Report Suggests that CDFIs are Weathering the Worst of the Economic Crisis
With funding for community development financial institutions a central part of the economic stimulus, and with renewed interest from individual investors, CDFIs look forward to improved performance for remainder of 2009.

House Passes Waxman-Markey Clean Energy Bill
American Clean Energy and Security Act seeks to reduce US dependence on oil, invest in clean energy technologies, and reduce carbon emissions.

Book Review: The Truth about Green Business
Author Gil Friend surveys the current state of sustainable corporations, and provides steps that companies can take to green their business.

New Investment Indices Will Track Companies Adapting to Low-Carbon Economy
Family of indices developed by the Carbon Disclosure Project and Markit join a growing number of investment vehicles that include environmental considerations.

Activist Shareowners Tally Victories in 2009 Proxy Season
The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility and As You Sow report successful shareowner efforts on resolutions addressing corporate governance, the environment, and human rights.

Lack of Indigenous Rights Policies Puts Companies at Risk
Report finds that few companies engaged in extractive business activities in indigenous lands have policies that address indigenous rights concerns.

Do Private Equity Buyouts Lead to Improved Corporate Governance?
Report by the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute finds that governance policies at buyout-backed companies often reward executives at the expense of shareowners.

Investors Face Risk From Lack of Disclosure by Nanotechnology Companies
Report from the Investor Environmental Health Network finds that regulatory loopholes leave investors in the dark about potential liabilities, and suggests corrective steps for regulators to take.

Investors Call on ILO to Ensure End of Child Labor in Uzbekistan
Letter from investors to the ILO cites documentation that rights abuses continue in Uzbek cotton harvest, and asks the organization to monitor fall 2009 harvest.

Job Growth in Clean Energy Outpaces Overall Job Market
Report from the Pew Center on the States finds that job growth in the clean energy economy has been sustained by investment, and with increased government assistance is likely to weather economic downturn.

Industry Initiatives Help Companies Adapt to Expectations on CSR Issues
Report by the Ethical Corporation Institute finds examples of success among industry initiatives that address CSR, but others that have yet to meet the expectations of stakeholders.

Mortgage Borrowers Gain Tool to Access Fair and Safe Loans
The Fair Mortgage Collaborative provides consumers with access to mortgage lenders who have been certified for their fair lending practices.

Obama Administration Proposes Legislation on Say-on-Pay
Legislation would authorize the SEC to require annual shareowner votes on executive compensation, and would require standards of independence for corporate compensation committees.

Damage to Ecosystems Can Lead to Financial Losses and Reputational Risks for Companies
Report by Eurosif and oekem research finds that risks to five industrial sectors can be offset by attention to biodiversity. The financial services sector faces risks and opportunities as well.

Guidelines for Corporate Disclosure of Costs of Climate Change Are Proposed
The Climate Disclosure Standards Board issues a proposed framework that would align corporate reporting of climate change with principles and objectives of financial reporting rules.

S&P 500 Companies Face Financial Risks Under Cap-and-Trade Legislation
Report by the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute and Trucost finds the utilities sector to be especially vulnerable, and advises investors to incorporate climate change risks into their investment strategies.

SEC Forms Investor Advisory Committee
Commission invokes its mandate to protect investors as a factor in the formation of the Committee, which includes in its membership representatives of the social investment community.

Investments in Clean Energy Are Hampered by Financial Crisis
Report by the United Nations Environment Program finds that modest improvement in investment amounts in 2008 have been undermined by the financial crisis, as investors wait for effects of government policies.

Investors Must Lead Efforts to Reduce Climate Change Risks
Report by the United Nations Global Compact finds opportunities in a transition to a low-carbon economy to be challenged by the urgency of climate change risks.

Annual Halo Awards Are Given to Cause Marketing Partnerships of Companies and Nonprofits
The Cause Marketing Forum bestows its Golden Halo Awards upon Timberland and Share Our Strength for their use of cause marketing to achieve socially beneficial ends.

Hybrid Boards of Directors Can Lead to Increased Share Values
Study by the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute and PROXY Governance finds that efforts by activist institutional shareowners to seat dissident board members correlates with increased share prices.

Global Business Leaders Issue Call for Effective Climate Change Treaty
At the World Business Summit on Climate Change, statement by business leaders outlines issues that an effective climate change treaty must address.

World's Largest Stock Exchange Will Provide ESG Information to Its Listed Companies
Collaboration of NYSE Euronext and ASSET4 will provide companies listed on the exchange with access to ASSET4's database of ESG information on 2,800 of the world's largest companies.

Coca-Cola Distribution Model Contributes to Entrepreneurship in Africa
Report finds that the company's Manual Distribution Centers have led to the creation of 12,000 jobs while contributing to the Millennium Development Goals.

President Obama Signs Credit Card Act of 2009
Act is intended to eliminate unfair rate increases and increase accountability for creditors and regulators.

Effective Policies Can Limit Competitiveness Impacts of Climate Change Legislation
In the second of a two-part series, the climate change policy implications of the Pew Center's report on competitiveness impacts on US business are explored.

Companies Are Slow to Adopt Interactive Technologies in GRI Reporting
Study by the Global Reporting Initiative finds that while most companies provide sustainability information on their web sites, access by users can be hampered by inconsistent terminology.

How Will Climate Change Legislation Affect US Competitiveness?
Report from the Pew Center on Global Climate Change finds that a flexible cap-and-trade program can reduce emissions while protecting vulnerable industries from foreign competition. First of a two-part series.

Corporations Show Improvement on ESG Issues, but Have a Long Way to Go
Research by EIRIS finds that financial institutions score the lowest in managing their ESG risks.

Consumer Products Companies Have the Best Reputation Among US Respondents to Survey
Annual study by the Reputation Institute ranks Johnson & Johnson first in corporate reputation, while companies in financial industries suffer the sharpest declines.

CalSTRS Issues Guidelines for Adoption of Executive Compensation Policies
Nation's second-largest public pension fund offers principles for the adoption of executive compensation policies, as well as recommendations for addressing issues important to shareowners.

Activist Shareowners Take to the Web to Challenge ExxonMobil
Web site assists investors in contacting mutual funds to express support for shareowner resolutions addressing climate change and corporate governance.

Investors Support Passage of Employee Free Choice Act
In a letter to Congress, a group of institutional investors argue that passage of the bill would restore human rights in US workplaces and contribute to economic recovery.

NCIF Develops Tool to Measure Impact of CDFIs on Low-Income Communities
The National Community Investment Fund finds CDFIs and mission-driven community banks outperform other banks in service to underserved communities by a substantial margin.

CEOs Urge Action Against Corruption
Signatories assert that an implementation review mechanism is essential for ensuring the success of preventive measures and law enforcement provisions included in the UN Convention against Corruption.

Canadian SRI Assets Increased to $609 Billion in 2008
Report by the Social Investment Organization finds that SRI has maintained its market share of almost 20%.

TD Asset Management Announces Sustainable Investing Policy for all Operations
Investment firm will incorporate ESG criteria across all investment mandates, and launches Global Sustainability Fund that includes corporate sustainability leaders.

Shareowner Resolutions on Say on Pay Gain Widespread Support
More than 100 resolutions targeting executive compensation have been filed in 2009, and ten out of the 29 already voted on win majority support.

Reforestation Plays a Growing Role in Corporate Carbon Offset Strategies
Report finds that many companies are purchasing forest carbon offset credits to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and offer carbon-neutral products and services to customers.

Report Finds that Electric Utilities Are Unprepared for Carbon Regulation
A new report by the Carbon Disclosure Project finds that disclosure by electric utilities on greenhouse gas emissions has improved, but falls short of the demands of a low carbon economy.

Congress Is Briefed on Plans to Fund Revitalization of Neighborhoods Hit by Foreclosures
NSP funding requires communities to submit action plans detailing their spending, and report by Enterprise Community Partners is the first published effort to study the data.

Despite Health Risks, Packaged Food Industry Continues to Use BPA
Report by Green Century Capital Management and As You Sow finds that companies have not gone far enough in replacing BPA, and recommends timetables for its elimination.

PepsiCo Agrees to Policy Respecting Human Right to Water
Shareowner advocates led by NorthStar Asset Management succeed in engagement with PepsiCo on resolution calling for adoption of water management policy.

Opportunities to Address Climate Change Available in all Asset Classes
The Institute for Responsible Investment publishes a handbook to help sustainable investors address risks and opportunities associated with climate change.

Toy Companies Are Failing to Address Climate Change
Research by Climate Counts finds that toy and children's equipment manufacturers score the lowest of all industry sectors, with eight of thirteen companies receiving scores of zero.

New San Francisco Coworking Space Will Benefit Social Entrepreneurs
Social innovators rent space from HUBsf as needed, and share ideas with like-minded entrepreneurs and nonprofits.

European Commission Is Urged to Mandate ESG Reporting by Corporations
Report from Eurosif recommends regulatory action to increase transparency in corporations and institutional investors, and to enhance the rights of shareowners.

Leading Credit Card Lenders Face Proxy Votes on Predatory Lending
ICCR members submit shareowner proposals requesting evaluations of predatory lending practices, and banks' objections are disallowed by the SEC.

2008 Sees Increases in CSR Reporting and Adherence to GRI Guidelines
CorporateRegister.com users vote Vodafone as best CSR report overall for the second year in a row, and Royal Dutch Shell for best carbon reporting.

Vanguard Funds Agrees to Proxy Vote on Investing in Companies Complicit in Darfur Genocide
Shareowner action led by Investors Against Genocide proceeds to proxy ballot after Vanguard is found to have increased its holdings in PetroChina.

Rating System Helps Investors Assess Social and Financial Performances of CDFIs
In the first quarter of 2009, the CDFI Assessment and Rating System added seven CDFIs to list of 46 that it has analyzed, and it hopes to rate an additional 23 by year's end.

Sustainable Investing Fund Is Launched in Africa
The Africa Sustainability Passive Equity Fund, offered to institutional investors by Mauritius-based Sustainable Capital, will apply ESG criteria to both countries as well as companies in Africa.

Microfinance Institutions Begin to Incorporate Climate Change in Development Strategies
Report from CGAP finds that MFIs are well-positioned to contribute to energy efficiency in developing countries, but recommends shift in priorities from loans to financial services that include savings.

Study Finds that Largest Indian Companies Need to Improve CSR Activities and Reporting
Report by Karmayog gives lowest score to nearly half of the 1,000 largest companies in India, and recommends adoption of Global Reporting Initiative guidelines for CSR reporting.

