Member Affiliates' News
March / April 2008
New Member Affiliates
Centre Info joins Eurosif
Founded in 1990, Centre Info Ltd. is the first research and consultancy firm in continental Europe entirely devoted to environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. Centre Info offers solutions to SRI and mainstream investors across Europe who whish to integrate ESG issues into their investment processes. Centre Info SA also provides advice on SRI product concept and design, on SRI investment strategy formulation and undertakes specific research projects related to sustainability and ESG issues.
Greenpeace joins Eurosif
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning organisation that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment and to promote peace by: Catalysing an energy revolution to address the number one threat facing our planet: climate change; Defending our oceans by challenging wasteful and destructive fishing, and creating a global network of marine reserves; Protecting the world’s ancient forests and the animals, plants and people that depend on them; Working for disarmament and peace by tackling the causes of conflict and calling for the elimination of all nuclear weapons; Creating a toxic free future with safer alternatives to hazardous chemicals in today's products and manufacturing; Campaigning for sustainable agriculture by rejecting genetically engineered organisms, protecting biodiversity and encouraging socially responsible farming.
Greenpeace understands the power of the investment community and engages with investors on issues of sustainability, including sharing of Greenpeace research and vision of sustainable investment.
IONIS - INTER EXPANSION joins Eurosif
IONIS is a long-term oriented asset owner. In addition to its activity in “pay as you go” pension schemes, IONIS manages health insurance, life insurance and employees savings schemes for 200,000 companies and 3.9 million employees. Its Supervisory Board is composed of employees’ and employers’ representatives. Its asset management arm, Inter Expansion, manages 7.7bn € of which 2.65bn € in employee-savings schemes. Inter Expansion is among the leaders of SRI employee-savings schemes in France.
Member Affiliate News
ASSET4’s ESG Investment Information Solution acquired by Ethical Funds
On March 03, 2008, the Ethical Funds Company and ASSET4 AG jointly announced that Ethical Funds acquired a subscription for the ASSET4 information solution. Ethical Funds plans to integrate ASSET4 information into its proprietary Corporate Sustainability Scorecard processes that it uses to manage its $2.7 billion in assets under management. http://www.asset4.com/news
Caisse des Dépôts launches new subsidiary: CDC Biodiversité
CDC Biodiversité’s role is to assist public and private actors in their biodiversity projects in France and Europe. CDC Biodiversité will first assist developers (real estate, transport, etc.) to achieve their ecological requirements: avoid impacts on biodiversity, reduce those not avoided, and offset those which could not be avoided nor reduced. To guide its action and strategy, CDC Biodiversité will rely on a scientific committee composed of specialists in ecology and economics and on a dialogue with environmental NGOs.
Emerging Markets Disclosure Project
Calvert and the International Working Group (IWG) of the Social Investment Forum are asking for asset mangers and organizations to sign up for the Corporate Engagement phase of the Emerging Markets Disclosure Project. The deadline is April 15th. The coalition has already attracted signatories representing $850 billion in assets under management for an investor sign-on statement that asks for emerging market companies to improve sustainability disclosure. If you would like to become part of the team working with companies in a variety of emerging markets countries in order to promote improved ESG disclosure in these markets please contact: Mike Lombardo (Mike.Lombardo@calvert.com), +1 301 961-4756 or Lauren Compere (lcompere@bostoncommonasset.com), +1 617 720 5557
3 academic studies released using Centre info’s envIMPACT methodology and data
Centre Info regularly shares Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) information with academics and financial practitioners in order to promote fundamental ESG research. The three recent studies on carbon, which use the envIMPACT methodology developed by Centre Info, are available here.
Crédit Agricole Asset Management’s ESG practices audited by Vigeo
This audit, which was initiated by CAAM in May 2007, resulted in a map of the risks and opportunities for CAAM in all the areas covered by Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): human resources, human rights, the environment, market behaviour and corporate governance. CAAM is strongly committed to these issues, especially concerning human resources, market behaviour and corporate governance. However there is room for improvement in the areas of health, the environment and supply chain management which are only partly covered by CAAM today.
Press contacts: Alain Berry (alain.berry@caam.com) & Sonia Kobiela (sonia.kobiela@caam.com)
Domini Wins "Social Capitalist" Award
Domini Social Investments was among the winners of Fast Company magazine's fifth annual Social Capitalist Award, in the first year that for-profit companies were eligible for selection. These awards recognise organisations and companies that use the tools of business to solve the world's most pressing social problems.
EIRIS reports Ethical investment hits record £9 billion high in UK
Latest figures released by EIRIS show that as at 31st December 2007 there was £8.9 billion invested in Britain’s green and ethical retail funds. The £8.9 billion represents almost three quarters of a million accounts in ethical funds, up from around 137,000 accounts in 1997 when less than 1.5 billion was invested ethically. The last few years has also seen the universe of UK ethical retail funds expand considerably. There are now almost 100 green and ethical funds available to UK investors - a decade ago there were just a couple of dozen.
