SRI news

Newsletter June 2006

Principles for Responsible Investment Backed by USD 4 trillion and Growing
Following the inaugural launch of the Principles by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the New York Stock Exchange in April 2006, the PRI is now backed by a group of over 70 investors with more than USD 4 trillion in assets under management, and still growing.
http://www.unpri.com

French civil service scheme in SRI tender
France’s new civil service additional pensions scheme has launched a tender for fund managers of euro-zone socially responsible investing equities.
http://www.ipe.com/default.asp?article=21028

SRI community ‘falling down on communications’
Communication – or the lack of it – on socially responsible investing emerged as a key issue at a conference in Sweden on SRI and corporate governance.
http://www.ipe.com/article_default.asp?article=20905

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.
http://www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/2026.html

Belgian funds ‘forced into SRI investing’
Public authorities in Brussels must invest “at least” 10% of their pension schemes in socially responsible investment under new orders approved by government.
http://www.ipe.com/article_default.asp?article=21039

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.
http://www.jupiteronline.co.uk/PIIFA/NewsViews/PressReleases/20060503_PIFAPR.htm

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.
http://www.corporateknights.ca/reports/sri/

Norwegian government fund excludes Wal-Mart
US retailer Wal-Mart is being excluded from the Norwegian Government Pension Fund – Global’s investment universe because of alleged serious and systemic human rights violations.
http://odin.dep.no/fin/english/news/news/006071-990626/dok-bn.html

Anglo American and Shell form clean coal alliance
Anglo American and Shell have formed an alliance to develop clean coal projects, including carbon capture and storage, with the aim of becoming a leading player in the market.
http://www.angloamerican.co.uk/article/?afw_source_key=DF4CC602-6973-42BC-9160-8F4F4B83DD69&xsl_menu_parent=/

UK unions want more voting transparency
The Trades Union Congress is to redouble its efforts to get institutional investors to disclose their voting records.
http://www.tuc.org.uk/pensions/tuc-11994-f0.cfm

BP to Invest $500 Million on Biofuels at a Research Centre
In one of the largest research grants by an oil company, BP is planning to spend $500 million over the next 10 years to finance major work on biofuels to find "longer-term commercial alternatives to oil and gas."
Read article

Big business reports on CSR progress
Two of Britain's best-known brands, M&S and BT, have published reports on their social and environmental progress over the past year.
http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=11602&channel=0#

EAI publishes results of JUNE 2006 evaluation of investment research incorporating extra-financial issues
The latest evaluation points to a further improvement in the breadth and depth of investment research and to a growing number of research providers capable of fully integrating extra-financial issues within investment analysis.
http://www.enhancedanalytics.com/Fiesta/EDITORIAL/20060615/CommPresse/PR17_EvaluationFinal_150606.pdf

Investors Seek Meeting with ExxonMobil Execs over Climate Policy
Leading institutional investors are pushing for a meeting with members of the ExxonMobil board of directors as a result of growing financial concerns regarding the company's approach to the changing global climate.
http://www.greenbiz.com/news/news_third.cfm?NewsID=31067

HP Initiates EH&S Program for Supplier Factories in China
Hewlett-Packard has unveiled a year-long training program aimed at providing the management staff of its suppliers in China with the knowledge to improve social and environmental responsibility practices in their factories.
http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/globalcitizenship/gcreport/supplychain.html

Businesses Clean up During Europe's Green Week 2006
German carmaker Volkswagen and five companies from Finland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the UK have won the European Business Awards for the Environment 2006. The announcement forms part of Green Week, the European Commission's annual conference and exhibition dedicated to the environment, which this year focuses on protecting biological diversity.
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/awards/index_en.htm

Steelworkers, Sierra Club Join to Promote Cleaner Environment, Better Jobs
The United Steelworkers and the Sierra Club have formed a strategic alliance to pursue a joint public policy agenda under the banner of "Good Jobs, A Clean Environment, and A Safer World."
http://california.sierraclub.org/pressroom/releases/pr2006-06-07.asp

The purpose of business: Lord Browne, BP Group Chief Executive, speaks on corporate social responsibility, energy and climate
http://www.wbcsd.org/plugins/DocSearch/details.asp?type=DocDet&ObjectId=MTkzNTk

Forest Industry Leaders Commit to Action on Global Sustainability
Member companies of the International Council of Forest and Paper Associations have signed on a major new leadership agreement on sustainability.
http://www.icfpa.org/

Responsible Supply Chains
The European NGO report Buying Matters investigates whether companies that operate in developing countries improve their purchasing practices without increasing their costs and tarnishing their reputations.
http://www.responsible-purchasing.org/report.php

Oxford University opts for responsible investment
After five years of student lobbying Oxford University, one of the UK’s top universities, last month agreed to create a policy for fund managers to consider the “social, moral and environmental impact” when investing its £400 central fund.
http://www.ox.ac.uk/gazette/2005-6/weekly/110506/agen.htm#4