Energy & Climate

Impact investing has emerged as a major force in philanthropy. Last year GIIN conducted a survey showing that the estimated value of the impact investing sector doubled between 2017 and 2018, increasing from $114B to $228B. There’s a growing demand for investments that actively produce measurable positive social and environmental outcomes. Read More

Place-based impact investing is sparking community development projects that create more just, equitable local economies, and build prosperous, vibrant communities. Place-focused foundations, like community foundations and family foundations are exploring ways to complement their traditional grant-making with local investments that can catalyze positive community change. Read More

Philanthropy is transforming to incorporate advocacy and investing, presenting new opportunities to create change and measure impact. Among a field of new players, vehicles and approaches, one strategy gaining traction is SRI investing. As philanthropies broaden beyond traditional grant making they are reassessing and reallocating their financial as well as non-financial resources. Read More

Often, the most compelling impact investments are made, not found. That phrase describes how foundations and impact investors use “catalytic capital” to support social and environmental progress. These patient, flexible, “catalytic” investments take on more risk and/or accept a lower return than commercial capital to finance gains that would not otherwise be possible. Read More

Sustainable companies don't just make the world a better place, they offer higher returns and longer lifespans according to Corporate Knights. Read More

The 12th annual edition looks at key trends and dozens of metrics assessing how, and how much, companies are moving the needle on the world’s?most pressing environmental challenges. Read More

The structure and mission of credit unions uniquely positions them to effectively provide a range of basic financial services critical to Native communities. Read More

Sourced in Peru and roasted locally by Stolen Sun Craft Brewing & Roasting Co., Impact Coffee supports the empowerment and promotion of women-grown coffee. Read More

These foundations, large and small, are beginning to move their endowment assets to align with their values–-and their missions keep expanding. Read More

Case Foundation’s CEO Jean Case’s new book, Be Fearless, profiles leaders who have used their desire to solve a problem, to drown out their fears or risk of failure. Read More

I examine my personal finances by asking myself three overarching questions: How am I making money? How am I investing it? And how am I spending it? As a full-time social entrepreneur, I routinely ask myself if I’m making money in a way that allows me to have a real impact. Read More

Companies that are winning at attracting millennials are nailing it on culture and values. My career path is a perfect example. I left a large mutual fund company to join a sustainable investing firm because its focus on investing for both performance and impact resonated with me. Read More

I rose to the podium, looked at Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson, and asked “Why does Exxon fund climate-denying organizations [like ALEC], when you publicly support a carbon tax?” Tillerson deflected the question saying “we would never impinge on ALEC’s free speech.” Two years later, Exxon ceased funding them. Read More

As a millennial, my generation has little trust in large institutions — from governmental offices to our large banks and financial institutions. We want our money aligned with our values and desires for a more sustainable planet. We are poised to catalyze big shifts in how financial services operate. Read More

Millennials see investment decisions as a way to express their social, political and environmental values. With CNote, we make investing simple and impactful. Our members’ money works towards revitalizing communities; building affordable housing; and getting women and minorities business loans. Read More

Business can be a force for good, here’s 100 companies that are growing by doing good. Real Leaders, with Big Path Capital and B Lab, rank the top companies applying capitalism for greater profit and greater positive impact. Read More

The Next Economy Index’s strong track record demonstrates that climate change-focused, innovation-driven investing offers an effective way to preserve and create wealth. The strategy currently holds 115 publicly traded companies. Read More

The fund focuses on solutions to major global transitions such as demographics, environmental issues, technological advances, and governance changes by investing in companies with a positive impact on the UN SDGs, while avoiding companies that have a negative impact. Read More

MSCI explores pressing topics for investors heading into 2019. The five key ESG trends anticipated to dominate the conversation are: climate change, waste management, leadership and talent, ESG regulation, and the ESG signal revolution. Read More

Sustainable and impact investing in the US continues to grow and to make a difference. Investors now consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors across $12 trillion of professionally managed assets, a 38 percent increase since 2016. Financial firms and institutional investors are addressing a diverse set of ESG concerns across a broader span of assets than ever. Many of these money managers and institutions, concerned about racial and gender discrimination, gun violence and environmental protection, are using portfolio selection and shareowner engagement to address these important issues. Read More

Climate finance is a central issue in how the global community proposes to follow through with implementation of the Paris Agreement. A new study, shows that while investment in climate action has been steadily increasing, it falls short in key areas. Read More

Issued in November 2008, the World Bank’s first green bond created the blueprint for sustainable investing in the capital markets. Today, the green bond model is being applied to bonds that are raising financing for all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Read More

“Gender and climate are inextricably linked,” said environmentalist and author Katharine Wilkinson at TEDWomen, a recent gathering of women thought leaders and activists in Calif. Women, she says, are disproportionately affected by climate change. Read More

Mark Tercek spent 24 years working as an investment banker and the last 10 years as the CEO of The Nature Conservancy. How to scale up investments in nature – is what he thinks about and what he wants you to start thinking about more. Read More

The Centre for Sustainability and Excellence releases its third annual report on Sustainability (ESG) Reporting Trends: North America 2018. This research provides a useful and convenient representation of the current state of Sustainability Reporting. Read More

The United Kingdom is the frontrunner in Europe for sustainable and responsible investment (‘SRI’) according to data published in November 2018 by Eurosif, Europe’s sustainable and responsible investment membership organization. Read More

SRI Investing in the US continues to expand at a healthy pace. The total US-domiciled assets under management using SRI strategies grew from $8.7 trillion at the start of 2016 to $12.0 trillion at the start of 2018, an increase of 38 percent. This represents 26 percent—or 1 in 4 dollars—of the $46.6 trillion in total US assets under professional management. Since 1995, when the US SIF Foundation first measured the size of the US sustainable and responsible investment universe at $639 billion, these assets have increased more than 18-fold, a compound annual growth rate of 13.6 percent. Read More

Amidst all of the important improvements in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) data, all of the thoughtful research reports, and all innovative new investment options, another, deeper trend has taken root. As we turn towards 2019, we see increasing evidence that Systems Thinking is becoming more prevalent and influential throughout corporations and the sustainable investment community. This subtle, under-the-surface development is one of the most vital requirements for effective long-term investing. Systems Thinking aims to understand the whole, in addition to the individual parts. Read More

For investors interested in Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) strategies, a regionally diversified approach can help capture global growth. In the coming year, Asia offers a prime opportunity to invest in profitable companies addressing critical ESG challenges through robust and sustainable business models. ESG innovation in Asia is evident across many sectors, including health care and pharmaceuticals, technology, finance and alternative energy. To fully capture the growth and profits of the world’s most innovative ESG companies, it is worth considering Asia. Read More