ESADE publishes Catalan framework for corporate social responsibility (CSR)
This report is intended to facilitate the use of the CSR indicator model within the Catalan CSR Framework for Small and Medium Enterprises. The guide also aims to help SMEs identify the impact of CSR, learn how to manage it, and finally, if necessary, convert this management system into the basis for developing a sustainability report for SMEs.
http://itemsweb.esade.es/wi/research/iis/RSEPIMES/PDF/guia_eng.pdf
Ethix names Ulrika Hasselgren as new president
Ulrika Hasselgren will take over as President of Ethix SRI Advisors on April 1st, after four years as Executive Vice President. Tord Carnlöf takes up a position as President of WE Invest. Ethix was founded in 2003 by Ulrika Hasselgren, Tord Carnlöf and Pernilla Ström. The company today has a staff of 15 and counts the Seventh Swedish National Pension Fund and Société Générale Asset Management among its owners.
Ethos and UBS reach agreement: UBS EGM- 45% of shareholders call for a special audit
The dialogue with UBS initiated by Ethos following the strong support received at the Extraordinary General Meeting of 27 February 2007 was successful as it led to an agreement between the two parties which is to the advantage of the shareholders. In fact, the Bank took the signal sent by 45% of shareholders who approved Ethos’ request for a special audit very seriously. As a consequence, it agreed to publish more in-depth information than would have been required if the request for a special audit had received 50% approval.
While, by Law, a special audit can only bring answers to past events, UBS committed to disclose substantial information concerning the Swiss Federal Banking Commission’s questions and inquiries regarding the events that led the bank to enormous write-offs and to substantial loss of shareholder value. The questions of the SFBC not only ask for meaningful explanations concerning what happened in the past, but also summon UBS to say what lessons it has learned from these events.
http://www.ethosfund.ch/e/news-publications/news.asp?code=190
FTSE4Good March Review – 41 companies added, 15 companies removed from leading global SRI index series
FTSE Group, the award-winning global index provider, today confirms the results of the March review of the FTSE4Good global index series. An additional 41 companies worldwide have met the index criteria that assess companies’ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices based on principles of Responsible Investment (RI). Globally, 15 existing constituents will be removed from the index as they no longer meet the criteria. The largest number of new companies is from the UK.
Henderson SRI Advisory Committee publishes its 2007 annual commentary
The SRI team at Henderson is supported in its activities by an independent Advisory Committee of experts on sustainability and corporate responsibility matters. The Committee has now published its annual commentary for 2007. You may visit the newly designed Henderson SRI website to read this in full at:
KLD Domestic & Global Indexes now available through FactSet Research Systems Inc.
KLD domestic and global indexes are now available through FactSet Research Systems Inc., an integrated financial information platform for the global institutional investment community. KLD Indexes is a division of KLD Research & Analytics, Inc., an independent investment research firm focusing on the environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of companies worldwide.
Pictet Asset Management named "SRI Provider of the Year 2008"
Pictet Asset Management has been named SRI* Provider of the Year 2008 at a gala dinner at London’s Grosvenor House on 21st February 2008. This is an unprecedented second year running that Pictet Asset Management has won this award.
SAM reports spectacular growth
SAM can look back on an exceptional year in 2007. The milestones included a doubling of assets under management, successful growth initiatives in Asia, and successful expansion into the US and Canada. In the past financial year, SAM’s assets under management (AuM) increased by CHF 4.7bn or 125% to CHF 8.5bn. Including the assets managed indirectly (e.g. through mandates and licences), SAM’s total AuM now amount to CHF 15.1bn.
Trucost research underpins carbon-efficient UBS Index
Trucost’s data and analysis of business’ carbon emissions underpins the first carbon tracker index, launched by UBS on 11 March 2008. The UBS Europe Carbon Optimized Index will provide investors with returns matching the underlying DJ STOXX 600 index on a lower portfolio carbon footprint. Instead of excluding high carbon sectors or focusing on solution providers, the UBS Europe Carbon Optimized Index maintains neutral sector weightings to preserve financial efficiency relative to the benchmark. However, using Trucost data to over-weight the carbon-efficient companies and under-weight the carbon-inefficient companies in each sector achieves significant carbon savings.
Vigeo launches the world rankings of responsible and sustainable countries
To help institutional investors and managers who select sovereign funds, Vigeo launched the Sustainability Country Rating©, a new ratings service of 160 countries on environmental social and governance criteria.
WWF One Planet Leaders
One Planet Leaders is a professional development programme that enables business managers to explore and, more crucially to implement the latest thinking on sustainability in order to create future company value. The programme is not intended to replace existing company commitments to sustainability, but assists leaders in developing strategic action plans that apply the principles of sustainability and corporate responsibility to company operations. WWF invites you to join them in this challenging exploration, to identify creative solutions and help create the companies of the future. Applications now open for the autumn 2008 programme located in the UK.
Full programme details can be found at www.panda.org/business/training
