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 now widely taught from kindergarten to university and practiced in all scales of enterprise. (July/Aug. 2017) 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

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

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