As engaged investors, we need to persuade the companies in our investment portfolios to say loudly and clearly: We will no longer tolerate gender inequality — on our boards, in our executive suites, in our workplaces or in our supply chains. Our industry cannot even begin to talk about investing in the transition to a more sustainable global economy unless gender equality is a core component of that transition. Eradicating gender inequality could help unleash perhaps the greatest period of economic growth in the history of the planet. Read More

As You Sow released its fifth ‘Invest Your Values’ screening tool, Gender Equality Funds, an online resource that can be used by any investor. Read More

The growth of GLI is a positive development in a year overshadowed by the gender pay gap, lack of women on boards and harassment scandals. Read More

Investors increasingly seek opportunities to make a social and environmental difference through their impact investment portfolios. Read More

Ray Anderson believed the industrial sector could create positive environmental change because it is so large. The university sector is next. Read More

“Water security is the single largest investment opportunity in the years ahead. It is the foundation for healthy people, planet and profit. Water security investments ensure social and environmental returns, as well as possible financial outperformance,” states writer Thomas Schumann. Read More

Incorporating ESG factors into an investment strategy has shown to decrease volatility and improve risk-adjusted returns over the long term. Read More

Recently the Financial Times published an article stating that Larry Fink, CEO of the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, had announced that “sustainable investing will be a core component for how everyone invests in the future.” He further explained that sustainable investing did not lead to lower returns and that in his opinion such a strategy will lead to higher returns. It wasn’t so long ago that the SRI field was considered an outlier in the world of finance, and now it is the declared future of financial asset management. Read More

With the rising number of “responsible” funds in the early 90s, there wasn’t really an option for Christian conservatives to invest without compromising their beliefs, in life and family values. In 1994, under Art Ally’s leadership, the Timothy Plan unveiled its fund aimed at evangelical Christians. Secular investment firms weren’t thrilled by the arrival of Timothy Plan’s Biblically Responsible Investments, but investors were, and today there are over a dozen successful BRI-based mutual funds with billions in assets. Read More

God gives us work and entrusts us with the task of world-making. In the story of creation, God created the garden rich with latent potential, yet withheld the task of completing it for the people he would make. God intends humanity, through work, to be his partner in developing the world. Humanity was to enlarge the locus of the beauty and provision of the garden, in all our culture making, throughout the world and for the benefit of all. Many Christians believe that the purpose of business is to serve the global common good. Read More

Each financial seed we plant in each and every field we choose, is only destined for success if all the criteria in the divine mandate has been met. Good seed in good soil and people of integrity managing the process. Unethical practices, policies or products erode human dignity and moral enterprise. Placing little value on honesty and ethics creates a morally hazardous field and a harvest of unsustainability. Is faith and trust a commodity to be traded? I don’t believe so. Read More

The phrase “What would Jesus do?” emerged in American consciousness during the 1990s as motto for many Christians seeking to regularly reflect on how the moral teachings of Jesus could be reflected in their daily lives. Whether one participates in organized religion or not, the idea of finding a mechanism that calls us to step outside of our personal situation to view things from a different, morally-grounded perspective can have many benefits especially for values-driven investors. Read More

Direct investments in companies with social and financial objectives is a dynamic industry with robust activity in the region Read More

Bill Gates has Breakthrough Energy Ventures investing in radical energy startups capable of drastically cutting global emissions Read More

The path from modern Financial Capitalism to Integrated Investing that helps create the World and lives we seek Read More

In every part of the world, from the industrialized to the emerging economies, energy systems are shifting from a highly centralized architecture (i.e., large generation plants, long transmission lines, and one-way flows of energy) to a decentralized, distributed network model. This model takes the form of microgrids (or “mini-grids” in Africa and Asia), small, integrated systems capable of autonomous operation; and as Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems and Virtual Power Plants, as ways of making the existing bulk power grid more flexible. Some compare this to the advent of “the internet of energy.” Read More

Renewable Energy was the most-added source of new power generation in 2017. In an increasing number of regions, clean energy is the cheapest source of new electricity. Confidence in the clean energy sector can be seen in the large commitments made by major banking institutions. The public and our investors are grasping the reality of a renewable energy future. Rooftop solar panels are commonplace and are required on new homes in some cities in California. Solar photovoltaic installers and wind turbine service technicians have become the nation’s two fastest-growing occupations. Read More

According to NREL, renewable electricity generation from technologies that are commercially available today, in combination with a more flexible grid, is adequate to supply 80 percent of total U.S. electricity generation in 2050. Now is the time to take a close look at the pipeline of potential clean energy workers ensuring that we are bringing the best minds and diverse perspectives to the table. Prioritizing diversity both in terms of race and gender are important components for building a successful company. Research from McKinsey makes it increasingly clear that companies with a diverse workforce perform better financially. Read More

At Sunwealth, we invest in a sustainable future by financing diverse renewable energy projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, strengthen local resilience and bring the benefits of renewable energy to under-served communities. Since 2014, we have financed over 70 solar installations on rooftops and in open spaces. We are poised to invest over $12 million in solar energy and storage projects in 2018, more than double our 2017 investment. We have a 2019 pipeline of over $40 million in new solar projects that will provide 20 megawatts of solar power across 50 communities. Read More

A new comprehensive guide for money managers on incorporating sustainable, responsible and impact investing at their firms Read More

The new fund invests in companies positioned to benefit from the transition to a more sustainable global economy Read More

New app and platform enables consumers to invest in proprietary portfolios for social good with a low minimum Read More

Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicts that two-thirds of the world’s power will be generated by renewable resources by 2050. This projection is based on the continuing growth of new renewable power generation projects, primarily wind and solar. Conditions have certainly changed since New Alternatives Fund entered the investment world in 1982. Our Fund’s approach has always been to consider the broad sector of energy and related environmental areas like clean water, clean air, and naturally grown and organic food. Energy is not just the production of electric power we also see conservation and efficiency playing major roles. Read More

The new credit union focused exclusively on clean energy lending also begins taking deposits and making loans all online Read More

The "In Sight of the Clean Trillion" report gives an update on the ever-expanding landscape of investor opportunities Read More

From individuals to companies that demonstrate leadership in clean energy, sustainable transportation, and the circular economy Read More

(Fall 2011)  When Holly Mosher read about Muhammad Yunus and the story of Grameen Bank’s microcredit for women in Bangladesh, she was fascinated. Why had an economist and a bank won the prize for peace and not the prize for economics? And how had one man gone from loaning $27 to 42 people, to helping millions of people? With these questions in mind, she embarked on a film about his work. Read More

