oxley Fails to Kill Corporate Insider Loans, Some of Which Pay Posthumously
A new study from The Corporate Library documents the prevalence of insider loans, and the persistence of benefits beyond the grave.
NEWS STORY:
The Rashomon Effect: Why Do Innovest and Oekom Rate Toyota's Environmental Performance So Differently?
A Japanese film may help investors understand the discrepancy between the environmental ratings of Toyota by Innovest and Oekom.
NEWS STORY:
Gazing in the Crystal Ball: 2004 Preview of Socially Responsible Investing Performance
An overview of the trends that may affect SRI performance in the year ahead, among other issues to mull over when considering socially responsible investment.
NEWS STORY:
SRI Domestic Equity Funds Edged Out By Their Non-SRI Counterparts in 2003
Socially responsible investment domestic equity mutual funds slightly lagged their non-SRI counterparts, while the Calvert Social Index outpaced the S&P 500 for the year.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--True to Our Roots: Fermenting a Business Revolution
Paul Dolan, president of Fetzer Vineyards, promotes sustainable business practices by relating his personal transformation committing to organic growing practices.
NEWS STORY:
World Economic Forum Survey Projects Mainstreaming of Corporate Citizenship
The report credits socially responsible investing, among other trends, for influencing mainstream investors to take corporate citizenship more seriously.
NEWS STORY:
Robert Zevin, a Father of Socially Responsible Investing
Robert Zevin helped establish socially responsible investing by fusing traditional investment theory with social justice advocacy, among many other achievements.
NEWS STORY:
Shareowner Resolution Calls Costco on Cultural Crimes in Mexican Site Development
Shareowners express concern that Costco, which demolished a culturally significant site in Mexico to build a store, may be demolishing its reputation in the process.
NEWS STORY:
Film Depicts Environmental and Social Reporting Disappearing in SEC Black Hole
A documentary film by environmental attorney Sanford Lewis reveals the SEC's failure to enforce its rules requiring companies to disclose environmental and social liabilities.
NEWS STORY:
Many Companies Cannot Verify Whether Their Palm Oil Is Produced Sustainably
An ISIS Asset Management report finds that few companies can trace the source of their palm oil up their supply chain to confirm whether or not it is produced sustainably.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--The Company: A Short History of a Revolutionary Idea
This new book betrays the promises of its title except in its brevity, according to Peter Kinder, president of KLD Research and Analytics.
NEWS STORY:
The Evolution of Business for Social Responsibility: A Talk with BSR CEO Robert Dunn
In a SocialFunds interview, Business for Social Responsibility CEO Robert Dunn discusses how BSR has evolved while CSR has matured over the past decade.
NEWS STORY:
‘Tis the Season to Bar Sexual Orientation Discrimination
The New York City Employees Retirement System files a shareowner resolution asking 11 Fortune 500 companies to explicitly bar sexual orientation discrimination.
NEWS STORY:
Underreporting of Material Environmental Liabilities Persists
Despite clear documentation of the problem, multiple solutions proposed, and petitioning to enhance enforcement, corporate underreporting of material environmental liabilities continues.
NEWS STORY:
Top Five Social Investing News Stories of 2003
The major social investing news stories of the year include SEC reforms, stock exchanges mandating social, environmental, and corporate governance practices, and climate risk assessment defined as a fiduciary duty.
NEWS STORY:
2004 Proxy Season Glimpse: HIV/AIDS Shareowner Campaign Shifts from Conflict to Collaboration
The 2004 proxy season has commenced with an instance of cooperation between a company and its shareowners (Part two of a two-part article.)
NEWS STORY:
2003 Proxy Season Roundup: Shareowner Action Success Measured On and Off the Record
While the 2003 proxy season produced some impressive numbers, shareowner advocates also define success in ways that are not easily quantifiable (Part one of a two-part article.)
NEWS STORY:
Board Pay, Board Say
Two new reports assess the past year for directors of corporate boards, examining issues such as director pay, workload, and independence.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--How Does it Pay to Be Green?
An empirical study finds a positive relationship between environmental and economic performance when environmental strategies are factored into business decisions.
