Invest with Values

The Investor's Gateway to Positive Change

The Investor's Gateway to Positive Change

NYC Will Invest in Local Women Entrepreneurs on Kiva

By

Women entrepreneurs of New York: your city wants to invest in you. Under a new program, called WE Fund: Crowd, when women entrepreneurs create a crowdfunding campaign on Kiva.org, the city will kick in the first 10% of their goal, up to $1,000. New York City officials hope to support at least 500 women-owned businesses over three […]

The 2017 Net Impact Conference – Finding Your Path to Purpose

By

Guest Post by Cher Xue, Sustainability Report Analyst, Governance & Accountability Institute The 2017 Net Impact Conference was held in Atlanta, GA, from October 26-28, 2017. The conference gathered about 2,000 students and young professionals who are committed to making a positive and lasting social and environmental impact throughout their careers. Net Impact, headquartered in […]

What can impact due diligence tools do for you?

By

Expanding the universe of potential investments and other benefits of assessing and managing impact Photo credit: Hooverstrategicsolutions.com A vocal minority of impact investing practitioners have long espoused that impact measurement is a waste of time and resources because it distracts investors from their primary objective: to support the growth of businesses tackling real social and environmental […]

2nd Berlin ESG Investments & Green Finance Forum 2017

By

BERLIN, Nov. 14 /CSRwire/ – 2nd Berlin ESG Investments & Green Finance Forum 2017. Connecting Green Finance with Sustainable Brands  Topic: “ESG Investments in Digitalization, Clean Energy & Sustainable Brands as Growth Drivers towards a Low Carbon Economy”. Forum dedicated Website: http://sustainabilityforum.de  Berlin 14.11.2017 – Location: IBB, Conference Center, Bundesallee 210,10719, Berlin Forum Metrics: 16 int. […]

A New Credit Union Will Focus on Clean Energy

By

Worried about climate change? Want to do more to support the spread of renewable energy? There’s a new credit union designed for people like you. The Clean Energy Credit Union is a new federally chartered credit union with a mission to help speed adoption of renewal energy by making it more broadly affordable. It was founded by […]

Case Study: Home Sweet Homegrown

By

Case Study: Home Sweet Homegrown November 10, 2017 By Slow Money How a farm-centric company built a profitable business using investor capital Home Sweet Homegrown is a Farm-centric company, founded in 2013 by Robyn Jasko. The company started as a farm, grew into producing hot sauces and recently added a local cafe/restaurant to increase their […]

Meet Impact America: A ‘Best for the World’ Fund

By

Every year, B Lab, the nonprofit that certifies B Corps, celebrates “Best for the World” companies—those that score in the top 10% of B Lab’s Impact Assessment. They also analyze investment funds. This year, 28 funds representing $1.3 billion in assets under management made the list of “Best for the World” funds; eight of them US-based. One […]

Corporate Citizenship Presenting at Upcoming Measurement Summit in Washington D.C.

By

Impact measurement has become a must for today’s CSR professionals. But how are organizations using the data collected to communicate the impact they’re having on their communities and society? November 9, 2017 /3BL Media/ – The forthcoming ACCP Measurement Summit in Washington D.C. on 5th December 2017, kindly hosted by KPMG, will bring together CSR, […]

Regenerative Capitalism Org Expands to Build Network of Regenerative Economies

By

Dr. Stuart Cowan joins the regenerative economic collaborative to build global network of regenerative hubs GREENWICH, Conn., November 10, 2017 /3BL Media/ – Capital Institute, a non-partisan collaborative dedicated to supporting the necessary transition toward a more just and regenerative economic system, is proud to welcome Dr. Stuart Cowan as the organization’s Director of Regenerative […]

New Products Bring Impact Investing to the Masses

By

Many individuals would like to know that their investments are doing some good in the world. One recent survey found that 75% of investors were interested in impact investing. But the $114 billion impact investment market has traditionally been the domain of foundations, institutions and wealthy  individuals. That’s changing. “We are at a tipping point,” says Dorrit Lowsen, […]

Climate markets beyond renewables, microfinance exit, driving inclusive growth, banking on climate…

By

The Brief Climate markets beyond renewables, microfinance exit, driving inclusive growth, banking on climate resilience Nov. 6, 2017 Hubbard Glacier Geological Area, United States l Photo credit: Jesse Orrico Greetings, ImpactAlpha readers! #Featured: ImpactAlpha Original Climate investors look beyond renewables as Bonn gets down to business. There’s a buzz on as world leaders gather in Bonn this […]