Report Alerts Investors to Carbon Footprints of Mutual Funds
A Trucost report on the carbon footprints of major mutual funds finds that sustainability and SRI funds generally outperform the mainstream, and warns investors to prepare for carbon pricing.

Corporate Efforts to Help Eradicate Human Trafficking and Child Sex Tourism are Insufficient
Organizations dedicated to the eradication of human trafficking and child sex tourism find that US companies are especially reluctant to take action. Second of a two-part series.

Corruption in China Proves Difficult to Uproot, But Corporations Can Mitigate Issue in Their Supply Chains
Briefings from Ethical Corporation Institute find that China's traditional business culture contributes to problem, but government regulation and attention by corporations to supply chains help mitigate corruption.

Human Trafficking and Child Sex Tourism: Crimes of Global Proportions Intersect with Corporate Responsibility
Activist shareowner engagement leads to progress in corporate action against human trafficking and child sex tourism, but much work yet remains to be done, especially among US-based corporations. First of a two-part series.

As You Sow Publishes Annual Preview of Shareowner Proposals for 2009
The Foundation counts more than 100 proposals on executive compensation, and reports that health care reform has the largest increase in proposals for the second year in a row.

Insurers Improve Response to Climate Change
Report from Ceres finds increased awareness of climate risks, and new products and offerings, but concludes that room for improvement remains.

ESG Trends in Emerging Markets Is Focus of New Study
Report from IFC and Mercer finds growth in sustainable investing in emerging markets, but notes need for improvement in such areas as active ownership.

Labor Unions and Environmental Groups Join to Endorse Climate Change Legislation
The Blue Green Alliance announces support for a cap-and-trade system and a renewable electricity standard included in proposed Waxman-Markey clean energy legislation.

Leading Sustainable Finance Organizations Call on G-20 to Adopt ESG Considerations
Six organizations provide recommendations for a sustainable economic recovery and implementation of environmental, social, and governance factors in financial regulations.

European Sustainability Research Association Develops Standards of Performance
The Association of Independent Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility Research releases a Voluntary Quality Standard to ensure that the work of investment research providers is transparent and has verifiable quality.

Real Estate Investors Are Encouraged to Apply Responsible Investment Principles to Property Investments
The UNEP FI Property Working Group finds that equity approaches to responsible investment can be applied to commercial property investment as well.

TIAA-CREF Commits to Genocide-Free Investing in Sudan
Decision to engage petroleum companies whose operations support genocide in Darfur, and to divest if progress is not made, is applauded by Investors Against Genocide.

Report Challenges Claim of Carbon Neutral Paper Products
Environmental Paper Network recommends that paper industry focus on the production of low carbon paper products by recycling and other gains in efficiency.

TARP Banks Rebuff Shareowner Request to Create Economic Security Committees
Shareowner proposal introduced by Harrington Investments is excluded from proxy ballots by the SEC, and Bank of America and Citigroup refuse a direct request from Harrington to form a board-level committee.

CDFI Fund Fast-Tracks Capital for Underserved Communities
Community Development Financial Institutions and other Community Development Entities will receive $90 million in June and another $50 million in September.

IT Companies Improve CSR Performance but Still Face Challenges
Oekom report credits improved reporting by companies for better scores in the IT sector, but warns that compliance in supply chains and environment could be undermined by economic crisis.

Bi-Annual FTSE4Good Index Series Review Completed
Benchmark Index for investors that measures corporate responsibility standards adds 23 and removes 16 constituent companies.

Human Trafficking and Abortion Are Top Areas of Concern for Catholic Investors
Survey of institutional investors by Christian Brothers Investment Services helps guide an investment strategy that includes stock screens and shareowner activism.

Fixed Income Investments Support Green Building
The New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority and Community Capital Management describe how fixed income investment help fund successful rehabilitation of buildings based on green building principles.

CRO Magazine Publishes List of 100 Best Corporate Citizens for 2009
Bristol Myers-Squibb tops list after failing to appear in 2008, while 50 companies tie for first in reconfigured governance category.

Ceres Climate Change Coalition Adds Three New Members
The Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP) lauds Jackson of EPA for emissions reporting proposal and adds Gap, eBay, and Symantec to its membership.

Investment in PetroChina Will Be First Test Case for Vanguard's New Policy on Genocide
Investment management company promises to monitor its mutual funds for investments in companies that contribute to genocide and other crimes against humanity.

S&P Adds Carbon Index to Its Family of Environmental Indices
Index will rely on research provided by Trucost to determine large cap US constituents of the S&P 500 with the lowest carbon footprints.

EPA Proposes Mandated National Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The proposed rule, which would mandate annual reporting from major emitters of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, could lead to mandatory limits on emissions.

Corporations Look to Copenhagen for Help in Addressing Climate Change
Report by the Economist Intelligence Unit finds gains in corporate energy efficiency, but little action on the broader impact of climate change.

Investors Want More Disclosure of Climate Risk Data from Corporations
CDP survey of signatory investors finds that integration of climate risk considerations into investment decisions is growing.

Investors Call on Auto Industry to Improve Disclosure on Emissions
The risks and opportunities for carbon reduction strategies for the automobile industry are considerable and warrant particular attention from investors.

PRI Encourages Investors to Take More Active Ownership Role
Principles for Responsible Investment publishes eight-point plan to help institutional investors avoid the pitfalls that contributed to current economic crisis.

Global Water Resources Threatened by Climate Change and Population Growth
Report finds that business is failing to address impact of water scarcity on its operations, and provides investors with questions pertaining to water risks to ask of their portfolio companies.

Role of Corporate Boards in Sustainability Issues Is Growing
Survey of board directors finds that as shareowner resolutions increase, more boards of directors are addressing the risks and opportunities of sustainability issues.

Solar Expected to Maintain its Status as the World's Fastest-Growing Energy Technology
Decreases in cost of installation and favorable regulatory environment should protect the continued growth of solar in the US from effects of the economic crisis.

Climate Change Lobbyists Pour into Washington on Behalf of Special Interests
An investigation by the Center for Public Integrity finds an estimated 2,340 lobbyists seeking to influence climate change policy, a 300% increase over five years.

Report Finds that Shipping Companies Face Financial Risks Due to Pollution Costs
Eurosif and Trucost find that investors in shipping companies are exposed to profit risks as regulatory agencies are expected to internalize environmental and health-related costs.

Economic Stimulus Is Expected to Spur Investment in Renewable Energy
The renewable energy industry and sustainable investors believe stimulus will provide significant investment in green energy infrastructure. Second in a two-part series.

New Guidelines to Help Investors Measure Success of Microfinance Institutions
Grameen Foundation employs data from its Progress out of Poverty Index to develop checklist of questions for investors to ask about the social benefits of microfinance.

SRI Fund is Category King for January 2009
Eventide's Gilead Fund is designated top multi-cap growth fund by Wall Street Journal

Riskmetrics to Acquire Innovest
RiskMetrics cites expansion of research on environmental, social, and strategic governance issues as major reason for purchase.

Economic Stimulus Package Will Help Revitalize Community Investment
Community Development Financial Institutions gain $100 million in new financing with which to support small business and affordable housing. First in a two-part series.

Consumer Demand for Green Products is Still Rising, Survey Finds
Survey by Boston Consulting Group of 9,000 consumers worldwide indicates that buying green products remains a priority despite economic downturn.

Book Review: The Sustainable Enterprise Report Volume 2
Second edition of report offers evidence that the economic downturn provides an opportunity to establish economic, social, and environmental considerations for competitive advantage.

Sustainable Corporations Outperform During Economic Crisis
Study finds that companies with commitment to sustainability have outperformed others by an average of $650 million in market capitalization.

Who Controls the Internet?
Shareowner proposals challenge Internet Service Providers for greater transparency in decisions on freedom of expression and privacy.

TARP Banks Oppose Shareowner Efforts to Mandate Accountability
Shareowner proposal introduced by Harrington Investments would establish Board Committees on US Economic Security to consider the economic impact of bank policies.

New Climate Risk Profiles Assess Corporate Greenhouse Gas Emissions
ICCR and Trucost collaborate to provide credible assessments for investors to use in the reduction of climate risk in their portfolios.

First US-Traded Investment Product Seeks to Capitalize on Growing Carbon Trading Market
AirShares Fund aligns returns with European Union Allowances for carbon emissions, which account for the majority of the world's emissions trading.

UN Global Compact Calls on Corporations to Address Climate Change
Marking the tenth anniversary of its formation, the initiative focuses its corporate sustainability efforts on collaboration for a low-carbon economy.

Report on Climate Risks Targets Largest Consumer and Technology Companies
Fourth report from Ceres and RiskMetrics finds some progress in addressing the business challenges of climate change, but too many companies still ignoring the issue.

Who Cares Wins Initiative Issues Final Report
Final report in a five-year series documents improvements in integration of ESG issues by corporations and investors, but sees much work yet to be done.

2009 List of Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World Unveiled at Davos
Corporate Knights and Innovest publish fifth annual list of companies best equipped to manage ESG risks and opportunities.

Intel Agrees to Shareowner Vote on Executive Compensation
Endorsement adds another corporation to a growing number opting for engagement in a year when issue commands public attention.

Voluntary Purchases of Renewable Energy by Businesses Reach Record Levels in 2008
Intel and PepsiCo lead corporate efforts in voluntary market for renewable energy certified by Green-e.

Investors Embrace Community Development Loan Funds to Invest Safely While Earning Interest
As interest in community investing grows, CDLFs are proven vehicles for investment in affordable housing and other projects.

HP Is Latest Corporation to Accept Shareowner Votes on Executive Compensation
As pressure on companies to adopt say-on-pay resolutions increases, investors count on Congressional support for mandatory Advisory Votes.

Center for Sustainable Innovation Develops Tool for Measuring Sustainable Water Use
Corporate Water Gauge allows organizations to place water use in a local context for sustainability reporting.

Teamsters Proposal to Limit SunTrust Executive Pay excluded by SEC
Shareowner advocates criticize Commission for inconsistent decisions and drift away from mission to protect investors.

Health Care Reform Takes Center Stage for 2009 Proxy Season
Shareowner advocates at ICCR and other faith-based organizations detail progress in engaging corporations on the adoption of health care reform principles.

Auto Executives Commit to Green Technologies to Lead Industry Back to Profitability
Annual KPMG survey finds increased interest among auto executives in alternative fuel technologies, with a newfound focus on electric cars.