NEWS STORY:
Women Sit in Less Than a Seventh of Fortune 500 Board of Director Seats
According to a new Catalyst report, women will inhabit less than a quarter of Fortune 500 board director seats by 2023, though regulations and shareowner action may change this.
NEWS STORY:
US Community Investment Assets Nearly Double Over the Past Two Years
Community development financial institution assets rise 84 percent from 2001 to 2003, making community investment the fastest growing segment of socially responsible investing.
NEWS STORY:
Watchdog Fund Established to Take a Bite Out of Corporate Governance Malfeasance
The new investment vehicle is part mutual fund, part shareowner advocate, and part hedge fund.
NEWS STORY:
Morgan Stanley Study Correlates Sustainability with Financial Outperformance
Morgan Stanley's joint study with Oekom Research finds that sustainability leaders in the MCSI World Index financially outperformed sustainability laggards over the past four years.
NEWS STORY:
From Pallet Shacks to Cinderblock Homes: Microfinance Loans on the Mexican Border
CHF/Mexico addresses an acute housing shortage by providing technical assistance and affordable loans to low-income families.
NEWS STORY:
Two New Real Assets Funds Attract $25 Million in Their First Two Months
The Real Assets Social Leaders Fund and Social Impact Balanced Fund are off to a flying start, re-invigorating social investing in Canada.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--The Sustainable Company: How to Create Lasting Value Through Social And Environmental Performance
A new book makes the business case as well as the moral case for sustainability through socially and environmentally responsible business practices.
NEWS STORY:
UN Institutional Investor Summit Considers Opportunities of Addressing Climate Change
Institutional investors make the business case and investment case for assessing, reporting, and mitigating climate change in a summit at the UN (part two of a two-part article).
NEWS STORY:
Institutional Investors Send Wall Street Wake-Up Call to Address Climate Risk
At a UN Summit, state treasurers and other institutional investors issue a ten-point call for action for companies, investment analysts, and fiduciaries to address climate risk (part one of a two-part article).
NEWS STORY:
Carmakers and Carbon Constraints: Who Will Capitalize and Who Will Cave?
A new report assesses ten auto companies’ relative readiness for reduced carbon emissions and increased fuel efficiency regulations in Japan, the EU, and the US.
NEWS STORY:
Australian SRI Funds Outperform Their Benchmark Over the Short- and Long-Term
A new AMP Henderson report finds Australian socially responsible investing outperforms the S&P/ASX 200 over one-, two-, three-, and five-year periods.
NEWS STORY:
Johannesburg Securities Exchange to Introduce Socially Responsible Investing Index
In addition to requiring listed companies to comply with King II codes, JSE is also launching an SRI index based on triple bottom line and corporate governance practices.
NEWS STORY:
Survey Says: NGOs Believe Corporate Social Responsibility Reports That Reveal Faults
In a recent survey, nongovernmental organizations say they believe CSR reports that disclose noncompliance, poor social or environmental performance, and big challenges.
NEWS STORY:
Socially Responsible Investments Remain Largely Untouched by Late Trading Scandals
The SRI industry's long-term investment horizons and ethical underpinnings insulate it from the market timing debacle, though it may be impossible to escape all its effects.
NEWS STORY:
Innovest’s Eco-Enhanced Portfolios Outperform Their Benchmarks
Contra Costa County Employees’ Retirement Association achieves both actual and simulated out-performance by tilting its portfolios using Innovest’s EcoValue21 ratings.
NEWS STORY:
As, Bs, and Cs: New Rating Tool Grades Community Development Financial Institutions
The National Community Capital Association launches CARS: the CDFI Assessment and Ratings System.
NEWS STORY:
British American Tobacco Reluctantly Exits Myanmar
Bowing to pressure from activists and the UK government, BAT sold its interest in its Myanmar operation, though it will continue to license its cigarette brands there.
NEWS STORY:
European Socially Responsible Investment Retail Funds Increase in Number, Decrease in Assets
A recent study reports that the number of European SRI retail mutual funds increased since the end of 2001 while the amounts of assets held by them decreased.