Valuing Today’s Circular, Services, Information Economies

By

Economic textbooks still teach the factors of production as: land, labor and capital.  Most humans would still agree that land and labor are the basics of human production.  But our view of capital has evolved—along with our systems of production over the past 300 years of industrial development.  The early economists missed the role of […]

UN Forum Stresses the Role of Entrepreneurs in Achieving SDGs

By

(3BL Media/Justmeans) – One of the key strategies for the successful implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 is to integrate entrepreneurship and innovation in all economic and social dimensions. Entrepreneurs and innovators can provide breakthrough sustainable solutions that can be scaled to create a global impact. UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) […]

Faith in Finance

By

Buddhist statues Yangon, Myanmar, February 2015 (Photo by J. Durok) Creative Commons license via Flickr By Sunny Lewis ZUG, Switzerland, October 27, 2017 (Maximpact.com News) – First the numbers. Financial investors and leaders of more than 30 faith traditions representing over 500 faith investment groups from eight religions with some three trillion dollars in assets, will […]

Social Enterprise Turns to Impact Investor to Help Bring Energy Efficiency to Low-income Communities

By

CHICAGO, Oct. 30 /CSRwire/ – Bringing broad-based energy-efficiency, water conservation and renewable energy improvements to existing multifamily low-income housing is a daunting task. While state and utility incentives help in many cases, finding capital to pay the remaining costs has proven to be extremely difficult. Finding a solution to this challenge has been multi-year journey […]

The Brief’s Big Ten — Women, Latin American social ventures, universal owners

By

The Brief Oct. 27, 2017 World Games, El Salvador l Photo credit: Krissia Cruz Happy Friday, ImpactAlpha readers! #Featured: The Brief’s Big Ten 1. Five-dozen venture capital funds are betting on women around the world. The team at Wharton Social Impact Initiative found funds that have raised $1.3 billion to invest with a “gender lens” — including 21 funds launched […]

#NoRegrets

By

To create a thriving society, we must invest in soil health. As a young woman growing up in Knoxville, Tennessee, I showed passions many considered “uncharacteristic” of a Southern lady. I was a tomboy who enjoyed sports, science, and math. I wanted to be an engineer like my dad. I left for college in Texas at […]

What’s New In Impact Investing? October Roundup

By

Impact investing is about using markets and money for social good. Impact investing is built on the belief that private capital can play a powerful role in solving the massive global challenges of our day, and that capital markets should work for good as well as profit. This vision is realized through investments made into […]

RSF Social Finance Loans $1.56M to Booming Hudson River Valley Kraut Business

By

Funding, in part from new Biodynamics Capital Collaborative, launches Hawthorne Valley’s new spinoff and juices biodynamics movement October 25, 2017, Ghent, NY – RSF Social Finance, the leading funder of food hubs in the U.S., has loaned $1.56 million to Whitethorne LLC, a new subsidiary of the nonprofit Hawthorne Valley Association that will expand production […]

Reflections On SOCAP 2017

By

In early October, Pacific Community Ventures had the opportunity to engage with panels at SOCAP in all capacities – as moderators, speakers, and attendees. SOCAP, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year with a record gathering of 3,000 attendees, is the “largest impact investing capital markets gathering in the world.” As an organization with both […]

Catholic Communities Come Together for Community Investing

By

The Jubilee Assembly is a framework for faith-based investors – including from within the Catholic Church and its many agencies and institutions – to, as Pope Francis says, “renew our commitment to serve the common good with love and with preference for the most poor and vulnerable of our brothers and sisters”. That succinct statement […]

58 gender-lens funds and 25 responsible universal owners, Standard Life’s SDG fund, China’s climate…

By

The Brief 58 gender-lens funds and 25 responsible universal owners, Standard Life’s SDG fund, China’s climate rhetoric Oct. 25, 2017 Photo credit: Ross Findon Greetings, ImpactAlpha readers! #Featured: ImpactAlpha Original Meet 58 venture capital funds that are betting on women around the world. The rising social and economic power of women is a global mega-trend that venture capital […]

Can a Long-Term Stock Exchange drive long-term impact?