Ethisphere Publishes List of 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics for 2008
Honorees include several members of the social investment community.

Investors Request High-Quality Communications on Progress
Letter to companies that have joined the United Nations Global Compact praise the reporting of some while identifying as laggards those that have not submitted COPs.

Wind Industry Lists Accomplishments for 2008
Despite the economic crisis, the American Wind Energy Association reports industry growth in 2008 and anticipates favorable climate for further growth.

Dynegy Abandons Plans to Build Five New Coal Power Plants
Houston-based energy company has been target of Sierra Club campaign and criticism for exposing shareowners to risk.

Wells Fargo Exceeds Environmental Financing Goals
Bank's progress report details $3 billion in financing for green business opportunities over a three-year period.

Report Warns of Unsustainable Consumption
WBCSD report finds consumers willing to embrace sustainable lifestyle, but need access to products and services to do so.

New Mutual Fund will be First in US to Track Dow Jones Sustainability Index
Dreyfus Fund will include companies listed on Dow Jones Sustainability World Index.

Co-op America Names Top Corporate Scrooges
CEOs named to the list represent a range of business sectors and a diversity of social and environmental malfeasances.

Book Review: Investing for Change: Profit from Responsible Investment
Authors Augustin Landier and Vinay B. Nair trace the history of SRI and suggest modifications to traditional screening methods in order to increase profitability.

Calvert Announces Launch of Three New Funds
Offerings follow consolidation with Summit Mutual Funds and include a large cap fund employing a new investment strategy.

Investors Call on World's Largest Companies to Join Water Sustainability Effort
Alliance with assets of $1.5 trillion under management contributes to effort by the UN Global Compact to expand membership in the CEO Water Mandate.

Book Review: Sustainable Investing: The Art of Long Term Performance
Editors Cary Krosinsky and Nick Robins new book compiles eighteen new essays that argue sustainable investing is the key to positive long-term performance and the health of the planet.

US-based Verite Helps Build Coalitions to Improve Working Conditions in China
The organization's report details relationships with academics and civil society organizations to ensure fair labor practices in centers of manufacturing for export.

Report Details Risks and Opportunities Facing Water-Dependent Industries
Eurosif water report finds that increasing water scarcity results in critical issues for many businesses and offers potential solutions to alleviate crisis.

New Global Database Will Extend ESG Investment Research
The UN's Principles for Responsible Investment plans to create a tool to help asset managers and investors incorporate ESG issues into long-term investments.

Shareowner Advocates Find Hope Despite Troubled Economic Times
SRI community looks beyond traditional methods of corporate engagement to realize opportunities presented by the financial crisis and a new administration.

Principles for Climate Change Developed for Financial Sector
Major financial institutions join with The Climate Group to promote principles of business for a low-carbon economy.

Report Finds that Information Technology and Communications Sector can Help Reduce Climate Change
Study of information and communication technology concludes that ICT can be utilized to reduce carbon emissions across all sectors of global economy.

Business Can Take Leading Role in Alleviating Poverty
Report by WBCSD notes increasing reliance on business as a partner with government and NGOs in sustainable development in developing countries.

2008 Accountability Rating Finds More Companies Willing to Address Social and Environmental Challenges
Annual measure of corporate accountability finds telecoms developing effective CSR vision, while oil & gas sector suffers due to operational performance.

Shareowners Prepare for the 2009 Proxy Season
SRI leaders reflect on successful shareowner advocacy programs while preparing for increased engagement with corporations in new proxy season.

New Index Will Track Pure-Play Environmental Companies
The Global Environment 60 Index will be available to investors through an exchange-traded fund offered by Claymore Investments.

SRI Funds Post Losses, But Hold Their Own in Relative Performance
While not immune from the battering endured by investors of all stripes, many SRI funds have outperformed mainstream funds on a relative basis this year.

Survey Finds That Corporate Responsibility Professionals Greet an Obama Administration with Optimism
Conference attendees believe that better corporate responsibility could have lessened severity of fiscal crisis, and expect increased regulation of CR issues.

Report Finds That Most Corporations Fail to Address Risks That Threaten Long-Term Profitability
EIRIS report on responsible business practices finds insufficient ESG risk management and inadequate disclosure and advocates PRI involvement for responsible investors.

Report on UK Fund Managers Finds Room for Improvement on ESG Issues
FairPensions surveys thirty of the largest asset managers and finds relatively strong performance in governance but insufficient attention to climate change and social issues.

Institutional Investors Call on SEC to Require Climate Change Disclosure
Fourteen large institutional investors join in request for improved ESG reporting as goal of SEC's 21st Century Disclosure Initiative.

Corporate Glass Ceiling for Women and Minorities is yet to be Shattered
Reports on diversity in the workplace find women and minorities in executive positions remain in short supply, and corporations resistant to sharing data on diversity practices.

Climate Change Report Finds Silver Lining for Investors in Renewable Energy
Deutsche Bank report on Climate Change emphasizes necessity of carbon pricing, while finding in the economic crisis opportunities for investment in clean technologies.

UNEP Launches Green Economy Initiative as Green New Deal
United Nations program warns against retreat from sustainability and proposes global economy based on environment and natural infrastructure.

Executive Pay Comes Under Fire from Activist Shareholders for Contributing to Financial Crisis
Study of shareholder voting by mutual funds shows SRI funds leading the way to increased shareholder activism on matter of executive compensation.

Studies Rebuff Charges of CRA Complicity in Financial Crisis
Attempts by some conservatives to link the Community Reinvestment Act to predatory mortgage lending are shown to be misleading and often false.

Green Stocks Expected to Rebound in Wake of Financial Crisis
Green stocks are down with rest of market as investor confidence wanes, but new tax credits and the need to address climate change point to likelihood of strong recovery.

Sustainable Investment Strategies Earn Respect in Aftermath of the Financial Crisis
Having sounded warnings for years about the causes of the economic crisis, sustainable and responsible investment may be embraced by more mainstream investors.

Investors Focus on Presidential Candidates' Differences on Future of US Energy Consumption
While both candidates pay homage to energy independence and renewable resources, major differences emerge for responsible investors to consider.

Wells Fargo Launches Its First Sustainability Fund
New mutual fund from Wells Fargo invests in large cap companies that meet SRI screening criteria.

Investor Initiatives Join Forces to Call for ESG Considerations in Investment Research
UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment and Enhanced Analytics Initiative have more than $15 trillion in assets and a shared commitment to better research.

Calvert Adds Global Water Fund to Series of SRI Portfolios
Anticipating need for $1 trillion investments annually, sustainable investors see water as key opportunity globally.

SRI Advocates Call for Help Against Foreclosures and Regulation of Wall Street
Responsible investors have led the fight against predatory lending for nearly 10 years with both successes and failures. Advocates see opportunity in current crisis to put end to practice. Last of a three-part series.

Sustainable Endowments Institute Releases College Sustainability Report Card
Annual survey encourages commitment to sustainability, including investment priorities, shareholder engagement, and endowment transparency by colleges with largest endowments.

Calvert Foundation Receives $10 Million Investment from Merrill Lynch
Investment in foundation's Community Investment Note is intended to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries.

Effects of Predatory Lending Lead to Economic Crisis
Proposed $700 billion bailout by Treasury Department offers measure of relief to roiling markets while raising questions of fairness. Part I of a three-part series.

FTSE4Good Index Series Updates Component Companies and Eligibility Components
FTSE Group added 36 companies and removed 12 in semi-annual update of its leading SRI index.

Dow Jones Sustainability Index Updated
Dow Jones Sustainability World Index lists 320 corporate sustainability leaders, up from 312 in 2007.

Investors Take Note of Clean and Sustainable Geothermal Energy Production
New technologies such as EGS offer potential for large-scale electricity production and lead to high-visibility investments.

Investors Push Companies For Greater Disclosure on Lawsuits
A proposed FASB rule change would require that loss contingencies related litigation be disclosed to investors.

Eurosif Study Finds Increasing Investment in Sustainability by Wealthy Individuals
First-ever study addresses sustainable investment by high net worth individuals.

New Sustainable Transportation ETF to be Launched on NASDAQ
Index-based ETF to track companies offering green solutions to growth in worldwide transportation.

Investing to Empower Homeowners
The Calvert Foundation partners with Habitat for Humanity to offer investors a vehicle to drive homeownership while also receiving a financial return.

Sunshine is the Best Disinfectant: Shareholder Activists Promote Corporate Transparency
SocialFunds writer Bill Baue speaks with Sanford Lewis of the Investor Environmental Health Network on his shareholder activism promoting corporate disclosure

Mainstream Fund Managers Vary Widely on Social Responsibility
Even as more fund managers accept the impact of environmental, social, and corporate governance issues on performance, the application of responsible investment practices is hit or miss with most mainstream firms.

Bob Monks: ExxonMobil Exemplifies Corpocracy
SocialFunds writers Bill Baue and Francesca Rheannon interview corporate governance advocate Bob Monks about his shareholder activism at ExxonMobil and his new book, Corpocracy.

Shelley Alpern on How Tar Sands Perpetuate Petro-Addiction
SocialFunds writer Bill Baue speaks with Shelley Alpern of Trillium Asset Management about its shareholder activism on oil company exploitation of tar sands.

Michael Conroy on Activist Campaigns and the Certification Revolution
SocialFunds writer Bill Baue speaks with Michael Conroy about his new book, Branded! How the “Certification Revolution” is Transforming Global Companies

Large UK Companies Put Their Best Foot Forward
New study of the FTSE 100 finds most companies, but not all, are improving their performance on environmental, social and governance issues.

Disney and McDonald's Take Steps to Protect Global Labor
In partnership with prominent stakeholders, the two companies strive to improve working conditions in factories overseas while new data shows an uptick in companies monitoring suppliers' labor practices.

Ford Establishes Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan
Shareholders withdraw resolutions at Ford after the carmaker agrees to release its plans on how it will decrease greenhouse gas emissions.

Transparent Supply Chain Sends A Clear Message
Hewlett-Packard recently released a list of its largest suppliers in hopes of increasing accountability from factory floors to consumers' front doors.

Do Your Proxy Votes Really Count?
A new report examines how boards of directors respond to shareholder concerns by adopting or ignoring non-binding shareholder proposals.

Three New SRI Funds from Pax World
Sustainable investing pioneer Pax World adds Global Green, International, and Small Cap Funds to its SRI family of funds.