NEWS STORY:
Social Investment Forum’s Trends Report Tracks Rises and Falls in SRI
Assets in screened portfolios grew since 2001, while overall assets in socially responsible investments fell during the same time period, according to SIF’s 2003 Trends Report.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--The Soul of Capitalism: Opening a Path to a Moral Economy
William Greider’s new book seeks to explain the contradictions between capitalism and social responsibility, and then seeks to reconcile these differences.
NEWS STORY:
Moskowitz Prize-Winning Study Correlates Lower Corruption With Higher Shareowner Value
The Social Investment Forum awards its annual Moskowitz Prize to a study that correlates lower political corruption with higher corporate value in international markets.
NEWS STORY:
Emerging Markets Represent Underdeveloped Opportunities for SRI, Study Says
An International Finance Corporation report on socially responsible investing in emerging markets finds obstacles and opportunities.
NEWS STORY:
SRI Short Selling: an Oxymoron, or Mutually Reinforcing Strategies?
Socially responsible investing strategies rarely include short selling, though this tactic may in fact eclipse other SRI strategies in its ability to effect change.
NEWS STORY:
Coordinate US Corporate Social Responsibility Policy, Kenan Institute Study Group Says
A study group convened by the Kenan Institute recommends synchronizing US public policy on CSR and asking the SEC to consider requiring triple bottom line reporting.
NEWS STORY:
Vanguard Fund Generates Strong Returns by Replicating the Calvert Social Index
The Vanguard Calvert Social Index Fund outperformed more than four-fifths of its peers in the overall US mutual fund universe with similar investment styles over the past year.
NEWS STORY:
Henderson Wins Global Competition for Socially Responsible Pension Fund Proposals
Henderson Global Investors’ plan combines innovation with practical experience to win an award for promoting long-term social responsibility in pension fund management.
NEWS STORY:
American Library Association Takes a Pass on Socially Responsible Investing
The ALA recently decided not to employ SRI on its endowment, though it may allow portions of its portfolios to be invested in SRI mutual funds.
NEWS STORY:
Community Development Financial Institutions Help Rebuild Post-9/11
The National Community Capital Association unveils a report on the impact of CDFIs on post-9/11 lower Manhattan.
NEWS STORY:
SRI Growing Amongst European Institutional Investors and in Asian Emerging Markets
Two new reports document the status and prospects of sustainable and responsible investment in Asian emerging markets and with European institutional investors.
NEWS STORY:
Give Peace a Chance: Support Women in Business
The Business Council for Peace helps women create sustainable businesses by providing the technology for them to train in computer and entrepreneurial skills.
NEWS STORY:
Is Molina Healthcare a Socially Responsible Investment? Don't Ask The Company
The president and chairman of Molina Healthcare leaves it up to investors to decide for themselves if the company is a socially responsible investment.
NEWS STORY:
Resolutions Ask TIAA-CREF to Practice the Good Corporate Governance It Preaches
TIAA-CREF faces several resolutions asking it to reconcile its strong corporate governance advocacy with what filers describe as its own weak governance policies.
NEWS STORY:
Socially Responsible Investment Through 401k Plans Comes of Age
Since the late 1990s, there has been a boom in socially responsible investment through 401k retirement plans.
NEWS STORY:
SEC Opens Proxy to Shareowner-Nominated Directors, Critics Bemoan Triggers, Thresholds
New SEC rules will allow shareowners to use companies' proxies to nominate director candidates, but corporate governance advocates point out potential pitfalls.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--The Naked Corporation: How the Age of Transparency Will Revolutionize Business
In making the business case for corporate transparency, a new book cites studies on the competitive performance of socially responsible investment.
NEWS STORY:
Social Investors Recommend Best Practice for Coalbed Methane Extraction
A shareowner action campaign proactively asks companies to practice environmental and social responsibility in extracting coalbed methane.
NEWS STORY:
Walden Asks Companies to Allow Shareowners to Ratify Auditors
Walden Asset Management wrote letters to 45 companies asking them to allow shareowners to ratify the board's choice of auditor, a procedure that is routine.