(Feb 2016) Without a doubt we, the millennial Generation, believe that we can change the world. There is a “change agent” in each and every one of us. How do I know? Well, because we are different. Huge economic, cultural, and social shifts have changed our view on the world, and as a generation, we have demonstrated a desire to leave the world a better place than it was when we entered. Read More

(July/Aug 2017) The responsible investing movement that we have started and shaped has reached the end of the beginning, with a broad and strong foundation that will evolve to provide the superstructure of our society’s continuing struggle to address and solve its greatest challenges. Our efforts are working, and we are being joined in our mission by more investors worldwide every day. Read More

(Summer 2010) Since you’re reading the GreenMoney Journal it’s likely that you’ve already made the mental shift to sustainability, and if that’s the case, welcome! I believe that shift happens one mind at a time, one company, one technology, one university curriculum, one industry, one community at a time. Read More

(Fall 2012) Twenty years from now, we will have either successfully transitioned from our current economic growth paradigm to a new model of Sustainable Capitalism or we will be suffering the calamitous consequences of our failure to do so. Likewise, sustainable investing will either remain a niche strategy or it will have supplanted mainstream investing. Read More

(Aug 2014) Does the challenge of making informed decisions about your life seem far more complex today than it did even a short time ago? Does the future—yours, and that of the world—feel highly uncertain, perhaps even precarious? Read More

(July/Aug 2017) Responsible investing momentum is strong. For me, and for many of my generation, the future is clear: we are well on our way towards the installation of a vitally important system-level force for good, one that will protect future generations, indeed the planet itself. We have laid the groundwork for a financial system which functions globally to protect people and the planet. Read More

(Sept 2015) Today's environmental challenges are bigger than ever. And a rapidly growing population coupled with climate change will only exacerbate current threats. The environmental movement must try new approaches and scale up our work so it’s bigger, better and faster. Read More

(July/Aug 2017)  It seems so obvious now: innovators are turning to nature for inspiration in chemistry, building, agriculture, energy, health, transportation, computing – even the design of organizations and cities. Biomimicry is taught from kindergarten to university and practiced in all scales of enterprise. But it wasn’t always this way. When Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature first came out, none of the people featured in my book knew one another, nor was there a name for their nature-inspired approach. Read More

(Dec 2017)  There are numerous lessons to be learned from experiences at Facebook. First, agnosticism comes at a price. We live in a values laden society. To presume that our wide spectrum of values can be discounted and factored out of the algorithmic equation ignores the current reality of our society and world. It is still people who are using the platform and people are imperfect. Of course humans are integral to Facebook and when complemented by algorithms, that incorporate ESG factors, they can make an excellent product even better. Read More

(Sept 2016)  Without a dramatic change in the way built environments are designed, constructed, and operated, the world has no chance of adequately addressing climate change. Architecture 2030 has spent over twelve years working with architects, designers and policymakers on programs and initiatives that will lead to zero emissions in the built environment by 2050. In 2014, I had the opportunity to present our “Roadmap to Zero Emissions” report, at the COP21 meetings in Paris, which sets out the country-specific international greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets needed to avert irreversible and devastating climate change. Read More

(Feb 2014)  “Eliminating poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice… Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. People have created and tolerated poverty. And it is people who will overcome it.” In 2013 on Nelson Mandela’s 95th birthday, children with crayons in Kazakhstan drew his face on the sidewalk. At the UN, Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan, who has been shot in the head by the Taliban, says Mandela has influenced her and she forgives her shooters. Later that year the world mourned his death but we still harvest lessons from this monumental man who has taught us so much, and left so much more to do. Read More

(Sept/Oct 2017)  We can’t completely predict what our world will look like in 25 years, but we constantly study trends to anticipate the rapid changes taking place in our industry. By 2040 it is estimated that: Global population will exceed nine billion; 40 cities will have populations over 10 million; Renewable energy will account for half of installed capacity and a third of electricity generation worldwide. Add shifting consumer attitudes about vehicle ownership to these insights and it is why I believe the auto industry is changing more today than it has in the past 50 years. Read More

The US SIF Foundation recently released a guide for financial advisors on how to incorporate sustainable, responsible and impact investing into their practice. The Financial Advisor Roadmap was prepared with insights from financial advisors and other industry professionals. Read More

Ethical Markets released in late April its 2018 Green Transition Scoreboard® finding $9.3 trillion of private investments in green sectors worldwide, cumulatively since 2007. Read More

Marking its 35th anniversary, Stonyfield Organic, the country’s leading organic yogurt maker, announced in April 2018 a bold commitment that not only celebrates the brand’s organic leadership role in the food space, but also casts an eye to a different and equally as large issue facing families. While huge strides have been made in the organic food space over the past 35 years, less is happening around environmental and health issues specific to the use of pesticides beyond food. Read More

Corporate Responsibility Magazine (CR Magazine) announced in early May its 19th annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens list, recognizing the standout environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance of public companies across the United States. Read More

Published to coincide with International Equal Pay Day in April 2018, the first edition of a new annual scorecard ranking 33 of the world’s largest financial, technology, and retail companies on their current gender pay disclosures, performance, and commitments shows Apple, Nike, Starbucks, Wells Fargo and JP Morgan with the highest grade (A-), while Facebook, Goldman Sachs and Walmart are among 11 companies that share the lowest grade (F). Read More

Iroquois Valley Farms has reached a milestone: This spring we added the 50th farm to our portfolio. Our farmland REIT provides secure land tenure for 35 farm families working 9,000 acres of farmland. More families will be joining us soon. We have seen strong and steady growth in the value of our investment portfolio since 2007. We recently launched a new offering to raise $20 million to help fund more farmers. We also offer Soil Restoration Notes to investors, with a portion of the returns going to help our farmers transitioning to organic. Read More

On February 2016 The New York Times ran a story, "Oaxaca’s Native Maize Embraced by Top Chefs in US and Europe", highlighting the work of a new company called Masienda that was sourcing landrace (heirloom) corn from small farms in Mexico. Masienda’s business model emphasizes conservation of agrobiodiversity, while supporting smallholders using sustainable/organic farming methods. When some of us here in Santa Fe saw this article we asked the question, "Why can’t this be happening in New Mexico as well?" And so the New Mexico Landrace Corn Project was born. Read More

The challenge is clear for global food and beverage companies: as the population rises, the agriculture sector they rely on will need to produce more food with fewer greenhouse gas emissions while shifting toward farm practices that conserve or restore diminishing water and soil resources. Sustainable sourcing strategies and supply chain transparency are essential for the food and beverage industry to ensure that their suppliers are making these critical changes. As significant owners of and lenders to companies, investors can be a major force in driving more sustainable practices. Read More