Are Alcohol Screens Outdated?
Social investors have used exclusionary alcohol screens for decades. Is it time to reconsider this strategy?

ICCR Defines the Past, Present, and Future of Shareowner Activism
Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility Executive Director Laura Berry speaks with SocialFunds.com about transformative changes in shareowner activism.

EarthFolio Screens the Big SRI Picture
New investment site offers fully managed SRI portfolios for every type of investor, from timid to tenacious.

SRI Assets Surge Ahead
New socially responsible investing study reports one dollar out of every nine dollars under professional management is invested responsibly.

Shareholder Activists Try New Tactic in Divestment Campaign
Activists are bringing resolutions to shareholder meetings of mutual funds in a bid to widen pressure on companies doing business with the Sudanese government.

Institutional Investors Plan Long-term for Climate Change
Summit at the UN unveils an action plan for addressing climate change risks and opportunities.

Yearbook Presents Sustainability Trends and Leaders
SAM and PricewaterhouseCoopers offer insights into the sustainability efforts of cutting-edge companies.

Joel Makower on the GreenBiz.com State of Green Business 2008 Report
GreenBiz founder talks about the inaugural report, which surveys the top 10 green business stories of 2007 and introduces the GreenBiz Index.

New Survey Uncovers Discrepancies on Corporate Citizenship Issues
There is gap between what executives say on corporate citizenship and what their corporations actually do, finds a survey of over 750 executives.

New Index Contains Companies that Support Stewardship
Index leader launches first index series based on the Dharmic religions.

Supreme Court Rules on Naming Secondary Actors in Fraud Cases
In a ruling last week, the Supreme Court laid out what businesses can be held liable under current securities fraud laws.

Social Investment Options on the Rise
A flurry of new socially responsible mutual funds and products makes it easier then ever to invest in a double bottom line.

Are Banks Getting Caught With Their Umbrellas Down?
A new report from the RiskMetrics Group ranks 40 of the world's largest banks responses to climate change risks and possibilities.

Microfinance: Catch the Swelling SRI Wave
The microfinance sector offers socially responsible investors a growing arena to create positive social and financial growth according to a new Deutche Bank study.

Top Five Socially Responsible Investing News Stories of 2007
New alternative energy and green funds fuel expansion of socially responsible investing; climate change is pushed to the forefront; community development organizations flourish despite the subprime mortgage debacle; consumers demand healthy products and work environments; and SEC limits shareholder rights.

Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products
The United States is no longer setting the agenda for manufacturers’ standards and American consumers are paying the price with their health.

Whistling Past the Graveyard—Socially Responsible Investing and the Financial Crisis
SRI thought leaders analyze the potential impacts of the widespread economic downturn caused by the subprime meltdown and deflating dollar.

Socially Responsible Investing Branches Out Over Asset Classes
A handbook published by Boston College's Institute for Responsible Investment outlines how managers can diversify socially responsible investments.

SEC Sacrifices Shareholder Rights to Achieve Temporary Certainty
Instead of reaffirming shareholder rights to file resolutions to nominate directors, the SEC cites uncertainty as a rationale for stripping these rights.

Giving the Gift of Gore? Video Game Buyers Beware
ICCR works to educate video game buyers on video games ratings and works with retailers to keep mature and violent video games out of children's hands.

Equalizing the Economic Playing and Farming Fields
Equity Trust invests in farms, non-profits and communities, helping people take charge of their economic futures.

Jolly Green Giant: Google Gives the Green Light to Alternative Energy
Google promises millions of dollars to create inexpensive renewable energy.

Taking the Pulse of the Electric and Natural Gas Utilities Sector
KLD's newest report provides investors with insight on how US and European utilities are dealing with environmental and societal concerns.

Wal-Mart's First Sustainability Report: Just a Gesture or a Just Account?
Many call the biggest retailer's sustainability report a good first step on a long road.

Launch of Five Climate Change Funds May Enrich Investors, But Won't Save the World
Deutsche Bank, F&C, HSBC, Schroders, and Virgin Money launch climate funds, a trend that validates the role of finance in addressing--though not solving--global warming.

Making Toys is Not Child's Play
A group of shareholders have come together to demand safer working conditions for workers along the toy supply chain.

Growing Up Green: Winslow Offers New Mid-Cap Green Mutual Fund
As the green market place expands, Winslow launches a mutual fund to capitalize on middle-sized growth companies that offer green solutions.

CEOs Add ESG Issues to Business Blueprints
A report from McKinsey & Company finds that more CEOs are including environmental, social, and governance issues in core strategies.

Book Review: The Clean Tech Revolution
A new book on investing in green technology looks at new and expected developments that hold out promise for big returns over the coming decades.

Green Financial Products Take Root in North America
A new report commissioned by UNEP FI lists green financial services and products as it makes the case for green banking's environmental, social, and economic benefits.

Are Colleges Only Green Skin Deep?
The Sustainability Report Card 2008 examines colleges and universities dedication to sustainability, on campuses and in endowment portfolios.

Engaged Employees Equal Increased Earnings
A recent study by Towers Perrin shows employee engagement and financial performance are intertwined and outlines how companies can help employees become engaged.

Risking the Weather: The Insurance Sector Faces Climate Change
A new report sponsored by Ceres and written by Evan Mills, one of the recipients of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore, highlights new products offered by the insurance sector in response to the changing climate.

Emissions Trading Commodifies Carbon, But Does It Really Help Solve Climate Change?
Proponents of carbon trading see markets as the best mechanism for reducing emissions, while critics characterize carbon trading as a devil's bargain that steers profits to polluters.

"Living" Companies Perform Better
Corporations that care about people more than things are more sustainable and profitable, puts forth author and financial counselor Jay Bragdon.

Working for the Earth: Green Companies and Green Jobs Attract Employees
New research shows that employees want to work at green companies and are happiest at companies with solid corporate social responsibility programs in place.

Ardour Global Index Offers Unique Alternative Energy Universe
Ardour Global Index adds new companies in quarterly rebalancing, including US manufacturer Beacon Power.

Big Bosses Embrace Corporate Responsibility
A new survey of executives finds many companies are increasing their spending on environmental, social, and governance issues, in spite of a decline in business confidence.

Canada is Coming Clean: First Canadian Global Clean Energy Fund Launched
Criterion Investments has announced its Global Energy Fund, reflecting a growing enthusiasm for clean energy by investors, companies and governments.

Where in the World is Corporate Responsibility?
EIRIS' new report "The State of Responsible Business" details growing corporate responsibility in businesses worldwide.

Excessive CEO Compensation Hurting US Companies and Society
A new report claims that excessive executive compensation in the US is taking a staggering economic and social toll on American society, threatening leadership in the business, government, and nonprofit sectors and creating instability in the economy.

The Subprime Meltdown and SRI: Engage, Avoid, Predict
Shareowner activists engaged banks on predatory lending long before the subprime crisis climaxed, and SRI research predicted the meltdown in time to avoid some impacts.

Shareholder Activists Turn Up Heat on the SEC
The Social Investment Forum and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility launch a website as part of a campaign to garner support against SEC's proposals limiting shareholder rights.

Fiddling While The Planet Burns: Mainstream Investment Funds Blinkered To Climate Risk
Part one of a two-part article looks at the lack of climate risk calculations by UK fund managers. Part two will examine some new tools for assessing climate risks to investments.

Book Review-World Inc: How the Growing Power of Business is Revolutionizing Profits, People and the Future of Both
Author Bruce Piasecki argues that better products will help make a better world as companies face the "S" frontier.

Jitters About Regulatory Outlook Rile Confidence in Coal Mining Stocks
Growing political momentum for enacting state and national laws to reduce CO2 emissions is raising worries among investors of the long term viability of the coal industry.

Proxy Advisors Come Out Clean
A report from the Government Accountability Office finds that the largest proxy advisor ISS and other advisor firms disclose potential conflicts of interest.

Merrill Lynch Offers New Energy Efficiency Index
Merrill Lynch expands its line of "green" indexes with a new product that tracks the growing movement to reduce energy costs and CO2 emissions.

Book Review-A Billion Bootstraps: Microcredit, Barefoot Banking and the Business Solution for Ending Poverty
Phil Smith and Eric Thurman offer a primer on microcredit for businesspeople who want the best bang for their charitable bucks.

Many Sustainability Reports Upbeat, Ignoring Climate Change Risks
A new study from GRI and KPMG on sustainability reports notes that companies highlight new business opportunities created by climate change and shy away from risks associated with climate change.

SEC Chair Cox Votes For Two Opposing Proxy Access Proposals--Both May Curtail Shareowner Rights
Republican commissioners support a proposal barring shareowners from nominating directors; Democrats support one allowing it, though it introduced other reductions in shareowner power.

Executives and the Environment: Looking Back at Proxy Season 2007
With the 2007 proxy season over, shareholders saw a jump in the number of socially responsible proposals, with support growing for climate change proposals and accountability for executive pay.

Twenty Diverse Companies Make the Sustainability Cut
With some help from KLD, SustainableBusiness.com releases their 6th annual Sustainable Business 20 List: The World's Top Sustainable Stocks.

One and Two Percent Allocations Add Up for Social and Community Development
TIAA-CREF allocates 2% of its Social Choice account for proactive social investments and the Social Investment Forum and Co-op America's 1% or More for Community campaign aims to double the amount invested in community development.

Sustainability Picks Up Where Supply and Demand Meet
Both investors and companies are working on sustainability issues as new reports by UN PRI and Goldman Sachs show ESG issues are gaining momentum.

Book Review--Ethical Markets: Growing the Green Economy
Author Hazel Henderson's exhaustive survey of the sustainable business landscape serves as a perfect primer on green economics and tracks lesser-known trends and developments.

MMA Helps People Far and Near With its New OneWorld Community Development Investment Program
MMA and the Mennonite Economic Development Associates have created a program for investors to help capital reach poor neighborhoods in the US and abroad.

Wachovia NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance Honor CDFIs
Three heavy-hitters come together to support community development financial institutions with $42.5 million pledged over the next five years in grants and loans.

Seeing Retirement Investment Through Green-colored Glasses
A new report shows that Americans have more SRI retirement choices than ever before, but it remains to be seen if people chose to put their savings in socially and environmentally screened funds.

ABN Amro: Honored for its Global Sustainability Work and Called Out for Its Climate Change Finance
The Financial Times awards banking goliath ABN Amro its 2007 Sustainable Banking Award while a new report points to the bank's carbon-intensive investments.

