1. SRI TRENDS REPORT RELEASED
Socially responsible investment (SRI) assets grew faster than the entire universe of managed assets in the United States during the last 10 years, according to the Social Investment Forum's fifth biennial report on SRI trends. Total socially responsible investment assets rose more than 258 percent from $639 billion in 1995 to $2.29 trillion in 2005, while the broader universe of assets under professional management increased less than 249 percent from $7 trillion to $24.4 trillion over the same period.
http://www.asria.org/news/press/1138780788/
2. FTSE4GOOD COMPLETES SEMI-ANNUAL REVIEW
ASrIA member FTSE has finished its semi-annual review of the constituents of the FTSE4Good Index, resulting in 19 deletions and more than twice as many (40) additions, including 8 from Japan. The FTSE4Good philosophy is to set the bar for corporate social and environmental responsibility at an achievable level, then ratchet it up incrementally to promote progress toward sustainability.
http://www.asria.org/news/press/1142996329/
3. HOW TO DETERMINE THE TOP 100 SUSTAINABLE COMPANIES IN THE WORLD
Innovest Strategic Value Advisors and Corporate Knights announced the global 100 most sustainable companies at the World Economic Forum, held in January. The news item provides an interesting discussion of what can be expected from companies in terms of environmental, social and governance performance.
http://www.asria.org/news/press/1138766567/
4. CALVERT RELEASES CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY RATINGS OF LARGEST 100 US COMPANIES
ASrIA member Calvert has released The Calvert Ratings (tm), a proprietary assessment of the social, environmental, and governance performance of the 100 largest U.S. companies (ranked by market capitalization). The Calvert Ratings indicate a company's performance in five separate issue areas including the environment, workplace, business practices, human rights, and community relations.
http://www.asria.org/news/press/1139283124/
5. SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING FOR METALS, MINING, AND CRUDE-OIL SECTOR LED BY MID-SIZED FIRMS
The Roberts Environmental Center has released a report on the largest 30 companies in the above sectors and noted that the most reported environmental variables were environmental costs and investments, greenhouse gas emissions, and energy utilization. The most reported social information was compliance with code of business conduct, community education, and business ethics. The Center analyses over 600 global companies web-based sustainability reporting and provides all its corporate assessments freely on its website.
http://www.asria.org/news/press/1142477827/
6. BANK POLICIES FAIL TO MEET INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL STANDARDS, REPORT SAYS
If banks were students, the majority would be failing the sustainability test asserts a January 2006 report by BankTrack, a global nongovernmental organizations (NGO) coalition including WWF-UK, Friends of the Earth (FoE), Rainforest Action Network (RAN), and the Berne Declaration. According to the report, 21 of 39 banks' financing policies earn a failing grade.
http://www.asria.org/news/press/1142588506/
7. 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.
http://www.asria.org/news/press/1142914464/
8. 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.
http://www.asria.org/news/press/1142589157/
9. COMPANIES NOT DOING ENOUGH TO TACKLE GROWING OBESITY CRISIS, SAYS NEW EIRIS REPORT
Ethical Investment Research Services (EIRIS) have released a report on the food and beverage industry's response to the challenges presented by the growing obesity problem. http://www.asria.org/news/press/1140751139/
10. 100 GLOBAL COMPANIES SCORED ON CLIMATE CHANGE STRATEGIES
CERES investor coalition has issued a report which analyzes how 100 leading companies are addressing the growing financial risks and opportunities from climate change ¡X whether from expanding greenhouse gas regulations, direct physical impacts or surging demand for climate-friendly technologies. Altogether, 76 U.S. companies and 24 non-U.S. companies in 10 business sectors are profiled in the report.
http://www.asria.org/news/press/1144053005/
11. INVESTORS AND CONSUMERS URGE FIDELITY, VANGUARD AND AMERICAN FUNDS TO TAKE ACTION ON GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE
More than 38,000 investors and consumers have called on the three largest U.S. mutual fund companies to focus their attention on the financial implications of global warming. The three mutual fund families collectively manage more than $1 trillion in assets.