By

2030 “We want to liberate those decision-makers who think they have a long-term thesis to act on them” Eric Ries Short-termism in business and finance is blamed for everything from excessive CEO compensation to underinvestment in infrastructure to the Great Recession itself. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink last year took CEOs to task for excessive dividend payouts, […]

Reflections From a Field Builder: The Next 25 Years of SRI Investing

By

The Unstoppable Growth of Sustainable, Responsible and Impact Investing by Lisa Woll, CEO, US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment While offering the standard disclaimer that past performance is no guarantee of the future, I nevertheless offer some predictions for, and reflections about, the future of sustainable and impact investing. The field has […]

The SRI Conference on Sustainable, Responsible, Impact Investing is November 1-3 in San Diego

By

The SRI Conference on Sustainable, Responsible, Impact Investing, is the industry’s seminal event. The 28th annual conference is right around the corner. Thought leaders, investors, and investment professionals from all corners of the Sustainable, Responsible, Impact (SRI) investing universe convene to gain and share knowledge and strategies that align financial performance with positive change. Conference […]

GRI’s Collaboration With PRI Boosts Responsible Investment and Action Towards the SDGs

By

GRI’s Chief Executive Tim Mohin and PRI’s Managing Director Fiona Reynolds signed a collaboration agreement on September 19 in New York.​ The collaboration agreement signed by the two organizations reinforces the joint efforts between the leading global sustainability reporting framework and the world’s principal initiative for responsible investment, to align corporate sustainability reporting with investor […]

Billion-Dollar Climate-Smart Ag Fund Opens

By

A climate smart rice farm near Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 2016 (Photo by Aulia Erlangga courtesy CIFOR) Creative Commons license via Flickr By Sunny Lewis MEXICO CITY, Mexico, October 19, 2017 (Maximpact.com  News) – Using a combination of public and private funding, Rabobank and UN Environment have created a new billion dollar facility to finance sustainable, climate-smart agriculture. […]

On Money & Biography

By

Introduction Real conversation is the best way for money and biography to flow together. I hope that this introduction sets in place a foundation for that transformational conversation and encourages engagement in it. I use the word “encourage” because it takes courage and safety to make our money-selves explicit. Money, as it has come to […]

UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals Increase Impact of Community Investment, November 2-3, 2017, at Inside Out

By

TORONTO, October 19, 2017 /3BL Media/ – Companies are increasing their impact in community through program designs that reflect the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Christine Foster, Tata Consultancy Services, will share her experience in strategizing through an SDG lens. She will be joined by colleagues from IBM, IMPACT2030, the Taproot Foundation, and Imagine Canada. This knowledge-sharing will occur November […]

What Happens When Big Business Media Reports on CSR

By

  The WSJ has published a downbeat assessment of CSR. The article cited a study showing that CEOs exiting Fortune 500 companies were 84% more likely to be fired if they invested strongly in good corporate citizenry yet recorded below par financial results than CEOs at poor performing companies that spent less on “do-good” initiatives. […]

Green Alpha Advisors’ Market Commentary – Q3 2017

By

The global economy is evolving to new levels of efficiency, while minimizing some of the primary systemic risks that threaten to undermine our ecological underpinnings, and thus economic growth. These threats are myriad, but can largely be placed within three major risk groups: climate change, resource scarcity and degradation, and widening inequality. Green Alpha’s investment […]

Moving Beyond VC: New Investment Structures for Impact

By

By Logan Yonavjak Research shows that the majority of venture capital (VC) investments go bust. The model itself is centered around selecting unicorns that will achieve a home run and can cover the costs of other investments in a portfolio that fail. Much has been written about the failures of the VC approach as of […]

As Impact Investors, Here’s Why We Need to Elevate Human Capital

By

Each week brings with it a new batch of headlines uncovering the ugly underbelly of another Silicon Valley pet gone wild. Scandals have hurled Uber, Kleiner, SoFi, 500 Startups, Google, Zenefits and others into unexpected PR nightmares. With the bad news coming fast and furious, it has become apparent that startups and venture capitalists have […]

LESS THAN 10 DAYS LEFT! REGISTER & RESERVE YOUR SEAT AT DEMYSTIFYING THE CSA & DJSI

By

LESS THAN 2 WEEKS LEFT! REGISTER & RESERVE YOUR SEAT AT DEMYSTIFYING THE CSA & DJSI Focus on Assessment Questions for Human Rights, Human Capital & Supply Chain A Practitioner Workshop on Tuesday, October 24, 2017 Presented By Governance & Accountability Institute in collaboration with RobecoSAM The aim of this workshop is to increase the participants’ knowledge […]

SEC Proposes Important Amendments to Corporate Disclosure & Reporting – Changes Are in the Wind — But Corporate ESG Disclosure Is Not Addressed in the SEC Proposals …

By

October 12 2017 – by Hank Boerner – Chair, G&A Institute On October 11, 2017 important news was coming from the Securities Exchange Commission (in Washington DC) for corporate leaders and investment professionals: a comprehensive package of proposed changes (amendments) to existing rules for corporate disclosure and reporting was released for public examination and comment. There […]