Biofuels: Keeping Good Intentions on the Right Path
With the biofuels industry growing by leaps and bounds worldwide, controversy is erupting over whether this important new energy source is truly as sustainable as it claims to be.

New Eurosif Reports Identify ESG Challenges in the European Food and Insurance Sectors
Eurosif's raises awareness of social and environmental issues across European companies in a series of sector-by-sector reports, the two newest covering the insurance and food production sectors.

Forget Fossil Fuels, Calvert Now Offers Global Alternative Energy Fund
Calvert releases a survey of US investors on climate change and expands its family of funds with an alternative energy fund.

One and Two Percent Allocations Add Up for Social and Community Development
TIAA-CREF allocates 2% of its Social Choice account for proactive social investments while the Social Investment Forum and Co-op America's 1% or More for Community campaign aims to double the amount invested in community development.

MMA Now Offers Small Cap and Growth Index Funds
Leading faith-based investment company MMA Praxis Mutual grows its offerings with two new screened funds.

Shareholders Push Social and Environmental Issues to the Forefront
Proxy season 2007 sees a huge number of social and environmental resolutions at US companies with the growing support of voters.

Gabelli Launches New Value-Oriented SRI Fund
Gabelli Funds offers its first open SRI Fund, backed up by years of SRI experience working with institutional investors.

Calvert's New Growth Fund Has Global Focus
American SRI pioneer Calvert launches the Calvert International Opportunities Fund, a small and mid-cap fund with UK-based F&C Management as sub-advisor.

Shareholder Resolutions on Climate Change to Heat Up ExxonMobil's Annual Meeting
A broad coalition of shareholders is seriously concerned about ExxonMobil's lackluster response to global climate change and plans to give thumbs down to board member Michael Boskin.

Nanotechnology: The Smallest Green Revolution?
A new report from the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies touts "green" nanotechnology, and calls for Federal oversight.

Innovative Fund Looks to Johnny Appleseed for Inspiration
The Appleseed Fund offers social investors a fresh venue for investing in undervalued companies selected for their social and environmental records.

Banking on the Future: The Two Biggest US Banks To Dedicate Billions to Halting Climate Change
Citigroup and Bank of America have pledged billions of dollars to help fight climate change while a new report questions Chinese banks' environmental policies.

Risky Business: The Outlook for Investing in Nuclear Power
A new report scrutinizes the nuclear industry from an investor's perspective and finds a rotting fantasy of cheap energy and huge returns.

Going In and Out the Windows: Weaving a Web of Political Accountability
The Center for Political Accountability's new report "Open Windows" calls on companies for greater transparency and accountability in political giving and outlines a model of political accountability.

Book Review: Deep Economy: The Wealth Of Communities And The Durable Future
Author Bill McKibben's latest book helps lay the groundwork to create a more livable and viable world in which less is actually better.

Grading Sustainability Reports: Creating the Curve
As more and more companies publish sustainability reports, awards and studies of these reports help raise reporting standards.

Yes and No: Newmont Recommends Voting For One Resolution, Petitions SEC to Omit Another
The actions span the gamut of corporate responses to shareowner resolutions on environmental, social, and governance issues, from wholehearted support to forceful opposition.

Over the Hedge: New Green Hedge Fund of Funds
Kenmar plans to launch socially responsible hedge fund of funds for institutional investors.

Shareholders Work to Make AIDS Drugs Available Worldwide
Abbott Labs changes its tune and lowers price of AIDS fighting drugs in low-and-middle income countries.

If You Tag It, It Will Be Used: Sustainability Reporting in XBRL
Weeks after the latest SEC roundtable on interactive data, the Global Reporting Initiative releases a draft taxonomy of XBRL tags mapped to G3 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines.

Water, Water, But Not Everywhere
The entry of private equity firms and consolidation of utility operations by large conglomerates are poised to change the water industry over the next 20 years.

Subprime Lending Hurts Homeowners
The Center for Responsible Lending contends that subprime lending has led to a net loss in homeownership.

Carbon Offsets: Modern-Day Indulgences to Assuage Carbon Guilt or Market Mechanism for Supporting Clean Energy
Even as they gain popularity as a climate change solution, carbon offsets have come under considerable criticism for diluting action on global warming--the truth likely resides between these extremes.

The World's Poor: Huge Market or Just a Marketer’s Fantasy?
New report from the International Finance Corporation and World Resources Institute measures the market-size of the Earth's people who live in poverty.

Concerned Investors and Businesses Call for Congress to Pass a Carbon-Cap or Wear a Dunce Cap
A large group of institutional investors and US companies call on the federal government to pass legislation to fight climate change that includes a demand for mandated cuts in greenhouse gasses.

ABN AMRO Asset Management Launches First Indian SRI Mutual Fund
New fund focuses on companies screened by Indian research and ratings company CRISIL.

TIAA-CREF Ups the Ante With New Stance on ESG Issues
TIAA-CREF’s new policy statement and proxy voting guidelines address social, environmental and governance issues, moving SRI arguments into the mainstream.

Carrying the Shield for Responsible Investing in Canada
Corporate Knights magazine names top Canadian SRI mutual funds and releases survey that finds SRI funds mirror market performance.

Chocolate Giant Commits to Responsible Supplier Code
The Hershey Company is working to create a supplier code of conduct that goes above and beyond just cocoa suppliers.

New Bond Index Focuses on Climate Change
JP Morgan Chase and Innovest introduce the first bond index that addresses climate change risks and possibilities.

Toxic Cosmetics Getting Under the Skin of Concerned Investors
Health-conscious investors and consumers are starting to demand cosmetic companies report and ban toxic ingredients.

New Ethical Fund Brings Value-Based Investing to High Street
Marks & Spencer Money, a former division of the top English retailer Marks & Spencer, has started offering a new SRI fund called the M & S Ethical Fund, which will be managed by two well-respected SRI mangers.

Citigroup, Lehman Brothers, and UBS Report on Climate Risks and Opportunities for Investing
Lehman Brothers and UBS agree climate change represents a market failure for neglecting to price carbon externalizations in valuations, while Citigroup makes specific stock picks.

New Fund for Affordable Housing In Latin America
With $100 million pledged from OPIC, the Alsis Latin America Fund supports home construction and local capital markets in Latin America.

Aflac Shareholders Get Say on Executive Pay
Aflac becomes the first major US company to offer shareholders a non-binding vote on executive compensation packages.

Shareholders Ask Companies for Transparency on Corporate Political Giving
With 43 companies facing shareholder resolutions on political accountability this proxy season, a handful of companies have already reached agreements with filers on this issue.

Top US Jewelry Retailers Get the Gold for Signing Responsibility Pledge
In time for Valentine’s Day, seven out of the top ten US jewelry retailers sign No Dirty Gold’s "Golden Rules" to back responsible gold mining practices.

Social(k) Catalyzes SRI Retirement Opportunities for Employees
Social(k)’s online retirement platform expands companies’ retirement options by offering over 100 SRI funds.

Proxy Votes on Sexual Orientation Nondiscrimination Draw Strong Support
Shareholder resolutions calling for equal rights for all employees at Commercial Metals and Micron highlight growing support for companies to include sexual orientation in their nondiscrimination policies.

"Say on Pay" Highlighted in the Upcoming 2007 Proxy Season
Institutional investors band together, asking for the right to weigh in on top executive compensation packages.

Global 100 List Raises the Profile of Sustainability at the World Economic Forum (and Beyond)
Competition to make the third annual list of the 100 most sustainable companies--based on ratings by Innovest--continues to spur strong corporate social and environmental performance.

Surveyed Managers Emphasize Socially Responsible Issues
EIRIS’ newest survey asserts that both SRI and mainstreams investors view specific environmental, social, and governance factors as important when applied to certain sectors.

MicroVest Secures Mutual Fund Investor
Meritas Jantzi Social Index Fund Invests with MicroVest

Top Five Socially Responsible Investing News Stories of 2006
Green investing booms, microfinance pioneer wins Nobel Peace Prize, shareowner democracy increases, resolutions receive record votes, and UN launches Principles of Responsible Investment

Launch of Three New Clean Tech Indexes Culminates Banner Year for Green Investing
The three Jefferies Global Clean Technology Indexes join the half-dozen green indexes introduced this year.

Rainforest Action Network Seeks to Stem Flow of Financing to TXU Coal Project
Part two of this two-part articles addresses how RAN sent a letter to 54 banks urging them to withhold funding from a TXU plan to build 11 pulverized coal-burning power plants in Texas.

Retailers Improve on Keeping Violent Video Games Out of the Hands of Children
An Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility report also identifies several areas where the seven companies examined stand to improve performance--predominantly on disclosure.

Another Clean Energy Exchange Traded Fund to Launch
First Trust Advisors is slated to introduce an ETF that tracks the NASDAQ Clean Edge US Liquid Series Index early next year.

Merrill Lynch and World Resources Institute Issue Second Auto Sector Climate Change Report
The report again balances stock picking and investment analysis with in-depth discussion of regulatory and market developments in response to global warming and energy security concerns.

KLD Fills Gap in Socially Responsible Investing by Launching Equity Income Index
The KLD Dividend Achievers Social Index, created in partnership with Mergent, provides a new option for passive investment vehicles in this previously underdeveloped asset allocation in SRI.

Two New ETFs Fight Climate Change: One Bridges Shift to Cleaner Energy, One Pushes Cleantech
The PowerShares WilderHill Progressive Energy Portfolio and the PowerShares Cleantech Portfolio offer investors increasing choice for investing in climate change solutions.

Pax World Drops Zero Tolerance Screens on Alcohol and Gambling
SocialFunds.com speaks with Pax World CEO Joe Keefe about changes approved today, including the addition of governance, climate change, and human rights screens.

Winslow Conservation Index Outperforms the S&P 500 and Russell 2000
Winslow Management Company back-tested five-year performance of 15 companies focused on conservation, an oft-overlooked component of the alternative energy equation.

Blue Funds to Invest in Companies that Support Democrats
The two new funds seek to capitalize on research that finds that Democrat-supporting companies significantly outperform Republican-supporting companies.

Microfinance Crosses Continental Divide with $100 Million Commitment from TIAA-CREF
TIAA-CREF inaugurated its Global Microfinance Investment Program by purchasing from ProCredit Holdings $43 million in private equity shares, a new strategy in microfinance.

FTSE4Good Deletes Nine Companies on Environmental and Supply Chain Labor Standards
FTSE4Good criteria promote incremental progress in corporate social responsibility performance, and climate change is the latest topic covered in newly proposed standards.