American consumers in 2017 filled more of their grocery carts with organic, buying everything from organic produce and organic ice cream to organic fresh juices and organic dried beans, according to the Organic Trade Association's 2018 Organic Industry Survey released in mid-May. Read More

Farming, like investments, carries some degree of risk. How SFP mitigates these risks is unique and key to the opportunity. Market demand for organic food is the fastest growing segment in grocery stores. Geographically, our established operating network of farms is spread out to minimize the impact of local weather. Our distributed farm network is focused on areas with the best available soil and linking that network allows us to negotiate better offtake agreements and discounts on inputs. In the event of any crop damage due to weather, which diminishes yields, we have crop insurance. Read More

The story begins with a strange orange glow in the sky that awakened me at one AM on the morning of Oct 9th, 2017. Stepping outside into a howling wind, I watched in horror as a huge wildfire burned on the distant ridge. The wind was blowing away from us, so I was very concerned about our neighbors below the ridge in Potter Valley, never dreaming that at the same time the Redwood Complex Fire was racing around the bottom of the ridge and heading straight to Frey Vineyards and engulfing the only paved road out. Read More

For the past several years Domini Impact Investments has been incubating a small portfolio that, in addition to other standards, applies a gender lens of the simplest nature. In order to qualify for stock purchase, the company must employ one female on the executive management team or have one female on the board of directors. The portfolio is unconstrained, multi-cap, global and opportunistic. Within this Wild West of a universe, this one standard has produced portfolio management challenges, personal challenges and frustration well beyond anything I had anticipated. Read More

My path to finance has not been unusual; throughout my childhood, my parents ran an investment management and brokerage firm, so I grew up in the industry. Watching and admiring the dedication my parents put into their business and their careers showed me the value of entrepreneurship, independence, and of planting a garden and tending it. I’m grateful for the lessons in responsibility, hard work, and drive that have been ingrained in me, and early on it became obvious to me that finance could and should be a tool for good. Read More

From wealth advisors and fund managers, to start up entrepreneurs, to company leadership at the board and executive levels, intuitively we have long known the need for greater gender diversity within the financial industry. Research shows a variety of benefits for companies, and their investors, that embrace inclusivity. With findings that show diverse teams are more innovative (leading to increased revenue generation) and that companies with women in leadership perform better during times of financial uncertainty, we are well on our way to making a strong financial case for inclusion. Read More

Corporate Annual Meetings will Reflect Opioid Crisis, Gun Laws, Board Diversity and more Read More

Impact Investing Success Story: Lending in Developing Countries - Improving Lives and Livelihoods While Generating Market Rate Returns Read More

Industry’s only free, searchable resource of impact investing fund managers features firms that manage $29.2 billion in assets Read More

Global businesses can and must take the lead on environmental and social issues, because the future of sustainability is now in the hands of worldwide brands, their consumers, and the NGOs holding them accountable. Read More

Sustainable Investment Firm Withdraws Pay Equity Shareholder Resolutions at Discover, HP, KeyCorp and US Foods Read More

By Bonnie Foley-Wong, Pique Ventures Some impact fund managers began their careers in traditional venture capital whilst other investors have found success previously as entrepreneurs. Read More

Investors are more interested in gender equality than they ever have been before, judging by things like proxy voting and shareholder engagement. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, recently has signaled in its proxy voting guidelines that all-male boards are not acceptable, and noted that boards should have at least two women on them. Pax World has been voting like that for years and we know our impact will be multiplied if other investors vote similarly. Another large investor, State Street, reportedly voted against directors of 400 companies whose boards were all-male Read More

Every weekday, instead of a private car, Benno Dorer takes Bay Area Rapid Transit from San Francisco to Clorox’s headquarters in Oakland. The Clorox CEO buys sustainable products, including his company’s Brita water Read More

NIA Impact Capital Launches RIA To Provide Wealth Advisors with Impact Investing and Women-Focused Investment Solutions Nia Impact Capital (www.niaimpactcapital.com) announced in February 2018 the launch of its women-led Registered Investment Advisor Read More

Bigger, faster, more. Whether due to policy, technological or climatic changes, companies face an onslaught of challenges that are happening sooner and more dramatically than many could have anticipated. Investors in turn are Read More

New research finds businesses are making money from planting trees and growing sales as rapidly as 10 times per year Many investors don t know what restoration is or realize the Read More

Grand prize for biomimicry acceleration goes to Team NexLoop for AquaWeb, an innovative water capture system designed for use in urban food systems. By 2050, 9 billion people will live on our Read More

The following is adapted from State of Green Business 2018, published in mid-January by GreenBiz in partnership with Trucost. Download the report. “Two degrees and the SDGs.” That’s the new sustainable business mantra. Read More

Consider these recent developments - California emerged from drought in 2017; fewer companies reported impacts associated with water scarcity; and the average freshwater intensity of companies in the MSCI ACWI Index dropped by 15 percent. While these are positive short term signals for investors concerned with water scarcity, 2017 was also the most costly in U.S. history for natural disasters. This underscored the thinking behind a key trend that MSCI ESG Research identified last year - institutional investors are shifting their portfolio analysis from the measurement of regulatory risks to physical risks. Read More

Water is a systemic risk to investors, as in many parts of the United States and other areas of the world this precious resource is in danger. Investors and market players should be deepening their research and investment process to tackle water risks, often hidden in holdings across all asset classes. As investment advisors, how do we first protect our clients from these risks, and how do we position these same clients to benefit from the growth opportunities in companies that are providing innovative systems, products and services to solve water quantity, quality and resilience issues? Read More

The protection of our shared environment is among government’s most fundamental responsibilities. Throughout history, the first acts of tyrants have included efforts to deliver public-trust assets into private hands. King John attempted to sell off the country’s fisheries, place tolls on rivers, seize its woodlands and game animals. Enraged by this, England’s people forced him to sign the Magna Carta. That seminal democratic document included a powerful articulation of the principle that the commons of water, fisheries and woodland were not commodities to be bartered away, but the rightful property of all citizens. Read More

Over the past decade, the term sustainability has caught on in the boardroom, courtroom and living room. While the concept has reached the mainstream, opportunities abound for implementation.

