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(3BL Media/Justmeans) – A study of the performance of companies on Fortune’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list from 1984-2009 has found that stocks of these companies outperformed benchmarks by two to three percent per year. Therefore, ESG investors are increasingly seeking out sustainable companies, believing they will deliver better returns. The strategy is […]

Investor Survey shows awareness and interest in sustainable investing continuing to climb steadily – 75% of individual investors and 86% of Millennials are interested in sustainable investing Three-quarters of active individual investors and 86% of Millennial active individual investors describe themselves as interested in sustainable investing, according to a new survey published today by the […]

Guest blog by John Streur, Calvert The responsible investing movement that we have started and shaped has reached the end of the beginning, with a broad and strong foundation that will evolve to provide the superstructure of our society’s continuing struggle to address and solve its greatest challenges. Our efforts are working, and we are […]

Goldcorp’s 2016 Sustainability Report was recently published, reaffirming our dedication to our vision of Together, Creating Sustainable Value. Throughout the year, we adopted important optimization measures across the organization; our commitment to sustainability remains unwavering. Dave Garofalo, Goldcorp’s President and Chief Executive, looks back on the strategic and governance aspects of the year and the […]

Add this term to your socially responsible investing vocabulary: “social bonds.” These are financial products aimed at addressing social issues such as access to education, crime, homelessness, and helping underserved communities and disadvantaged children. This market is small—just $3.5 billion of social bonds were issued in Q2 of this year—but the market is booming, according […]

(3BL Media/Justmeans) – Sustainable or ESG investing originally broke ground when fund managers began actively engaging with companies and started voting down inefficient governance decisions. Firms with weak ESG commitments started getting excluded from fund investment portfolios. The asset managers eventually began handpicking companies with a strong focus on ESG factors and socially responsible and […]

(3BL Media/Jutmeans) – Sustainable finance is a rapidly accelerating global movement. Countries from China to France and the UK have launched initiatives to boost flows of private capital for climate and sustainability. The value of investment assets committed to the Principles for Responsible Investment is now over $73 trillion. The sustainable finance movement has now […]

(3BL Media/Justmeans) – Green bonds are debt instruments designed to finance environment-friendly projects. With most of the world now more strongly aligned on tackling climate change, governments and institutions are increasingly recognizing the potential of the green bond market as a significant transformational force to achieve carbon-reduction goals. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the […]

A newly launched website is billing itself as the world’s first responsible investment platform for women. Moxie Future was started to “fill the gap in the market” for information and support for women who want to invest for good returns while doing good. Its founder, Jessica Robinson, is an advisor to the United Nations Principles […]

(3BL Media/Justmeans) – The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide not only a vision for the world, but from a business perspective, they are also a roadmap to shareholder value. SDG engagement is therefore part of all of future business models in one way or another. Policy-makers need to support them and create an enabling […]

(3BL Media/Justmeans) – Impact investing now accounts for about $150 billion of assets under management and is doubling approximately every two years. This increased scale has moved impact investing beyond a niche practice confined to the activities of foundations and philanthropists, to a broader range of asset classes and a wider group of investors than […]

Inclusive Growth Opportunities Index helps investors identify technology investments in thematic areas to overcome inequality and enable broad-based participation in economic progress May 19, 2017 /3BL Media/ – Today the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing announced the Inclusive Growth Opportunities Index, a report and interactive tool for investors to explore technology-based opportunities that support […]

Joining Outstanding Faculty for Spring CSR Certificate Course May 16th and 17th at Rutgers University Business School On May 16th and 17th, the Rutgers Institute for Ethical Leadership and Governance & Accountability Institute present the Spring 2017 CSR Certificate Program for corporate managers, not-for-profit and foundation managers, and others interested in career opportunities and advancement in the fields of […]

Long-term institutional investors representing more than USD 15 Trillion in assets have written to G7 heads of state urging governments to stand by their commitments to the Paris Agreement at their upcoming Summit in Taormina, Italy on May 26-27. See the attached documents to read the briefing paper and global investor letter to G7 and G20 […]

(3BL Media/Justmeans) – In 2016, the number of Fortune 500 companies committing to 100 percent renewable power grew to 87. For the first time in history, natural gas surpassed coal as the leading source of power in the US, and solar became the cheapest source of new power in many parts of the world. As […]