New Socially Responsible Investing Portfolios Offer Alternatives to SRI Mutual Funds
Investment advisors can now offer retail clients separate accounts tracking seven different indexes, and a new index is geared toward high net worth individuals with Catholic values.

Why Aren't We Here Yesterday? A Conversation with Social Investment Forum CEO Lisa Woll
SocialFunds.com speaks with Lisa Woll as well as SIF President Tim Smith about the new CEO position and the future direction of SIF and socially responsible investing generally.

Emerging Markets Emerging as Socially Responsible Investing Opportunities
A report by the Ethical Investment Research Services examines 50 emerging market companies using various SRI screens, and finds a number of possible plays.

Academic Joins Shareowners in Advocating Corporate Lobbying Reform
Yale University Professor Bob Repetto issues paper calling for companies to rapidly adopt best practice on corporate lobbying, including oversight and approval by independent directors.

Court Affirms Shareowner Right to File Resolutions on Proxy Access for Nominating Directors
The decision, which simply upholds existing rules that SEC practice had departed from, fills the void left when the SEC proposed then abandoned a rule on proxy access for nominating directors.

DJSI Takes Holistic Approach to Assessing and Promoting Corporate Sustainability
Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes assesses overall sustainability performance, driving constant improvement through the competitiveness to attain best-in-class status.

Barclays Files for Permission to Launch iShares ETF Tracking the Domini Social Index
The exchange-traded fund will likely have a low expense ratio, but will not conduct shareowner engagement like the other fund tracking the DSI, the Green Century Equity Fund, does.

Pax World and Citizens Announce Engagement
The marriage would consolidate two leading socially responsible investing firms with primarily complementary offerings.

Hydropower Stocks as an Alternative Energy Play
Phaethon and Creative Investment Research recommend hydro to gain exposure to the energy boom, contending new technologies offer potential for reducing environmental impacts.

Green Century Equity Fund Seeks Shareowner Okay to Continue Tracking Domini Social Index
Green Century also announced its intention to lower the expense ratio for the fund with aim of enlarging the fund's investor base.

Domini Shareowners Approve Shift from Index Tracking to Active Management
The transition carries implications for investors, such as capital gains taxes, which Domini is strategically mitigating.

ICCR Benchmarks Pharma Responses to AIDS and Diseases of Poverty in Emerging Markets
The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility report assesses 15 pharmaceutical companies, and finds all of them falling short of best practice in most areas on AIDS and neglected diseases.

Alternative Energy Revolution Fueled by New Fund Launches Despite Sector Downturn
The launch of the Guinness Atkinson Alternative Energy Fund testifies to optimism about the sub-sector echoed by the launch of the first renewable energy hedge fund by Ardsley Partners.

Calvert and Ford Foundations Help Launch Public Radio Fund to Democratize the Airwaves
The foundations jointly seeded $4.5 million in the revolving loan fund administered by Denver-based Public Radio Capital to provide low-interest loans to public radio projects nationally.

Shareowners Push TimeWarner on Movies Depicting Smoking, Recycled Paper, and Pay Disparity
Part two of this two-part article documents steps forward made by TimeWarner, as well as areas where shareowner activists continue to press for progress.

Shareowner Activists See Progress at TimeWarner, and Room for Improvement
In part one of this two-part article, activists applaud the company on its first corporate social responsibility report while continuing to push on environmental, social, and governance issues.

Biofuels May Not Be Sustainability Panacea, According to Bank Sarasin Report
The report identifies strengths and weaknesses of biofuels from social and environmental perspectives, as well as positing minimum sustainability criteria to qualify for investment.

BP, Suncor, and Shell Top Oil Sector Sustainability Rating; Chevron and ExxonMobil Rank Low
The report by Jantzi Research examines 23 oil companies worldwide on environmental issues such as greenhouse gas emissions as well as human rights and other social issues.

First Socially Responsible Investing Portfolio Devoted to Diversity Launched
Minority-owned Creative Investment Research conceived of the portfolio to promote corporate diversity while targeting women and minority investors for economic empowerment.

The Pages of Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility
Books addressing climate change dominate the fourth annual SocialFunds.com Summer Reading List recommended by socially responsible investing and corporate social responsibility leaders.

Executives and the Environment: Looking Back at Proxy Season 2007
With the 2007 proxy season over, shareholders saw a jump in the number of socially responsible proposals, with support growing for climate change proposals and accountability for executive pay.

Nuns and Priests File Depleted Uranium Bunker Buster Resolution at Three Weapons Companies
The resolution goes to vote next week at Alliant Techsystems, and already received more than double the support needed to re-file next year at Lockheed Martin and Textron.

Survey Examines Nomenclature and Numbers Fueling SRI and Extra-Financial Research
The fourth annual survey from Thomson Extel and the UK Social Investment Forum looks beyond the numbers to assess the role of language in promoting uptake of SRI research.

Trillium Takes the Reins from Winslow in Managing the Green Century Balanced Fund
The transition in portfolio managers has shifted the fund back to its roots as a core portfolio holding by reducing risk and diversifying holdings across the multi-cap space.

Filing Resolutions at Mutual Funds: The Next Frontier for Shareowner Activism?
Eight years after the Northwest Corporate Accountability Project first filed an environmental shareowner resolution, it will finally go to vote at the Merrill Lynch Global Allocation Fund.

Parnassus Small Cap Fund Identifies Unique Sustainability Characteristics to Outperform Russell 2000
While the introduction of the Parnassus Workplace Fund a year ago piqued interest, the Parnassus Small Cap Fund unveiled at the same time is turning heads with strong financial performance.

UN Advances Business Case for Materiality of SRI, Leaving Skeptics Little Wiggle Room
A new UNEP FI report assesses how investment banks are integrating environmental, social, and governance factors and linking them to financial performance in their research.

Survey Reveals TIAA-CREF Investor Desire to Up Commitment to SRI
TIAA-CREF promises to respond to participants, of whom over three-quarters prioritize social and environmental considerations in investing choices.

Book Review--The Triple Bottom Line: How Today's Best-Run Companies Are Achieving Economic, Social, and Environmental Success--And How You Can Too
The book lays out a framework for companies to follow on the path toward integrating the triple bottom line of economic, social, and environmental sustainability.

Missouri Farmers Union Credit Union Supports Sustainability in Low-Income Rural Areas
The new credit union supports cooperative entrepreneurial models that advance social responsibility and environmental sustainability in low-income agricultural regions.

Does Trucost Measurement of Corporate Carbon Footprints Reduce Environmental Impacts?
Trucost ranks the carbon intensity in UK portfolios, arguing for overweighting companies with lower carbon footprints to reduce ecological impact while maintaining performance.

Sending Funds Home to Mexico Just Got Cheaper for Latino Community Credit Union Members
The Durham, North Carolina-based community development credit union will charge a flat $3 fee, use the exchange rate set by the Fed, and allow recipients to set up accounts in Mexico.

Semantics and Semitics: Presbyterian Church Investment to Focus on Israeli-Palestinian Peace
A recommendation approved by the church General Assembly apologizes to Jews and refines language while reaffirming commitment to corporate engagement with divestment as last resort.

Norwegian Government Pension Fund Dumps Wal-Mart and Freeport on Ethical Exclusions
The $230 billion global fund--one of the largest pension funds in the world--cited Wal-Mart for systematic human rights violations and Freeport for serious environmental damage.

World Resources Institute and Citigroup Team Up to Report on Solutions to Climate Change
The report recommends a dozen companies poised to profit from a carbon-constrained future, including Archer Daniels Midland, Caterpillar, Cypress Semiconductor, GE, Itron, Johnson Controls, Monsanto, and Waste Management

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.

Corporate Shenanigans: Companies Dis Shareowners at Annual Meetings
Home Depot exemplifies a phenomenon of companies manipulating annual meeting protocols to disempower shareowners, following in the footsteps of Weyerhaeuser, Whole Foods, and others.

The Numbers--and the Stories Behind Them--on Community Development Financial Institutions
CDFI Data Project recently released the most comprehensive report on the CDFI industry, with statistics documenting CDFI growth and case studies illustrating positive social impacts.

Wainwright Bank and Equal Exchange Partner to Offer the First Branded Certificate of Deposit
This new branded CD model is particularly suited to socially responsible banks, companies, and investors, as the increased social returns can counterbalance the slightly higher financial risks.

Domini Fund to Shift from Indexing to Active Management
Domini Social Investments proposes shifting the Domini Social Equity Fund from tracking the Domini 400 Social Index to being actively managed by Wellington Management.

Listmania! Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility Lists Drive Improved Performance
CSR lists take the old adage--what gets measured gets managed--one step further by spotlighting the ranking process, thereby encouraging better corporate social and environmental performance.

Using the Same Tape Measure: MicroRate To Launch Tool for Rating Microfinance Funds
The rating tool, a project supported by Gray Ghost Microfinance Fund, Omidyar Network, and Gates Foundation, is yet another step toward establishing microfinance as a distinct asset class.

Ecological Community Loan Pool Directly Links Ecologically Minded Investors to Eco-Preneurs
The portal created by Ecostructure Financial tweaks the community development financial institution model to allow investors to lend directly to startups solving environmental problems.

Japanese Fund First to Track KLD Global Climate 100 Index
The construction methodology of the Global Climate 100 distinguishes it from other clean energy indexes, and distinguishes this fund from other Japanese eco funds.

The Case for Categorizing Community Development Venture Capital as a New Asset Class
A white paper by Pacific Community Ventures lays out the argument and identifies steps to promote growth in community development venture capital, such as standardizing social return metrics.

Amgen Recommends Support for Political Donations Resolution, Bolstering Broader Campaign
The Center for Political Accountability, which coordinates the political contributions campaign, released a report on trade association contributions that previews its 2007 proxy season strategy.

Hog Manure Fertilizes Improvements in Environmental Management at Smithfield Foods
Fines for Clean Water Act violations and a lawsuit settlement spur Smithfield to clean up its act and move toward environmental leadership, but it still has a way to go to complete a turnaround.

Digging for More than Gold: SRI Letter Asks Newmont to Address Western Shoshone Concerns
The letter cites a recent decision by the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination to support Western Shoshone claims.

Another Clean Energy Index Launches to Capitalize on Transition from Dependence on Fossil Fuels
The NASDAQ Clean Edge US Index joins several other recently launched clean energy indexes tracking solar photovoltaic, biofuel, wind, and fuel cell companies.