Ten trends to watch for Read More

What never grows old? The burning desire of youth to reinvent the world. That ambition and impatience is on full display in Forbes 2018 edition of the Forbes 30 Under 30, our annual Read More

Amalgamated Bank (“Amalgamated”) and New Resource Bancorp, the parent company of New Resource Bank (OTC: NRBC; together, “New Resource”) announced in mid-December 2017 the signing of a definitive merger agreement by which Amalgamated Read More

A new generation of business students is becoming aware of the opportunity to do good and still be profitable in their current and future careers. Overwhelmingly, Millennials say that they are looking for careers that provide good work-life balance and give them a sense of purpose over simply making money. Here are two examples of companies profiled on AIM2Flourish.com, run by Millennials who are out to change the world with their drive, passion, and dedication to be a force for good. Both companies were awarded an inaugural Flourish Prize in 2017. Read More

The financial services industry is a bit obsessed with trying to understand the next generation of investors – the notorious millennials. And for good reason – millennials represent the largest generation in history with a spending power of over $1.5 trillion. Many millennials are well into their wealth accumulation phase and have already begun to inherit $30 trillion in the largest wealth transfer ever. As a millennial working in SRI, I believe, that for everyone, money is inherently personal, complicated and ultimately a vehicle to attain the goal of living a rewarding life. Read More

Walter Cronkite was the legendary CBS News anchorman known as “The most trusted man in America.” In 2003, I had the chance to go sailing with Mr. Cronkite, we talked constantly while tacking our way through the waters off the British Virgin Islands and while visiting his friend, Remar Sutton, who I worked for. Having the opportunity to talk for hours on end with such an iconic figure was life changing for me. From those wind-swept discussions the FoolProof Foundation was born. The big question we needed to answer was: is financial education, as it exists, working? Read More

There are two opinions about millennials floating around society. The first is that our generation is lazy, and we feel "entitled." The second is that we are going to change the world because we don't settle for following in the set paths that have been established before us. As a millennial that has had to work hard on all levels, including being a 4x Olympian and an entrepreneur in financial planning, I agree with the second opinion. Millennials are different than previous generations, but that's how we are going to set ourselves apart. Read More

Edited by Jed Emerson

Practical guide to impact investing lays out how individual investors, family offices, financial advisors and foundations can generate social and environmental value through capital investing.

With greater demand than Read More

Investor Activist/Sustainable Wealth Manager Championing Gender Pay Equity in Tech, Banking and Retail Industries Earns Unique Spot in Special Issue of Businessweek; Which Sector is Next?

“The Bloomberg 50” list of the Read More

Vert Asset Management, a dedicated ESG investment manager, recently announced the launch of the Vert Global Sustainable Real Estate Fund (Ticker: VGSRX), an open-end mutual fund which seeks to achieve long-term capital appreciation. Read More

Domini is proud to announce that we have recently signed the Stockholm Declaration, re-affirming our support for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). The Stockholm Declaration was organized by the GRI Read More

Last year, as CEI conducted a strategic review as part of our leadership transition, we found ourselves asking the same questions that were being asked across the country, on both sides of the political aisle. At the heart of those questions was the recognition that our economy is not working for everyone. And a major takeaway was that rural regions, gateway cities, and the people who live there were being left behind. Maine-based CEI is taking strides to change that, from investing in small businesses, job training programs, and pragmatic policy solutions. Read More

After decades of working at the intersection of community development, philanthropy and community economic development, we see a significant shift in how philanthropic assets are being used to build vibrant, prosperous communities. Many place-focused foundations are seeking to complement their grantmaking with local investments to create greater impact in their own communities. There’s a growing recognition that traditional grantmaking is not enough to address complex, tough community issues like early childhood education, affordable and energy efficient housing, good jobs and career opportunities for all. Read More

Homewise is a non-profit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that offers a comprehensive suite of homeownership services for low-to-moderate income individuals and families, many of whom have been largely underserved by traditional lending institutions. Our services include financial education and coaching, real estate brokerage, mortgage lending, home improvement and refinance lending, real estate development and disinvested property rehabilitation. Each of our services is designed to bolster our other services, providing a one-stop resource for creating an accessible and affordable path to successful homeownership. Read More

Community Capital Management is an RIA, based in South Florida, with offices in Boston and Charlotte. The firm manages just over $2.4 billion, most of which is in our CRA Qualified Investment Fund (CRA Fund). "CRA" stands for the Community Reinvestment Act, which regulates banks within the U.S. The CRA Fund is a market-rate, fixed income fund that invests in U.S.-based community impact investments. Community impact investments focus on positive criteria for inclusion in a portfolio and can include a wide range of intentions such as affordable housing, neighborhood revitalization, and small business development. Read More

The annual award recognizes Sustainable, Responsible, Impact Investment Industry Leadership. Richard Liroff and Cliff Feigenbaum named as 2017’s most influential leaders in SRI. The SRI Conference, which hosted more than 800 investment professional Read More

Samsung Trails Behind Apple in New Greenpeace Guide to Greener Electronics. Average Grade Across 17 Companies Is D+, Indicating Long Way to Go Toward Sustainable IT.

The 2017 Guide to Greener Electronics (the Read More

Green Century Capital Management announced recently that its assets under management (AUM) reached a new landmark, exceeding $500 million as of October 20, 2017. Green Century is the investment advisor to the first Read More

ImpactAssets announced in September 2017 the addition of new lower minimum, high-impact investment options within the ImpactAssets Giving Fund (www.impactassets.org), its donor advised fund. The four private debt and equity investments are managed Read More

For more than 40 years, Muhammad Yunus, the Bangladeshi founder of the Grameen Bank and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize[1], has been asserting that the most powerful way to eradicate poverty Read More

At Appleseed Capital, we have watched developments in SRI and ESG with great satisfaction. Having launched the Appleseed Fund nearly 11 years ago, we are proud to have been a participant in the long-term movement to align investments with values. As we look forward to 2018 and beyond, we expect to see the recent trends surrounding SRI investing to remain solidly intact. We believe that more and more traditional investors and asset managers will come to understand the value, both social and financial, of investing with a purpose, and we are confident that the Sustainable Responsible Impact Investing industry will continue to evolve in response to the changing political and economic environment. Read More

Aligning the capital markets more directly with the urgent needs we face as a society to halt environmental destruction and reverse decades of worsening inequality must be our priority for 2018. Alignment needs to occur at every level, across the global markets. Despite the tremendous efforts behind the Paris Climate Accord, formalization of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and a long history of other efforts to change the course of climate change and inequality, we are not making nearly the progress needed. The 1,700 signatories to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, which represent $70 trillion of assets and a wave of press about ESG investing, have not gotten us on track yet. Read More

There are numerous lessons to be learned from experiences at Facebook. First, agnosticism comes at a price. We live in a values laden society. To presume that our wide spectrum of values can be discounted and factored out of the algorithmic equation ignores the current reality of our society and world. It is still people who are using the platform and people are imperfect. Of course humans are integral to Facebook and when complemented by algorithms, they can make an excellent product even better. The company itself could also better manage the risks to their brand that seems to be dogging them these days. In 2018, ESG is here to help. Responsible algorithms anyone? Read More