NEWS STORY:
European Smallcap SRI Index Launches
Kempen Capital Management and SNS Asset Management fill a market gap with what they call the first SRI index in the world to focus on small capitalization companies.
NEWS STORY:
ISIS Product Offers Shareowner Action without Portfolio Management
Institutional investors can use ISIS's Responsible Engagement Overlay to promote better social and environmental performance at companies through dialogue, proxy voting, shareowner resolution filing, and research.
NEWS STORY:
Dow, GM, and Johnson & Johnson Lead the Charge to Green Power
The 12 members of the Green Power Market Development Group have purchased almost 100 megawatts of green power from renewable resources since last summer.
NEWS STORY:
Identifying the Effects of Interlocking Directorships on Board Independence
A new report from The Corporate Library uncovers ways interlocking directorships impede board independence, though shareowner activists could leverage this interlock to push corporate governance reform.
NEWS STORY:
Sustainable Computer Producers Perform Better than Less Sustainable Counterparts
Innovest adds social considerations to its environmental assessment in its recent computer industry report, and sustainability still outperforms business-as-usual.
NEWS STORY:
SRI Money Market Accounts Earn Competitive Financial Returns
In addition to offering social and environmental returns, socially responsible investing money market accounts generate competitive financial returns compared to their non-SRI counterparts.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--24 Days: How Two Wall Street Journal Reporters Uncovered the Lies that Destroyed Faith in Corporate America
A new book tells the behind-the-scenes story of Enron's demise and the detective work that revealed the chicanery in Enron's corporate practices and culture.
NEWS STORY:
FTSE4Good Indexes Add Bank of America, Delete Molson and ConocoPhillips
As a result of its semiannual review, FTSE4Good adds Bank of America, a company deleted by DJSI, demonstrating yet another distinction between the indexes.
NEWS STORY:
The Implications of the Nike and Kasky Settlement on CSR Reporting
Although Nike reached an agreement with Marc Kasky to end his lawsuit, the settlement's effect on corporate social responsibility reporting remains to be seen.
NEWS STORY:
Shareowner Action Prompts Procter & Gamble to Sell Fair Trade Coffee
In response to a shareowner action campaign, Procter & Gamble launched a Fair Trade Certified coffee; critics challenge the company to commit more fully to sustainability.
NEWS STORY:
AFL-CIO Advocates Active Ownership as a Way to Enhance Shareowner Value
The AFL-CIO coordinates resolution filing, assesses managers' proxy voting records, and identifies worker-friendly investments for union pension funds.
NEWS STORY:
Ave Maria Funds Promote Catholic Values Through Morally Responsible Investing
Ave Maria Mutual Funds, which screen abortion, pornography, non-marital partner benefits, and Planned Parenthood contributors, represent another side of SRI.
NEWS STORY:
Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes Add Toyota, HP, Eject DaimlerChrysler, Bank of America
After its annual review, DJSI adds companies it deems as having strong sustainability performance to its index universe, and deletes companies that lag in sustainability practice.
NEWS STORY:
Influential Institutional Investors to Form National Coalition for Corporate Reform
The National Coalition for Corporate Reform, championed by state treasurers and pension funds, seeks to restore investor confidence through better corporate governance.
NEWS STORY:
Community Investment Bond Helps House the Learning Disabled in the UK
The UK arm of Triodos Bank issues a bond that supports Golden Lane Housing, a UK charity that provides housing to people with learning disabilities.
NEWS STORY:
New Proxy Voting Recommendation Service Provides Choice, Objectivity
Investor Responsibility Research Center teams with Glass, Lewis & Co. to provide proxy voting recommendations and voting services to institutional investors.
NEWS STORY:
Boise's Plan to End Old Growth Harvesting: Trend-Setting or Too-Little, Too-Late?
Boise Cascade bans logging old growth forests in the US and deters it elsewhere, but other companies may not jump on this bandwagon if its time has already passed.