Confirming the CalPERS Effect: Academic Study Links Shareowner Activism to Financial Gain
Examining companies targeted for governance reform by the CalPERS Focus List, the study presents data correlating activism to increasing shareowner value as well as cautionary notes.

Proxy Season Report Geared to Foundations Helps Others Navigate Proxy Landscape
As You Sow Foundation and Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors report allows for stepping back by providing a useful overview as well as an in-depth look at behind-the-scenes dialogue.

Shareholders One Step Closer to Having a “Say on Pay”
The US House of Representatives votes to give shareholders an advisory non-binding vote on executive compensation.

Conflict of Interests Policies and Practices Vary Widely at Proxy Advisory Firms
Part two of this two-part article examines how Institutional Shareholder Services, Glass Lewis, and PROXY Governance handle potential conflicts of interest.

Voting Recommendations on Shareowner Resolutions Vary Widely at Proxy Advisory Firms
Part one of this two-part article compares Institutional Shareholder Services, Glass Lewis, and PROXY Governance vote recommendations on resolutions at Citigroup and Chevron.

Wal-Mart Discloses Equal Employment Opportunity Data
The company joined six others in the S&P 100 that publicly disclose their EEO-1 report, but Wal-Mart still faces shareowner action on union-busting and selling gems mined in Burma.

Enterprise Social Fund First to Tap Corporate Community for Community Investing
The fund partners Enterprise Community Partners, which will manage the portfolio, with Deutsche Bank, which will seek investment from socially responsible companies and individuals.

Is Contrarian Investing Consistent With or Contrary to Socially Responsible Investing?
SRI practitioners say that the contrarian focus on long-term prospects and overall health of a company suggest yes, while its focus on timing suggests maybe no.

Common Good Bank Advances One Branch of Community Investing Evolution
The bank promotes the common good by distributing excess profits to the community and by making all lending and spending decisions through participatory democracy.

Amana Funds Continue Strong Performance
The Amana Funds' Islamic principles coincide with sound investment strategies that have helped fuel strong financial performance over the past three years.

Shareowner Resolutions Overcome Obstacles to Promote Sustainability Reporting
A campaign advocating for sustainability reporting refines its strategies, shifting from requiring adherence to recommending Global Reporting Initiative guidelines.

Corporate Action on Climate Change Improves Over Past Three Years, But Still Insufficient
A report from Ceres benchmarks corporate governance on climate change, finding steady gains by leaders while some laggards leapfrog toward the top and other laggards stagnate at the bottom.

White House and Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility Address Pediatric AIDS
Bush Administration launches a new public-private partnership on Pediatric AIDS, an area where ICCR engages pharmaceutical companies in shareowner advocacy.

Book Review--Responsible Investment
An impressive and wide-ranging list of contributing writers advance a balance between elucidating the strengths of socially responsible investing while also exposing its weaknesses.

Facing Campaign on Farm Working Conditions, McDonald's to Heed Independent Study Results
The Coalition of Immokalee Workers urges McDonald's to improve farm working conditions, which the company is addressing through a study by the Center for Reflection, Education, and Action.

Cost of Clean Energy Decreases to Compete with Its Dirtier Counterparts, According to Report
The Clean Edge report surveys clean energy, documenting market growth, strong stock performance, and expansion of venture capital investment, as well as projecting future trends.

Thirty Years and Counting: Cofounder Wayne Silby Recounts the Birth of Calvert
To celebrate the thirtieth anniversary of Calvert, SocialFunds.com speaks with co-founder Wayne Silby about its genesis, development, and future.

A Serendipitous Match: Davis Advisors Takes Over MMA Praxis Core Stock Fund
The portfolio holding of Wal-Mart exemplifies (oddly enough) how both Davis Advisors and MMA Praxis emphasize the importance of stewardship and shareowner empowerment.

FTSE4Good Semi-Annual Review Boots 16 US Companies on Environmental Criteria
Of the 19 deletions, only one company was dropped due to human rights (instead of environmental) criteria, and all but three deletions were US-based companies.

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.

Whole Foods Market Gags Shareowners at Annual Meeting
A leader on corporate social responsibility, Whole Foods lags on corporate governance by stymieing shareowner democracy.

Sudan Presents Investment Risk as Genocidal Regime and State Sponsor of Terrorism
Socially responsible investing research provider IdealsWork Financial now offers data from Conflict Securities Advisory Group on corporate exposure to human rights abuses in Sudan.

Wells Fargo Issues Alternative Energy Report to Join Ranks of Banks Advancing SRI Research
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.

SEC Forces Chevron, Dow, and CVS to Include Shareowner Resolutions on Their Proxies
Part two of this two-part article examines no-action activity thus far in the 2006 proxy season, focusing on attempts to apply the personal grievance rule and expand a new risk assessment rule.

Resolution Withdrawals Signal Success in Shareowner Advocacy Early in 2006 Proxy Season
Part one of this two-part article examines withdrawal of resolutions on climate change, sexual orientation nondiscrimination, political contributions, and HIV/AIDS policies.

SRI Community Adding Its Two Cents to Comments on GRI G3 Guidelines
The Global Reporting Initiative is seeking public comments on its new sustainability reporting guidelines by March 31st.

Book Review--Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility: Stakeholders in a Global Environment
The book maps the landscape of CSR, advocates a strategic approach taking global stakeholders into account, and presents a wealth of case studies to illustrate its points.

State Laws Effectively Curb Predatory Lending Without Stifling Subprime Market, Study Finds
The Center for Responsible Lending study rebuts opponents of state anti-predatory lending laws, and suggests significant implications for the two competing anti-predatory bills now in Congress.

Bank Policies Fail to Meet International Social and Environmental Standards, Report Says
The 39 banks assessed fall far short on global sustainability standards, and fail to disclose enough information on implementation to even be assessed by NGO coalition BankTrack.

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.

Opening the Umbrella of Socially Responsible Investing to Include Energy Efficient Mortgages
Indigo Financial Group promotes energy efficient mortgages, which have long been available through a Fannie Mae program but have yet to reach their market potential.

Book Review: Economic Apartheid in America: A Primer on Economic Inequality & Insecurity
The revised and updated edition of this text (originally published in 2000) examines how excessive executive compensation contributes to the widening gulf between rich and poor.

Two New Indexes Help Wean Us From Oil Addiction Via Clean Energy and Cleantech
The WilderHill New Energy Global Innovation Index tracks clean energy companies internationally, while the Cleantech Index tracks cleantech companies in the US.

Shareowner Action on Product Toxicity Shifts from Isolated Resolutions to Become a Campaign
Fueling this development is the increasing visibility of product toxicity in the news, with the Environmental Protection Agency issuing record fines.

Calvert Rates Environmental, Social and Governance Practices of 100 Largest US Companies
The move increases transparency of socially responsible investing research while maintaining the proprietary nature of the Calvert investment process.

Using Mutual Fund Proxy Voting Data to Promote More Conscientious Voting
The final installment of this multi-part series steps back to consider the implications of the findings and how to harness them to push mutual funds to support corporate social responsibility.

How to Determine the Top 100 Sustainable Companies in the World
Innovest Strategic Value Advisors and Corporate Knights announce the Global 100 Most Sustainable Companies at the World Economic Forum, documenting financial outpeformance.

Social Investment Forum Trends Report Tracks Rises and Falls of Socially Responsible Investing
The 2005 report documents increases since 2003 in assets overall in SRI, in SRI mutual funds, and in shareholder advocacy, but decreases in overall screened assets and in screened separate accounts.

Eroding Support for Shareowner Resolutions on Climate Change Revealed by Unpublished Data
In part three of this multi-part article, SocialFunds.com examines unpublished data associated with a recent report on mutual fund proxy voting from The Corporate Library, and finds decreasing support for climate change resolutions.

In the Year of the Oil Boom, Some SRI Funds Look Elsewhere for Strong Performance in 2005
The top-performing socially responsible investing funds compared to their category peers (SRI and non-SRI alike) drew strong performance from pharma, tech, and financials.

Unpublished Data Clarifies SRI Proxy Voting on CSR Resolutions
In part two in this multi-part series, SocialFunds.com examines unpublished data associated with a recent report from The Corporate Library, and finds that statistics are not always what they seem at first glance.

The Corporate Library Report on Mutual Fund Proxy Voting Finds Stagnation and Even Retreat
Part one of this multi-part series discusses the report findings on decreasing mainstream fund support for CSR resolutions; subsequent articles examine unpublished data from the research.

GE Comes Clean, Disclosing Costs Related to PCB Cleanup on the Hudson
The move prompts the Tri-State Coalition for Responsible Investment, which characterized some of these expenditures as delay tactics, to withdraw its shareowner resolution requesting this information.

New Domini Funds Invest in the World
Domini charts new territory with the creation of the Domini PacAsia Social Equity Fund and the Domini EuroPacific Social Equity Fund.

Wal-Mart Faces Host of Shareowner Resolutions, From Union-Busting to Sustainability Reporting
The broad range of resolutions suggests that the sustainability commitments announced by Wal-Mart last year did not convince shareowners that the company has solved all its challenges.

Top Five Socially Responsible Investing News Stories of 2005
Socially responsible investing, corporate social responsibility, and microfinance embraced by the mainstream; shareowner advocates withdraw several climate change resolutions as companies agree to report; and exchange traded funds apply SRI strategies.

Alien Tort Claims Act Lawsuit Alleges Slavery and Child Labor on Liberian Firestone Plantation
The International Labor Rights Fund calls this its strongest ATCA case yet because the evidence of forced labor is so clear and Firestone owns and operates the plantation.

Socially Responsible Property Investment Still on the Drafting Table
A blueprint of the fledgling field of socially responsible real estate investment.

Are European Finance Sector Corporate Social Responsibility Initiatives Adequate?
A report from a recent EU conference on CSR suggest so, while a Corporate Responsibility Coalition report says voluntary CSR initiatives and current regulation fall short.

Book Review--Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism
The newest in the Megatrends series advances a framework for conscious capitalism that highlights socially responsible investing.

EPA Tries to Pull a Disappearing Act on the Toxics Release Inventory
In response to the Environmental Protection Agency proposal to dilute TRI, the socially responsible investing community launches the SaveTRI.org website.

Solar Energy Helps Fuel Socially Responsible Investing
Managers from Winslow Green Growth Fund, New Alternatives Fund, and Portfolio 21 discuss the opportunities and challenges of investing in solar power.