Looking into 2018, higher corporate earnings – inevitable with the new lower taxes rates – ought to lead to the sort of volatility-free rise in the stock market that 2017 saw. Further, employment is full in this country; emerging economies continue to grow at rates that exceed those of developed economies; exciting new industries such as software-as-a-service, alternative energy storage and the internet of things arise with regularity fueling dynamic growth. Then there's the other picture. There are two enormous longer-term and permanent threats to my cheerful scenario. China is the macro geopolitical one and the other is due to climate change. Further, there are three short-term unavoidable threats, also worth acknowledging. Read More

LIFT Economy was recently recognized for creating extraordinary positive impact as a business based on an independent, comprehensive assessment administered by the nonprofit B Lab. Honorees are featured on B the Change, Read More

Surprising Trends in Sustainability Reporting -- Research shows US lagging Europe despite better revenue returns with strong reporting practices The Centre for Sustainability and Excellence (CSE) announces its second annual research of Sustainability Read More

Change Finance, a majority women-run asset manager, announced in October the launch of its first ETF. The Change Finance Diversified Impact U.S. Large Cap Fossil Fuel Free ETF (CHGX) is the only ETF Read More

It began with a magic trick. When I was young a friend of my father's would pull a quarter out from behind my ear, and then make it disappear again. This became an apt metaphor for my relationship with money: one moment there and the next moment gone, feeding two powerful feelings about money: insecurity and lots of fear about never getting it back. My next memory of money was of being gifted with Kennedy silver half dollars on my birthdays (one for every year). Not realizing their worth, I spent most of them, but when I moved some years ago I found a stash of them in a small black bag. Read More

It’s Monday morning, the beginning of a new week. The day starts with greeting the sunrise from our garden that faces to the East. A few minutes of taking in the energy that provides us so many benefits every day, and then some meditation, establishes the foundation for all else. After a stroll in the garden it is time to enter into the technological universe with a quick review of Bloomberg.com and WSJ.com. What is happening on the global stage and in the financial markets? How are the markets doing and how might global factors and the events of the day impact the people that I work with? Read More

As a child, money was tight; often a stressful topic at our house. Money messages included being prudent, entrepreneurial and thrifty. I wore hand-me-down clothes, planted seeds in our victory garden and overheard as my parents argued over whose turn it was to pick up the food stamps. My father taught math at a local high school and then took to the streets as a Fuller Brush salesman in the evenings. To bring in additional income, my mom corrected high school English papers and my father managed apartments to reduce our rent. I learned about the importance of saving money, of looking for opportunities, and of working hard. Read More

General Motors CEO Mary Barra has long been an advocate for girls enrolled in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education[1]. Now GM is cutting checks to help more females enter these professions. Read More

The world faces a looming challenge of handling our waste, an in creasing percentage of which is made of plastic, which simply does not go away. Plastic usually accounts for up to 20 percent of a municipality’s waste generation by weight, but by volume, the proportion is significantly higher. Most small communities do not have access to solutions, and this is where "catalytic philanthropy," particularly in the resource recovery sector, can make an enormous impact on peoples’ lives on a global basis. Read More

Wildlife Works announced in July the launch of Everland LLC, a specialized marketing company representing an established group of high-impact forest conservation projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America that have successfully stopped deforestation by applying REDD+, a performance-based mechanism, to conserve highly threatened forests. Read More

In a continuing and growing commitment to helping investors integrate sustainability considerations into portfolio decisions, Morningstar, Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, and Sustainalytics, a leading global provider of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) research and ratings, announced in July 2017 that Morningstar has acquired a 40 percent ownership stake in Sustainalytics. The direct investment represents an important milestone in Morningstar’s long-term sustainability strategy and intends to support Sustainalytics’ ability to deliver high-quality, innovative ESG products and services to the global investment community. Read More

The GreenBiz team is proud and excited to reveal our second annual list of promising young professionals in the field of sustainable business. This year's "30 Under 30" cohort was selected by GreenBiz editors Read More

UPS announced in late June 2017 aggressive new sustainability goals to add more alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles to its fleet while increasing its reliance on renewable energy sources. Read More

We can’t completely predict what our world will look like in 25 years, but we constantly study trends to anticipate the rapid changes taking place in our industry. By 2040 it is estimated that: Global population will exceed nine billion; 40 cities with have populations over 10 million; Renewable energy will account for half of installed capacity and a third of electricity generation worldwide. Add shifting consumer attitudes about vehicle ownership to these insights and it is why I believe the auto industry is changing more today than it has in the past 50 years. Read More

As an entrepreneur, I lean optimistic, and so here are a few predictions for where the organic marketplace is heading. Several megatrends will combine to keep the sales of organic foods growing at a robust rate, they include: Increased awareness about the negative health impacts and costs of widespread agrichemical exposures; Organic Certification will remain the only reliable standard for consumers seeking real, clean foods; the positive role that organics can play in mitigating the effects of climate change including better data on the benefits of organic production; and Lower cost organic offerings. Read More

When SRI industry leaders look at the future of sustainable investing, our tendency is to pat ourselves on the back for the tremendous progress we have made and make optimistic predictions about the wonderful progress that still lies ahead. While not wanting to be the skunk at the garden party, and while remaining a die-hard optimist when it comes to possibilities, I am more pessimistic about probabilities if we remain on our current course. We need to up our game and here is how. Read More

The SRI field has grown rapidly to nearly $9 trillion and the next decade will bring continued expansion in assets and in the types of investors who control those assets, as well as further growth in the products and services available. From high net worth individuals to retail investors to new robo-advisor platforms all will increasingly bring their assets into SRI. Foundations of all sizes will be changing their investment process to better connect their mission to their endowments and Pension funds, including private sector funds will offer sustainable investment options. Read More

I believe that companies will continue to benefit economically by pursuing excellence in corporate responsibility, especially in the context of climate change and increased resource scarcity. As responsible investing integrates into the mainstream, ESG data will be incorporated into greater numbers and types of investment strategies. Investment firms that can successfully identify companies with leading ESG profiles, strong financials and attractive fundamentals will be the most likely to succeed. Also leadership in the responsible investment industry will require meaningful engagement with portfolio companies on ESG issues. Read More