NEWS STORY:
Environmental Best Practice Tied to Financial Outperformance in Food Retail Industry
Innovest's latest report shows that environmental leaders in the global food and drug sector financially outperform the sector's environmental laggards.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--The Planetary Bargain: Corporate Social Responsibility Matters
Author Michael Hopkins' ideas about the global spread of corporate social responsibility are obscured by a lack of precision in revising and updating this book that was originally published five years ago.
NEWS STORY:
Morningstar Japan Launches First SRI Index Covering Japanese Market Exclusively
The introduction of an socially responsible investing index by Morningstar Japan represents a significant milestone in the development of SRI in Japan.
NEWS STORY:
Quakers and Socially Responsible Investing: A Natural Match
The Friends Fiduciary Corporation practices both positive and negative screening, in keeping with Quaker values that prioritize social justice and non-violence.
NEWS STORY:
UN to Hold Corporations More Responsible for Human Rights and the Environment
A UN sub-commission adopted a resolution calling for transnational corporations to be held more accountable for human rights protection and environmental stewardship.
NEWS STORY:
Jazz and Orchids Provide Inner City Hope and Opportunity
An interview with William Strickland, CEO of the not-for-profit Manchester Bidwell Corporation in Pittsburgh, reveals he is continuing to push the boundaries of inner city economic development.
NEWS STORY:
Rio Tinto to Rehabilitate Uranium Mine
Environmental activists have long been advocating for restoration of the Jabiluka uranium mine, which is located in the Kakadu World Heritage Area in Northern Australia.
NEWS STORY:
Corporate Governance Ratings Take Different Approaches to Produce Similar Results
GovernanceMetrics International rates corporate governance in relation to other companies, while Institutional Shareholder Services rates in relation to market indexes.
NEWS STORY:
Institutional Investor Practices SRI Through Shareowner Action
The Nathan Cummings Foundation prioritizes shareowner action by actively voting its proxies, filing shareowner resolutions, and dialoguing with companies on social issues.
NEWS STORY:
Will Ford's Transparency Affect Its Performance?
While lauding the transparency of Ford's 2002 Corporate Citizenship Report, analysts caution that it remains to be seen whether such reports and the Global Reporting Initiative reporting guidelines will help improve corporate performance (part two of a two-part article).
NEWS STORY:
Ford's Latest CSR Report Increases Transparency by Using GRI Guidelines
Ford's decision to base its 2002 Corporate Citizenship Report on Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines will help analysts get a fuller picture of the company's performance (part one of a two-part article).
NEWS STORY:
Report Finds Oil Companies' Social and Environmental Practices Unsustainable
Oekom Research's report criticizes the oil industry's uneven progress in sustainable development, but those in the industry question the report's findings.
NEWS STORY:
Domini Social Bond Fund Supports Community Development Financial Institutions
The Domini Social Bond Fund allocates almost seven percent of its assets to CDFIs while also performing like a classic intermediate-term bond fund.
NEWS STORY:
The Needmor Fund Utilizes a Muscular Definition of Fiduciary Responsibility
Susan Stranahan, treasurer of the Needmor Fund, discusses socially responsible investing as a fiduciary duty and tier A money managers who have a social mission.
NEWS STORY:
Critics Find Study of SRI Underperformance Fundamentally Flawed
A recent Wharton School study that finds underperformance by socially responsible investment mutual funds is based on an unsound research design, according to critics.
NEWS STORY:
A High Flyer and a Smooth Sailer Top SRI Equity Funds
Two socially responsible investment equity funds place in the first and second percentiles of their peer funds over a five-year period.
NEWS STORY:
The ABCs of SRI Mutual Fund Share Classes
The complexities of different share classes, or fund loads, can confuse investors--brokers and finance writers can either help clarify and further obfuscate.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review--The New Financial Order: Risk in the 21st Century
A Yale economist proposes innovative ways to use risk management as a tool to counteract economic inequality and livelihood uncertainties, among other things.
NEWS STORY:
Survey Finds SRI Fund Managers See Bright Future in Europe
A recent survey of fund managers conducted by UK Social Investment Forum and Thomson Extel reveals high expectations for significant SRI growth in Europe. Those surveyed also ranked top SRI firms and analysts.