The PRI and the UN Global Compact call for more sustainability around Corporate Pensions New York, 20 April 2017 /3BL Media/  – The leaders of the world’s two largest corporate and investor sustainability initiatives today called on CEOs to ensure their corporate pension plans – an untapped sustainability area – adopt responsible investing policies – highlighting concrete benefits […]

(3BL Media/Justmeans) – The market share of sustainable investing has grown across almost all regions of the world since 2014. Globally, there are now $22.89 trillion of assets being professionally managed under responsible investment strategies, representing an increase of 25 percent over two years. Clearly, sustainable investing now constitutes a major force across global financial […]

  Tim Mohin, Chief Executive of GRI and James Zhan, Director of the Investment and Enterprise Division at the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), met at the GRI Standards launch event in Zurich for the signing of an Exchange of Letters on Wednesday 29 March. Having signed a Memorandum of Understanding already in 2008, […]

See Top Ten Fortune 500 Companies It is well documented that CSR practices are both an emerging and rapidly expanding set of standards for 21st century corporations. As $30 to $40 trillion shifts hands from the current generation to the upcoming millennials over the next few decades, there are markedly different standards that companies must […]

March 21, 2017 /3BL Media/ CSRHub recently added a major new source to its pantheon of ratings partners—Ideal Ratings.  Ideal Ratings seeks to provide ESG data to Socially Responsible Investors (SRIs).  This is similar to the target market for our long-time friends at ET Global Indexes, IW Financial, MSCI, RepRisk, Thompson’s Asset4, Trucost and Vigeo EIRIS.  However, […]

(3BL Media/Justmeans) – CEOs have a key responsibility to ensure that sustainability goals are incorporated into their long-term business strategy. The approach of short-termism is detrimental to their business interests, particularly as consumers, investors and other stakeholders increasingly expect businesses to become a force for societal change and create a long-term legacy. The inaugural CECP […]

Regulatory rollbacks, along with proposals to cut the regulating EPA’s budget by 24% and its staff by one-fifth, have energized values-driven investors. Since the November election, ESG investors have put $383 million into ESG stock funds, according to EPFR Global, quoted in a recent Barron’s article. Barron’s says ESG factors “could prove especially useful in evaluating companies […]

(3BL Media/Justmeans) – The financial crisis of 2008 was marked by an excessive focus on short term profits, aggressive acceptance of higher risks, and an erosion of trust between institutions and consumers. The positive outcome of that crisis has been a growing recognition of values-based investment decision criteria, and an increasing consideration of ESG issues […]

As socially responsible investing grows in popularity, experienced investors are looking deep into the details of investing in values without sacrificing performance. A recent article on Seeking Alpha by TDP Research outlines an investment professional’s experience with SRI, including a description of some very detailed criteria. One tip: this advisor focuses on stocks included in […]

  Bloomberg today announced the 2017 Financial Services Gender-Equality Index (BFGEI), providing investors and organizations with unique insight into the statistics, policies, product offerings and external engagement driving 52 firms’ commitment to building gender-equal workplaces. Bloomberg also introduced a Fixed Income Gender-Equality Index, representing investment grade debt issued by the 2017 BFGEI member firms. “Companies […]

  February 2, 2017 /3BL Media/ – On January 26, 2017, TD Securities acted as a joint lead for the Province of Ontario’s third – and largest – green bond. At $800 million this is the largest issuance of a Canadian dollar green bond to date. Over the last seven years, the growth of the green […]

Rising demand for sustainable investing advice has resulted in new, specialized digital platforms that match values with analytic data. Three firms—OpenInvest, Earthfolio, and Grow Invest—offer easy entry into socially responsible investing with minimum amounts ranging from $1 to $25,000, according to Investment News. Investment that includes ESG factors in decision making is a growing market: a […]

ESG issues and fiduciary duties are not mutually exclusive.   We spoke to Michael Judin about the nature of fiduciary duties in the 21st century. What became clear is that ESG issues and fiduciary duties are not mutually exclusive. Robert: In their published report Fiduciary Duty in the 21st Century, the UN Principles of Responsible Investment (UNPRI), United […]

NASDAQ has announced some of the best socially responsible investing stocks of 2016, according to the Motley Fool financial advisory. The criteria was simple: companies that outperformed the market while committing to CSR values. Among the top picks are Microsoft (YTD return: 10.6%), Johnson Controls (38.8%), Facebook (12.7%), and UnitedHealthGroup (35.5%). Not surprisingly, these companies show […]