Where did this begin for me? Was it watching the “Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau,” or the ecology flags we pasted on our bumpers in the early 70s? Or that public service TV spot of the canoeing Native American tearing up as he looked at the litter along the river. Or maybe it was those smog alerts in LA where I grew up. Fast forward to the 80s when I was working at a hospital in the NW. After I chose my 401k plan I soon discovered, as I tried to make more “informed” financial decisions, that the mutual funds had numerous tobacco stocks in their holdings. Wow! At a healthcare institution! A good friend who was a skilled editor decided after much research to join me in writing an article on SRI for the local Journal of Business – they published our first draft. Read More

We are living in a time of extraordinary change. Virtually every dimension of business is changing. As I have been reflecting on what these changes mean for the future of all companies, I have zeroed in on three big changes that are flowing together: One of the changes is positive, one is neither inherently good nor bad, and one is problematic. Read More

Responsible investing momentum is strong. For me, and for many of my generation, the future is clear: we are well on our way towards the installation of a vitally important system-level force for good, one that will protect future generations, indeed the planet itself. We have laid the groundwork for a financial system which functions globally to protect people and the planet. My purpose in advocating what I called ethical investing was to build a large enough investor presence that demanded a clean and dignified future for all. Read More

In a global investment landscape that at times appears rife with uncertainty and beset by bubbles and busts, two main areas stand out both as pockets of opportunity and as major forces for change: sustainable, responsible and impact (SRI) investing – that is, investment that considers environmental, social and governance criteria as well as returns – and financial technology, or fintech, which is revolutionizing how financial services are delivered. Read More

It seems so obvious now: innovators are turning to nature for inspiration in chemistry, building, agriculture, energy, health, transportation, computing – even the design of organizations and cities. Biomimicry is taught from kindergarten to university and practiced in all scales of enterprise. But it wasn’t always this way. When Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature first came out, none of the people featured in my book knew one another, nor was there a name for their nature-inspired approach. Read More

The responsible investing movement that we have started and shaped has reached the end of the beginning, with a broad and strong foundation that will evolve to provide the superstructure of our society’s continuing struggle to address and solve its greatest challenges. Our efforts are working, and we are being joined in our mission by more investors worldwide every day. The UN Principles for Responsible Investment – of which Calvert was a founder – counts 1,700 large investors & $70 trillion in assets. Read More

Eight years ago I received the call asking me to consider joining Trillium Asset Management as CEO. Since that time, we have seen more interest than ever in the field of sustainable investing from a wide variety of institutions, mainstream money managers, and families often driven by women and millennials, bringing assets over to impact. Looking out over the horizon, I see six emerging trends that I believe shed light on the future of sustainable investing. Read More

With income inequality in the United States at record high levels, employee ownership is increasingly being lauded as a potential solution to spreading wealth more broadly. Most recently, research from the National Center for Employee Ownership released in May 2017 shows that employee owners have a household net worth that is 92 percent higher than non-employee owners. They also make 33 percent higher wages, and are far less likely to be laid off. Read More

A report published June by The Investment Integration Project (TIIP) examines the opportunities, challenges, and breakthroughs needed for investors to finance the circular economy. Written by William Burckart (TIIP) and Jamie Butterworth (Circularity Capital), Investing in the New Industrial (R)evolution: Insights for asset owners and managers financing the circular economy details how investors and corporations are incorporating global issues related to the health, food, and energy systems, as well as others, into their investment and production design processes, respectively. Read More

The for-profit subsidiary of a West Side nonprofit that provides transitional jobs for the formerly incarcerated in its production of local honey and honey-infused skincare products; a company that employs adults with autism founded by the father of an affected child; a collaborative created to renew a corridor that was once the heart of entertainment and shopping on Chicago’s south and southwest side – these are three of the beneficiaries of the first loans to be made by the impact investment fund established for Benefit Chicago. Read More

The Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, announced recently 124 companies spanning five continents, 19 countries and 52 industry sectors as the 2017 World’s Most Ethical Companies® honorees. Read More

"Mapping Ocean Wealth" (MOW), an initiative run by The Nature Conservancy, has won one of the highest accolades the tourism industry has to offer, the Tourism for Tomorrow Innovation Award. The Award was presented at the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) 17th Global Summit, in Bangkok in April 2017. Read More

We at Iroquois Valley Farms are pleased to announce a new corporate entity as we begin our 11th season of operations. In 2007 when we started the company, our idea was simple - growing healthy foods on organic soils would be good business. Read More

I often refer to Slow Money as "the CSA of investing." As with community-supported agriculture, our efforts revolve around informal, direct relationships and shared risk. Slow Money funding is flowing in a variety of ways in dozens of communities across the United States (and a few in Canada and France) — peer-to-peer lending, investment clubs, angel networks and pitch fests at public events large and small. Join us for the SOIL 2017 Conference this October, in Boulder, CO. Read More

April 18, 2017 marked the publication of an ambitious new book with the audacious goal of showing how to reverse the warming of the planet through a myriad of innovations, many of them led by business for profit. Read More

In Late March, the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance (GSIA) released its biennial Global Sustainable Investment Review 2016, showing that global sustainable investment assets reached $22.89 trillion at the start of 2016, a 25% increase from 2014. Read More

In late April 2017, the latest Green Transition Scoreboard® (GTS) found that, despite Trump’s anti-green policies, private green investments now total more than $8.1 trillion USD ($8,133,456,730,370). Read More

Whole Foods Market CEO John Mackey announced the release of his new book last month, The Whole Foods Diet: The Lifesaving Plan for Health and Longevity. Mackey co-authored the book with Dr. Alona Pulde and Dr. Matthew Lederman, known for the documentary, Forks Over Knives. Read More

Social Capital Markets (SOCAP) is in the vanguard of the emerging global impact economy - convening ideas and capital to catalyze world change. We are a network of investors, entrepreneurs, and social impact leaders addressing the world’s toughest challenges through market-based solutions. Read More

His new book claims to have made a definitive list of the most effective global strategies for lowering our emissions. Don’t despair: they’re all totally achievable.