http://www.asria.org/news/press/1143696767/
12. IFC ADOPTS NEW ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL STANDARDS
The International Finance Corporation has adopted new environmental and social standards for the organization. The new standards build upon the environmental and social requirements that IFC currently applies to private sector projects it finances in the developing world. A new policy on disclosure, adopted at the same time, will increase transparency requirements.
http://csrwire.com/asria/press_releases/article.cgi/5085.html/
13. IFC LAUNCHES NEW GOOD PRACTICE GUIDES
The IFC has published a Good Practice Note on "Non-Discrimination and Equal Opportunity", which seeks to help IFC clients and the wider private sector with the challenges of eliminating discriminatory workplace practices and promoting workforce diversity in accordance with international standards and best practices. It has also launched a Web-based guide to help companies operating in emerging markets understand, manage, and benefit from biodiversity.
http://csrwire.com/asria/press_releases/article.cgi/5044.html/
http://csrwire.com/asria/press_releases/article.cgi/5264.html/
14. ASQ RECRUITS LEADING EXPERTS TO CREATE FIRST ISO SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY STANDARD
In response to recent and ongoing corporate scandals, environmental disasters, child labor violations, and dangerous work environments, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has launched the development of its first standard on social responsibility (SR) also known as ISO26000. The American Society for Quality (ASQ) is seeking participants to help develop the U.S. position on the draft standard.
http://csrwire.com/asria/press_releases/article.cgi/5145.html/
15. COST OF CLEAN ENERGY DECREASES TO COMPETE WITH ITS DIRTIER COUNTERPARTS
The drive toward "peak" oil production and climate change is fuelling the emergence of clean energy as an economically viable and environmentally necessary alternative to oil addiction, according to the Clean Energy Trends 2006 report from Clean Edge.
http://www.asria.org/news/press/1143697411/
16. WELLS FARGO ISSUES ALTERNATIVE ENERGY REPORT
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. This report follows the trend towards SRI research by established by the likes of Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, UBS, and Piper Jaffray.
http://www.asria.org/news/press/1142482900/
17. PROGRESSIVE INVESTOR RELEASES REPORT, 'INVESTING IN WIND ENERGY'
For over a decade, wind has been the world's fastest growing energy source on a percentage basis. The industry has been growing at 28% a year for the past five years, and if growth trends continue at this pace as is expected, wind capacity will double about every three or four years.
http://csrwire.com/asria/press_releases/article.cgi/5200.html/
18. OPENING THE UMBRELLA OF SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTING TO INCLUDE ENERGY EFFICIENT MORTGAGES
Stocks and bonds represent the bulk of socially responsible investing (SRI), but the burgeoning of socially responsible property investing (SRPI) is expanding the bounds to include things like energy efficient mortgages (EEMs) under the SRI umbrella.
http://www.asria.org/news/press/1142589837/
19. US PLAN SPONSORS SEE GROWTH IN SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTING
Sponsors of institutional investment pools in the US expect moderate growth in socially responsible investing (SRI) over the next two years, according to a survey by Mercer Investment Consulting. 75% of investors believe that environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) factors can be material to investment performance.
http://www.asria.org/news/press/1144047097/
20. TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN: SURVEYS TRACK GROWTH OF INTEREST IN SRI AND CSR
A comparative discussion of the survey by Mercer Investment Consulting which predicts a growth in interest by US institutional investors in SRI (see Global News 19 above) and a McKinsey Quarterly survey of corporate executives which globally finds mounting commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR).
http://www.asria.org/news/press/1139213970/
http://www.asria.org/news/press/1139214335/
21. CROSS-COUNTRY SRI RESEARCH PUBLISHED
Two pieces of comparative research on SRI recently published are "Some determinants of the Socially Responsible Investment decision: A cross-country study (2005)" and "Are socially responsible investors different from conventional investors: A comparison across six countries (2005)", by Geoffrey Williams.
http://www.asria.org/news/press/1144053939/
22. RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT, ASRIA MEMBERS OFFERED DISCOUNT ON NEW BOOK
A new publication, "Responsible Investment", provides a range of current perspectives on institutional investment in SRI. ASrIA members are offered an exclusive 15% discount on the newly published book.
http://www.asria.org/news/press/1142583821/
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