SRI Community Releases Retailer Guidelines to Avoid Violent Video Game Sales to Kids
The Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility guidelines address underage exposure to graphic violence, strong sexual content, and racist themes, as well as impact on shareholder value.

Socially Responsible Investing Advances Anti-Racism in Helping Rebuild New Orleans
In addition to supporting community investment and leveraging influence through shareowner advocacy, social investors can help rebuild in the aftermath of Katrina by naming root problems.

First Steps: Corporate Engagement on HIV/AIDS Improves Since Last World AIDS Day
Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS Best Practice AIDS Standard represents an important step forward, and companies such as Intel are responding to shareowner dialogue with ICCR.

A Light Bulb Turns On: Goldman Sachs First Investment Bank to Adopt Environmental Policy
The policy matches the robustness of other such policies recently adopted by global financial institutions, but the status of Goldman Sachs as an investment bank brings added significance.

Calvert World Values Fund Tackles Challenges of International Socially Responsible Investing
The fund delivers double-digit three-year returns for shareholders while screening for corporate environmental, social, and governance performance in international and emerging markets.

Fonkoze Helps Transform Microfinance to Reach the Poorest of the Poor in Haiti
After convening a summit on how to modify microfinance to serve the extreme poor, Fonkoze adapts a model pioneered by the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee.

Shareowner Empowerment Is Alive and Well: a Preview of the 2006 Proxy Season
Part two of this two-part article examines the developing trends in shareowner activism as resolutions are filed for the upcoming proxy season.

Forging Ahead from the Crossroads: Reviewing the 2005 Proxy Season
Part one of this two-part article looks back at this year's proxy season, which was highlighted by majority vote director election proposals while part two previews the upcoming proxy season.

One Year On: Global Compact Maps Progress on Mainstreaming ESG Considerations
Two recent reports paint a vivid picture of developments over the past year on integrating environmental, social, and governance considerations into traditional financial analysis.

Consortium Advances Microfinance as an Emerging New Asset Class
The Global Commercial Microfinance Consortium, with its $75 million fund, links mainstream financial institutions to socially responsible investment practitioners with microfinance experience.

Tearing Down the Great Firewall
Social investors issue a statement holding information technology companies accountable for collusion with repressive regimes such as China that stifle dissent expressed on the Internet.

Book Review--The Challenge to Power: Money, Investing, and Democracy
John Harrington compiles voluminous evidence to diagnose what ails modern corporatocracy, and prescribes a comprehensive cure with socially responsible investing playing a key role.

Fiduciary Duty Redefined to Allow (and Sometimes Require) Environmental, Social and Governance Considerations
A report commissioned by UNEP FI and prepared by Freshfields attorneys dispels the persistent myth that laws prevent fiduciaries from considering environmental, social, and governance issues.

Insurers at the Crossroads: Intersection Between Insurance and Sustainability is a Busy Corner
Swiss Re exemplifies global sustainability leadership, as the chair of its US arm gives the keynote address at a summit on climate change and insurance in Connecticut.

Counting Stars: Top Morningstar Ratings Bespeak Strong Performance for SRI Funds
Of the 60-odd broadly-screened socially responsible investing funds tracked by SocialFunds.com, three earn 5-star ratings and 12 earn 4-star ratings from Morningstar.

SRI Research from UBS Strikes Balance Between Ethics and Economics
The new socially responsible investing team at UBS quantifies the costs of corporate social and environmental impacts as a means of effecting ethical and economic rectification.

Transforming the Myth of Democratic Shareholder Power into a Reality
A new paper by Harvard Professor Lucian Bebchuk debunks the myth of shareholder power to replace directors, and recommends reforms that could jumpstart the stalled SEC proxy access rule.

Wal-Mart Embraces Sustainability: Does the SRI Community Buy It?
Socially responsible investors cautiously applaud Wal-Mart for committing to social and environmental sustainability, but remain highly skeptical about actual implementation.

Institutional Investors Drive Research on Mainstreaming of SRI by Investment Managers
A new line of research at Mercer Investment Consulting rates proxy voting, shareholder engagement, and analysis of environmental, social, and governance issues by mainstream investment managers.

New Index and Exchange Traded Fund Expose Risks and Potentials in Nanotech
The Innovest Nanotech Index assesses social and environmental risks, while the PowerShares Lux Nanotech Portfolio focuses more on investment opportunities.

Scaling Community Investment: Report Addresses Growth in Community Development Finance
An Aspen Institute report serves as the basis of a series of conferences at regional federal reserve banks on how to best scale up community investment.

Rising Oil Prices Fuel Investment Returns in Renewable Energy for New Alternatives Fund
The first environmental mutual fund is also globalizing its reach to capitalize on innovative developments in alternative energies in other countries.

Moskowitz Prize Winning Study Correlates Corporate Eco-Efficiency and Financial Outperformance
The paper finds a significant and positive relationship between Innovest eco-efficiency ratings and both market-based and accounting-based financial performance metrics.

Divining the Future of Socially Responsible Investing
A study commissioned by Vancity Credit Union surveys 42 SRI thought leaders to identify trends, opportunities, and obstacles, as well as potential developments that defy prediction.

SRI Utilities Fund Flicks Switch to Power Strong Returns
The Flex-funds Total Return Utilities Fund uses environmental and social screening in addition to fundamental analysis to identify sustainable utilities.

Changing of the Guard: Vanguard Pulls a Switcheroo on SRI Index Providers
Vanguard is swapping the benchmark for its socially responsible investing index fund from the Calvert Social Index to the FTSE4Good US Select Index.

Spreading SRI: Goldman Sachs Adds Its Own Twist in Social and Environmental Assessment
As socially responsible investment strategies migrate into the mainstream, mainstream analysts apply social and environmental considerations in innovative ways.

ICCR Online Database Eases Access to Information on Shareowner Resolutions
EthVest, the new web-based tool from the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, provides access to 2,000-plus shareowner resolutions and 12-plus years of shareowner action.

Insurers Behind the Curve on Addressing and Disclosing Risks of Climate Change
Two reports, one from Ceres and one from Friends of the Earth, concur that climate change is catching insurance companies, which are particularly impacted by global warming, unawares.

Domini Goes Abroad with New European Fund
The fund allows US social investors to diversify their portfolios into a region with attractive investment opportunities and corporations with strong sustainability commitments.

Third Carbon Disclosure Project Survey Finds Increasing Action on Climate Change
CDP3, now sponsored by 155 institutional investors with more than $21 trillion in assets, also reveals some significant footdragging by the Financial Times 500 companies.

Community Investment Bridges the Gap from Destitution to Restitution After Hurricane Katrina
Predominantly low-income African Americans were barred from crossing the bridge out of New Orleans, but now community development bridge loans are spanning the gulf back to stability.

AccountAbility Cooks Up a New Recipe with Stakeholder Engagement Standards
An exposure draft of new AA1000 Stakeholder Engagement Standards to be released next week may prove useful to the socially responsible investment community of shareholder activists.

Business Impacts on Millennium Development Goals: A Virtuous Cycle or a Coin Toss?
A new World Business Council for Sustainable Development report profiles corporate initiatives to alleviate poverty, but focuses less attention on how business may confound such goals.

A Next Generation SRI Strategy: The Henderson Industries of the Future Fund
By extending to its entire portfolio a focus on ten sustainability industries, Henderson has conceived of a novel approach to socially responsible investing.

A Semantic Hermeneutics of SRI
KLD Research & Analytics Founding President Peter Kinder examines limitations of the term socially responsible investing, and identifies both overemphasized and overlooked distinctions.

Banks and Financial Service Providers Figure Prominently in FTSE4Good Attrition, DJSI Matriculation
Corporate social responsibility plays an important role at banks and financial service companies, which are not only recipients but also increasingly purveyors of socially responsible investment.

Blogging SRI
SRI Notes and SRI-Extra harness the strengths of weblogs to comment candidly on developments in socially responsible investment as they happen.

Labor Day List Celebrates Corporate-Union Collaboration
The inaugural list launched by American Rights at Work spotlights positive relationships between companies and their workers.

War Millionaires: Defense Contractor CEO Pay Up 200 Percent Since 9/11
The ratio between CEO and worker pay across the market climbs to 431 : 1, up from 301 : 1 last year, according to a new CEO pay study from United for a Fair Economy and the Institute for Policy Studies.

Book Review--The Market for Virtue: The Potential and Limits of Corporate Social Responsibility
David Vogel scrutinizes the business case for CSR and finds no causal link between corporate virtue and profitability, but rather finds a robust niche market for it.

Toxic 100 Uses Enhanced Toxics Release Inventory Data to List Top Corporate Polluters
The Toxic 100 aggregates facility-level TRI data to compute company-wide toxic emissions performance.

Shareowner Resolution Asks Monsanto to Create Ethics Oversight Committee
The company stonewalls inquiries related to the resolution, which springs from a $1.5 million settlement with the SEC and DOJ earlier this year regarding a bribe Monstanto paid in Indonesia.

Human Rights Site Spotlights Bank Investment in Chinese Manufacturer Linked to Forced Labor
The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre posts an article alleging Chinese firm Henan Rebecca uses forced labor, as well as responses from banks implicated through investment for their clients.

Social(k) Allows Socially Responsible Investment Retirement Portfolios to More Fully Diversify
ExpertPlan administers a 401(k) platform that solves the problem of limited asset class diversification by offering 25 SRI funds from nine fund families than span the spectrum.

Most Canadian Extractive Companies Behind the Curve on Human Rights Policies
Ethical Funds surveys Canadian energy and mining companies and finds less than a handful with comprehensive human rights policies, management systems, and disclosure mechanisms.

Lack of Human Rights Policy Concerns Chevron Shareowners in Light of Unocal Merger
Part two of this two-part article examines the implications of the delay in adopting a human rights policy given the inheritance of Unocal holdings in Burma and Alien Tort Claims Act cases.

New Document Alleges Tie Between Chevron and Human Rights Abuses in Nigeria
Identified in the discovery phase of a case proceeding at state and federal levels, the invoice and receipt indicate Chevron paid Nigerian soldiers for services on a day several villagers were allegedly killed (part one of a two-part article.)

CalSTRS Follows Calvert Blueprint to Capitalize on Money Manager Diversity
Both CalSTRS and Calvert see efforts to identify emerging money managers as smart business and socially responsible as well.

Power to the People: Amnesty Launches Grassroots Shareowner Advocacy Program
The SharePower program encourages ordinary people to tell institutional investors holding shares in their