‘Impact-rated’ mutual fund, Tiedemann acquires Threshold, `impact investing’ turns 10, closing the…

By

The Brief ‘Impact-rated’ mutual fund, Tiedemann acquires Threshold, `impact investing’ turns 10, closing the racial wealth gap Oct. 12, 2017 Photo credit: Scott Webb Greetings, ImpactAlpha readers! #Featured: ImpactAlpha Original First ever ‘impact rating’ issued for a publicly traded mutual fund. Just as third-party ratings have become essential for judging financial risk of an investment, third-party verification of […]

Bank statement

By

Timothy Lane, deputy governor of Bank of Canada, speaks during the Finance Sustainability Initiative conference in Montréal, Quebec, on March 2, 2017. Photographer: Christinne Muschi/Bloomberg via Getty Images This past March, the Bank of Canada had its coming out party on the topic of climate change in the form of a speech at the Finance […]

Morgan Stanley Releases New Report Finding Sustainability Communication Disconnect Between Companies and Investors

By

Communicating Sustainability paper identifies a communications gap and provides best practices for meeting investor ESG needs NEW YORK, October 12, 2017 /3BL Media/ – Today the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing released a new report analyzing the communications disconnect between the environmental, social and governance (ESG) information investors seek and what companies provide. The […]

Bloomberg Becomes First U.S.-Domiciled Corporate Retirement Plan Sponsor to Sign the PRI

By

October 12, 2017 /3BL Media/ – Bloomberg today announced at the Bloomberg Sustainable Business Summit that it has become the first U.S.-domiciled corporate retirement plan sponsor (ERISA plan sponsor) to join the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). By joining, Bloomberg will incorporate the six, voluntary Principles for Responsible Investment into its investment practices. The principles align […]

An update on the Good Capital Project

By

Impact Voices Including ideas on how to drive more capital towards impact investments Photo credit: Clark Tibbs By Sharadiya Dasgupta, Good Capital Project The Good Capital project has a simple goal: drive more capital towards more impact investments. To increase the flow of “good capital” we’ve taken on six Grand Challenges: Creating shared understanding Efficient product design […]

Six impact storylines, Andela’s African coders, creative economy, climate job-loss

By

The Brief Oct. 10, 2017 Meow Wolf, Santa Fe, New Mexico Greetings, ImpactAlpha readers! #Featured: ImpactAlpha Roundup At SOCAP17, looking ahead to 2030. Today’s brief comes to you from the main hall at Ft. Mason in San Francisco, where the 10th annual Social Capital Markets conference is underway. ImpactAlpha is a media sponsor of the event, the […]

Dear Cities: Resist Amazon’s HQ2

By

There is something untoward about the feeding frenzy we are witnessing as cities across the country vie to be the site of Amazon’s second headquarters (“HQ2”). There is something untoward about the feeding frenzy we are witnessing as cities across the country vie to be the site of Amazon’s second headquarters (“HQ2”). Amazon, after all, […]

Whirlpool Taps Wind as Propeller Of Sustainability and Community Investment

By

(3BL Media/Justmeans) – Transitioning to clean energy is one of the most efficient ways for companies to mitigate their environmental impact, as it prevents GHG emissions as well as providing a long-term solution for energy needs. For that reason, appliance manufacturer Whirlpool Corporation is pushing ahead with wind energy expansion as part of its efforts to […]

Enable Impact closes shop

By

Smarter Money After four years and two business models, founder Philip Berber is shutting down impact-investment matchmaking site After four years and two business models, founder Philip Berber is shutting down Enable Impact. Berber, who earlier sold his online brokerage startup CyBerCorp to Charles Schwab, initially sought to build a matchmaking site to connect impact entrepreneurs […]

Social-change economics, Rise Fund hits $2B, JP Morgan in DC, environmental impact investors…

By

The Brief Social-change economics, Rise Fund hits $2B, JP Morgan in DC, environmental impact investors, future cars Oct. 4, 2017 Guanajuato, Mexico l Jezar Greetings, ImpactAlpha readers! #Featured: Returns on Investment Real Impact: Morgan Simon on bringing communities into impact investing. The longtime leader in the field bridges two worlds with her new book, “Real Impact: The New […]

Major Investors and Businesses Support Staying the Course on Strong Vehicle Rules

By

Investors, Ceres BICEP Network release ads and letters October 5, 2017 /3BL Media/ – Today, 36 institutional investors with over $813 billion in assets and a network of major businesses with over $400 billion in revenue, called on the Trump administration to not weaken the current light-duty vehicle fuel economy and greenhouse-gas emissions standards. The ask […]