NEWS STORY:
ACCION Creates Self-Sufficiency by Providing Microfinance to Microenterprises
Social investors can support ACCION's international and national microlending initiatives, which seek to break the cycle of poverty through several mechanisms.
NEWS STORY:
Climate Change Litigation Could Affect Companies’ Market Value
In the near future companies could face the risk of being on the receiving end of climate change lawsuits, a development that stands to impact shareowner value.
NEWS STORY:
Foundation Begins to Reconcile Investments with Programs
The Fetzer Institute uses screens and community investment to align a small portion of its assets with its social and environmental goals.
NEWS STORY:
SEC Report on Shareowner Nomination of Directors Opens Some Doors, But May Close Others
A recent SEC report recommends several solutions for allowing shareowners access to director nominations, but social investors worry it may not solve some problems.
NEWS STORY:
Philadelphia Innovates Solutions to Predatory Lending for Low- and Middle-Income Homeowners
Two programs supported by the city of Philadelphia help low- and middle-income homeowners exposed to predatory lending when seeking loans to rehabilitate their houses.
NEWS STORY:
Johannesburg Securities Exchange Requires Compliance with King II and Global Reporting Initiative
Companies listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange will soon have to comply with King II corporate governance codes as well as Global Reporting Initiative guidelines.
NEWS STORY:
First Steps for the U.S. Business Council for Sustainable Development
Carlos Guimaraes, chair of the U.S. Business Council for Sustainable Development, speaks about the new organization's strong membership, partnerships, and projects.
NEWS STORY:
Members of Congress Consider Social and Environmental Disclosure in SEC Filings
A group of Senators and Representatives summoned a symposium on the need for social and environmental disclosure by companies in their SEC filings.
NEWS STORY:
Report Connects the Dots Between Corporate Governance and Climate Change Risk
A report reveals the degree to which 20 major global companies use corporate governance to address climate change risks and opportunities.
NEWS STORY:
Sustainability Leaders in Food Sector Produce Healthy Returns
Innovest finds that global food products companies with higher sustainability ratings perform better financially than companies with weaker environmental performance.
NEWS STORY:
Eurosif Releases Transparency Guidelines for European SRI Funds
Eurosif asks socially responsible investment firms to disclose their policies and procedures around SRI issues.
NEWS STORY:
A Marriage of Like Minds: Enterprise, Rockefeller, and Fahra-Joyce Haboucha
Enterprise Global Socially Responsive Fund manager Fahra-Joyce Haboucha considers social and financial issues jointly and prioritizes strong governance and global research.
NEWS STORY:
Summer Reading List, SRI-Style
Prominent figures in the socially responsible investing community recommend SRI- and CSR-related books, and as well as some great titles from outside the field.
NEWS STORY:
Pension Funds and Mutual Funds Influence Their Holdings Differently
Academic studies discern between how pension funds and mutual funds wield influence as institutional shareowners, but the studies lack methods sophisticated enough to evaluate the effects of SRI.
NEWS STORY:
McDonald's Phases Out Animal Growth Promotion Antibiotics from Global Supply Chain
McDonald's, which is often the first in its sector to introduce sustainable practices, will end use of animal growth promotion antibiotics, but does this make the company socially responsible?
NEWS STORY:
U.S. Drops in Country Sustainability Ratings
The United States fell eight places in Oekom Research's Country Rating Report this year, mirroring its poor performance on other similar country sustainability ratings.
NEWS STORY:
Huh?!?: CEO Pay Goes Up in 2002 While the Stock Market Goes Down
The Corporate Library's report shows how CEO pay increased in 2002 despite the fact that the stock market declined significantly, a trend that does not sit well with investors.
NEWS STORY:
Apria Democratizes Director Elections
Apria Healthcare Group set a precedent as the first company to allow shareowners to nominate candidates for board of director elections.
NEWS STORY:
Attitudes and Actions Behind the Growth of SRI in Japan
Alongside the highly visible events that demonstrate the spread of socially responsible investing in Japan are shifting attitudes and less visible actions (part two of a two-part article).
