Interview: Cary Krosinsky, Editor of Evolutions in Sustainable Investment
SocialFunds.com talks with Krosinsky about the challenges to as well as the inevitability of a
mainstream uptake of sustainable investing strategies.
States Require Insurers to Respond to Climate Risk Survey
California joins New York and Washington in requiring insurers that that write in excess of $300
million in premiums to respond to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' Climate Risk
Survey.
Investors Team with Law Enforcement Professionals to Combat Sex Trafficking at Super Bowl
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility members warn that child sex trafficking increases
during large sporting events, and engage with Indianapolis hotels to raise awareness of the risk at
this year's Super Bowl.
UN Adaptation Database Highlights Corporate Sustainability Efforts
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change publishes an online database featuring case studies
of climate change adaptation activities undertaken by private companies.
Book Review: Evolutions in Sustainable Investing: Strategies, Funds and Thought Leadership
Trucost executive Cary Krosinsky edits a book of essays demonstrating that sustainable investment
in an era of growing resource scarcity yields significant opportunities for portfolio
outperformance.
Shareowners File 40 Resolutions on Lobbying Expenditures by Corporations
Walden Asset Management leads a coalition of investors calling on companies to disclose both direct
lobbying expenditures and indirect funding of lobbying through trade associations.
GRI Publishes Sustainability Guidance for Event Organizers
Site selection and community impact are among the key issues for which reporting can enhance the
accountability of event organizers, the Global Reporting Initiative says.
Corporate Knights Publishes Eighth Annual Ranking of Sustainable Companies
Danish pharmaceutical firm Novo Nordisk tops the 2012 Global 100 and the United Kingdom leads
countries with 16 companies on list.
Ceres Aqua Gauge Helps Investors and Companies Manage Water Risk
As population growth and climate change make water risk management an issue for investors and
companies to address without delay, the Ceres Aqua Gauge provides a framework for evaluating
corporate strategies.
Harrington Investments Requests that Monsanto Report on GMOs
The chemical giant refuses to allow a proxy to speak on behalf of the shareowner resolution at
tomorrow's annual general meeting, and Harrington joins in call for demonstrations.
On Second Anniversary of Citizens United, Coalition Calls on SEC to Mandate Disclosure
The Corporate Reform Coalition holds a press conference in which members express support for a
petition requesting that the Securities and Exchange Commission establish rules mandating that
public corporations disclose their political spending activities.
Shareowner Activists Urge Siemens to Quit Chamber of Commerce
CtW Investment Group writes to the German industrial conglomerate, stating that its position on the
Chamber's board is at odds with the trade association's efforts to weaken the Foreign Corrupt
Practices Act.
Shareowners to Corporations: Say No to Political Expenditures
Trillium Asset Management and Green Century Capital Management file resolutions with Bank of
America, 3M, and Target, requesting that they refrain from making political donations.
Congressional Recipients of Oil Industry Money Overwhelmingly Support Controversial Pipeline
An analysis by MapLight reveals that of the 118 House members who report the oil and gas industry
among their top ten contributors, only two voted against legislation calling for construction of
the Keystone XL pipeline.
Investors Vow to Address Climate Change even as Congress Fails to Act
At the Investor Summit on Climate Risk & Energy Solutions, hosted by Ceres, institutional investors
note progress in managing climate change in their portfolios, but warn that further action must be
taken now.
EPA Launches Database of High Emitters
2010 greenhouse gas emissions data reveals that power plants were the largest stationary sources of
direct emissions, with 96 of them among the 100 facilities reporting the highest levels of
emissions.
Emerging Markets Investors Advised to Factor for Cost of Carbon
SinCo and Trucost produce a report that identifies risks of a carbon tax to high-emitting
companies, while analyzing the carbon footprints of South African equity funds.
Microsoft Says Worker Dispute at Foxconn Plant Resolved
Suicide threats by protesting workers at Chinese manufacturing plant recalls 2010 deaths of workers
at another Foxconn plant in China.
Pax World Appoints New Portfolio Manager for Global Women's Equality Fund
Ivka Kalus-Bystricky will lead Pax World's Global Women's Equality Fund, which invests primarily in
large-cap companies that promote gender equality and women's advancement.
The Pros and Cons of COP17
Nations agree to agree on a binding emissions reduction treaty, and the Green Climate Fund is
established, but details on both are lacking and may not prevent warming of more than two degrees
Celsius.
Ecuadorian Court Upholds $18 Billion Judgment Against Chevron
In addition to upholding the judgment for environmental damages in Ecuador's Amazon rainforest, the
court also criticized Chevron's efforts to undermine the trial.
Climate Change and COP17 from an African Perspective
SocialFunds.com talks with Graham Sinclair, President of AfricaSIF, about his impressions of the
recently concluded climate change conference held in South Africa.
Appeals Court Blocks Cross-State Air Pollution Rule
Power producers argued that the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) January 1 deadline gave
them too little time to install required pollution control equipment.
Top Sustainable Investment Stories of 2011
Many sustainable investors see affinities between their concerns and those of the Occupy Movement,
and global emissions from the burning of fossil fuels in 2010 were the highest in human history.
Shareowner Engagement Leads to Adoption of Human Rights Policy at OM Group
The company operates a cobalt smelter in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where a 2007
workplace accident at a joint venture partner killed three children.
Greenpeace Ends Unfriend Coal Campaign Targeting Facebook
The social media giant agrees to reduce its reliance on coal-powered electricity by siting its data
centers where renewable energy sources are available.
Shareowners Press Chevron to Acknowledge Environmental Liabilities in Ecuador
Even as Chevron's liability for a November oil spill in Brazil reaches billions of dollars, the
company still refuses to disclose to shareowners the risks associated with an $18 billion court
judgment against it in Ecuador. Second of a two-part series.
EPA Issues Rule on Mercury Emissions from Power Plants
The rule requiring power plants to install pollution control equipment to reduce emissions will
improve the nation's health and create almost 1.5 million jobs in the next five years.
Shareowner Activists Pressure Chevron for Transparency Over Payments to Burmese Regime
Amid news of a possible normalization of relations between the US and Burma, sustainable investors
and other activists argue that most of Chevron's payments line the pockets of the military. First
of a two-part series.
Mutual Fund Support for Political Spending Disclosure Inches Upward
An analysis prepared for the Center for Political Accountability by Jackie Cook of Fund Votes
reveals that mutual fund support for corporate political spending disclosure increased in 2011 for
eighth year in a row.
Schapiro Remarks Suggest Regulation of Proxy Advisors
The SEC Chairman cites corporate concerns over quality of information used for recommendations, and
potential conflicts of interest, as reasons for regulation of proxy advisory firms.
CEO Pay at S&P 500 Companies Up 37% in 2010
Increases in CEO pay are far greater than those of share prices, GovernanceMetrics International
finds, and three of the highest paid executives are with companies whose shareowners have expressed
dissatisfaction over pay packages.
Investors Provide Guidance for Companies Engaged in Hydraulic Fracturing
SocialFunds.com talks with Richard Liroff of the Investor Environmental Health Network about a
collaborative effort with the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility to minimize risks
associated with fracking through key performance indicators and best practices.