If you read anything about climate change, it’s not hard to become convinced that we’re screwed. For instance, here are just a few notable recent apocalyptic warnings: In January, a chunk of ice roughly twice the size of Central Park split off a glacier in Antarctica; within months, another chunk larger than Rhode Island is likely to follow. By 2100, sea levels could rise eight feet. Much earlier–perhaps as soon as in 15 years–drought and disease linked to climate change could begin to kill more than a quarter of a million people each year. Read More

Index-fund giant State Street Global Advisors on Tuesday March 7 began pushing big companies to put more women on their boards, initially demanding change at those firms without any female directors. The money manager, which is a unit of State Street Corp., says it will vote against board members charged with nominating new directors if they don't soon make strides at adding women. Firms won't have an exact quota to be in compliance with State Street's mandate, but must prove they attempted to improve a lack of diversity. A firm that doesn't add women, for example, would have to prove to State Street it attempted to cast a wider net and set diversity goals. Read More

What do an artificial heart, the theater, and Gabon all have in common? From where you’re sitting, probably not much. For me, however, they are key facets of my life that have led me to a career in impact investing. Read More

With a new administration in the White House and major national policy shifts underway, shareholder proponents are focused on preserving key gains they have won in their shareholder resolutions this spring. Investors will consider a near-record number of proposals filed on environmental, social and sustainable governance (ESG) issues for consideration at corporate annual meetings. Proxy Preview 2017, released in early March by As You Sow, the Sustainable Investments Institute (Si2), and Proxy Impact, lists the specific shareholder resolutions filed this year and lays out major themes, including corporate political influence, climate change and economic inequality. Read More

For an industry that prides itself on mastering risk management, finding value and uncovering arbitrage opportunities, I think the financial services sector is falling flat. Why? Because most firms are overlooking one of the biggest investment opportunities ever: women. Read More

Back on March 8, International Women’s Day 2017—we thought it was a good time to take stock of our collective progress toward gender equality. And such a moment of reflection is particularly relevant for HERproject (herproject.org) this year, as we are hitting a big milestone: It’s our 10th birthday! On our anniversary, we’re taking a moment to think about what we have achieved and what we have left to do. Read More

ImpactAssets has released its 2016 impact investing showcase, the ImpactAssets 50 (IA 50), a free online resource for investors and financial advisors. The sixth annual list provides a diversified overview of fund managers representing private debt and equity investments that deliver social and environmental impact as well as financial returns. Read More

In the world of Sustainable and Impact Investing, few ideas have captured the imagination as quickly as Gender Lens Investing (“GLI”). In just the past few years, the number of Gender Lens solutions has grown rapidly. The premise of this Read More

For the past six years, I’ve been predicting what trends will impact Corporate Social Responsibility in the coming year. Sometimes, I’m right; sometimes I’m less right. Read More

This article introduces the latest annual assessment of corporate sustainability produced in our partnership with GreenBiz.

2016 was undoubtedly a year of change. Aside from major political shifts (in the US and the UK), there were also significant shifts in climate action. The implications of the Paris Agreement at COP21 filtered through to both businesses and investors, leading to a number of breakthroughs in policy and behavior. Read More

It’s hard to imagine a time more hopeful and horrifying for sustainable business. On the one hand are great achievements and milestones. The Paris Agreement on climate change was ratified in 2016, faster than any United Nations pact in history, Read More

A profound political disruption has raised the stakes for clean money. It's a watershed moment for progressive business and investing, and a major bump in the pathway from the old economy to a new one. We must double down to ensure a just, resilient future civilization. Read More

The World Economic Forum’s 2016 global risk report ranked water crises as one of the top societal risks to the global economy ahead of fiscal crises, cyber attacks and even food crises ^[1]. Megatrends are converging to create this vortex: a growing middle class with greater demand for water; a changing climate altering the availability of water; and global declines in water quality, reducing the supply of clean water, increasing the treatment cost and putting people’s health and communities at risk. Read More

More than 35 CEOs and civil society leaders of the Business & Sustainable Development Commission (the Commission) recently reveal that sustainable business models could open economic opportunities worth up to US$12 trillion and increase employment by up to 380 million jobs by 2030. Putting the Sustainable Development Goals, or Global Goals, at the heart of the world’s economic strategy could unleash a step-change in growth and productivity, with an investment boom in sustainable infrastructure as a critical driver. However, this will not happen without radical change in the business and investment community. Real leadership is needed for the private sector to become a trusted partner in working with government and civil society to fix the economy. Read More

Every year the Canadian-headquartered firm Corporate Knights (publishing, research) ranks “the world’s most sustainable companies,” from a universe of 4,000 global enterprises with market cap of at least US$2 billion each. The research team applies 14 metrics in its analysis of “corporate sustainability” to evaluate the management and governance of the sustainability journey. Read More

Sustainalytics, a leading global provider of ESG and corporate governance research, ratings and analytics, recently released a new thematic research report titled, 10 for 2017: Investment Themes in a Changing World. The report looks at the key drivers of 10 ESG investment themes that are expected to create new risks and opportunities for investors in 2017. In addition, the report profiles 10 companies, spanning seven countries and eight industries, that are poised to take advantage of these trends. Read More

This year may ring the bell on a fundamental rethink for investors. Underlying all the major trends we identified for 2017 is a strategic decision point – do we change the way we think about investing, or is this business as usual in a new order? Read More

Just about every big Wall Street firm and big-time philanthropist has recently tried to get in on what’s often called double bottom line investing. The idea is that an investment isn’t just intended to score a high return; perhaps more important, it is supposed to make a significant difference in an area that had been considered un-investable. Goldman Sachs, for example, created social impact bonds to reduce the recidivism rate for adolescent offenders at the Rikers Island correctional facility in New York City. Read More

Money managers increasingly are incorporating ESG factors into their investment analysis and portfolio construction, driven by the demand for ESG investing products from institutional and individual investors and by the mission and values of their management firms. Of the managers that responded to an information request about reasons for incorporating ESG, the highest percentage, 85 percent, cited client demand as a motivation. Read More

The New Grand Strategy: Restoring America's Prosperity, Security and Sustainability in the 21st Century

A new book by Mark Mykleby, Patrick Doherty, and Joel Makower The New Grand Strategy describes a business plan for America, born at the Pentagon, that embeds sustainability as a strategic national imperative. It tells how a discipline called “grand strategy” has been used in the past to align our economy, foreign policy and governance structures to take on the big challenges of the day, such as fighting fascism or containing communism. Read More

ETHICMARK® Winners: “Do Right Initiative” and “Give Mom Back Her Name” were awarded the Best Advertising Campaigns For 2016. The Advertising campaigns showed the positive effects of community action in India and the importance of women’s identity in the Middle Read More

Back in November, when we announced we’d give 100 percent of our global retail and online Black Friday sales directly to grassroots nonprofits working on the frontlines to protect our air, water and soil for future generations, we heard from many of our customers calling it a “fundraiser for the earth.” Read More

The Centre for Sustainability and Excellence (CSE) announces its ground breaking report: Sustainability Trends in Silicon Valley. While much has been made about whether Silicon Valley corporations, start-ups and tech giants are or are not models of sustainability, CSE provides the first systematic research on the true picture of sustainability efforts by analyzing the current state of sustainability and corporate social responsibility reporting by Silicon Valley-based companies and organizations. Read More