NEWS STORY:
The Sun is Rising on SRI in Japan
A major Tokyo public pension fund commits to socially responsible investing, an indication of Japan's growing interest in SRI (part one of a two-part article.)
NEWS STORY:
Investors Managing $3 Trillion Back Blair's Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
Developing countries are being prodded to support oil and mining companies disclosure of payments the companies make to governments.
NEWS STORY:
First Dutch Passively-Managed DJSI-based Index Fund Launched
Theodoor Gilissen Bankiers has launched a passively-managed fund that tracks a Dow Jones Sustainability Index, the first such product in the Netherlands.
NEWS STORY:
Two Environmental SRI Funds Generate Attractive Returns
In the midst of a stagnant economy, two SRI funds that invest in environmental best performers have generated year-to-date returns in the 20- to 35-percent range.
NEWS STORY:
IRRC Platform Combines Corporate Governance and Social Responsibility Research
The Investor Responsibility Research Center merges its corporate governance research tool with its social responsibility research tool in a web-based platform.
NEWS STORY:
Shareowner Advocates Tell SEC How Best to Democratize Board Election Process
The question is not whether shareowners should have access to the proxy to nominate directors, but what percentage of stock ownership qualifies shareowners to make nominations.
NEWS STORY:
Catholic Institutional Investors Launch an SRI Fund of Funds Hedge Fund
In order to fill a market niche, five Catholic healthcare organizations joined forces to launch an SRI fund of funds hedge fund that is available to other institutional investors.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review: Eco-Service Development: Reinventing Supply and Demand in the European Union
A new book presents the business case for promoting sustainable development through "eco-services," or the switch from a product-oriented to a service-oriented culture.
NEWS STORY:
Will Equator Principles Deliver Social and Environmental Responsibility from Banks?
Social investors and NGOs question whether the Equator Principles will serve their stated purpose of increasing global banks' social and environmental responsibility.
NEWS STORY:
Nike and Others Increase Transparency into Their Global Labor Practices
The Fair Labor Association releases a report today on the internal and independent external monitoring of apparel and footwear manufacturers' global labor practices.
NEWS STORY:
FedEx and UPS Green Up Their Fleets With Hybrid Electric and Fuel Cell Vehicles
FedEx introduces hybrid electric delivery vehicles, while UPS is investing in fuel cell technology.
NEWS STORY:
World's Largest Coffee Traders Agree to Sustainability, but How Committed Are They?
Rainforest Alliance's recent agreement on sustainability with the world's two largest coffee traders holds promise but the devil may be in the details.
BOOK REVIEW:
Book Review: Saving the Corporate Soul & (Who Knows?) Maybe Your Own
A new book recommends a series of corporate reforms that mirror those advocated by the corporate social responsibility and socially responsible investment communities.
NEWS STORY:
Religious Institutions Issue Benchmarks for Corporate Social Responsibility Performance
A global coalition of religious activists have published the third edition of a comprehensive set of guidelines for corporate social and environmental performance.
NEWS STORY:
Blacklisting, Voicetracking, and Payola: Clear Channel and the Effects of Media Consolidation
Shareowner activists ask Clear Channel to ban blacklisting, while musicians and other activists oppose FCC plans to deregulate media industries.
NEWS STORY:
Corporate America Less than Halfway to Gender Parity
A Conference Board report documents the evident and the less-apparent obstacles to achieving male-female equality in the workplace.
NEWS STORY:
TIAA-CREF Adds Positive Screens and Replicates Russell 3000 Performance
TIAA-CREF constitutes its Social Choice Equity Fund based on the KLD Broad Market Social Index to track the returns of its new benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index.
NEWS STORY:
Increasing Shareowner Action Fuels Record Proxy Season
Shareowners are increasingly recognizing and practicing their right to influence corporate practices and policies by filing and voting on shareowner resolutions.
NEWS STORY:
Socially Responsible Investing in 529 Funds Requires Some Savvy
There are now three SRI options for 529 college savings plans, though ascertaining |
