On October 29, the Global Network Initiative announced new communications industry guidelines to protect privacy and free speech. The Initiative is a joint effort by human rights groups, academics, investment firms (including KLD), and major internet and media companies, including Microsoft, Google, and Yahoo.

Defenders of free speech have faulted all three internet giants for censoring user content at the request of Chinese authorities. Many criticized Yahoo in particular, The Guardian explains, “after it handed the Chinese government details that led to the imprisonment of dissident journalist Shi Tao in 2004.”

Individual companies are always vulnerable to pressure from governments that regulate them. The Initiative is an attempt to seek safety in numbers, as explained by its press release:

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On October 22, in Beijing, Wal-Mart convened a “global supply chain summit.” The Wall Street Journal reports [subscription required] that the giant retailer is unveiling new environmental and labor standards for its suppliers, and that third-party auditors will help enforce the new rules.

This new commitment was driven, in part, by social investors and corporate social responsibility activists that have long studied and publicized Wal-Mart’s practices. As in the case of predatory lending, the corporate response to activists’ “early warning system” was far from prompt. The Journal notes:

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In a late September article, KLD Research Analyst Eric Benjamin and I discussed the fate of executives at failed insurer AIG. Since then, even more mind-boggling bailouts have dominated the news. The most recent Rescue to End All Rescues “seeks to take aim at the eight-figure pay packages given to Wall Street executives,” according to the New York Times, but is it firing blanks?

“Whether this bill will rein in executive compensation remains to be seen,” Eric says. “The language includes both broad guidance and specific mandates that could serve the intent of the law, or be its undoing.”

Past Reform Efforts “Unblemished by Success”

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“All of the above.”

Campaign sound bites don’t typically involve energy policy, but in 2008 that phrase has become shorthand for an approach that embraces renewable energy – and also nuclear power, as well as expanded fossil fuel exploration and production. Some voters might find this reassuring. Those who drill deeper (sorry) into the issue could decide that choosing “all of the above” is no choice at all.

Environmental activists have often opposed further oil exploration and new nuclear plants. Today, even for-profit players with a stake in those sectors won’t commit to their future. We can add ExxonMobil and Exelon, the nation’s largest nuclear utility, to those who aren’t sure we can drill or chain-react our way out of the energy crisis.

ExxonMobil Hesitates

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The global financial crisis has happened fast, and investors and governments have struggled to keep up. Not everyone has been surprised by the events of recent weeks, however. Some members of the socially responsible investment (SRI) community operated an “early warning system” for investors.

No, they haven’t said “I told you so.”

“‘Prophetic’ Religious Groups Sounded Subprime Loan Alarm 15 Years Ago,” says the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility. A September release from ICCR details how “as early as 1993, ICCR members were filing resolutions – six just that year – to more closely regulate subprime mortgages.”

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The Moskowitz Prize recognizes outstanding quantitative research on socially responsible investing. Its namesake, Milt Moskowitz, began shaping what has become social research in 1980 with Everybody’s Business and continued with half a dozen books in the field. These included The 100 Best Companies to Work For, which also became an annual feature in Fortune.

At Trillium Asset Management’s site, Mr. Moskowitz reflects on his 25-year involvement with the firm, which is a pillar of socially responsible investment (SRI) in America. Mr. Moskowitz describes how Trillium and the SRI market have evolved since 1983.

Over the past 25 years, SRI has leapt from its niche to become a $2.7 trillion mainstream investment sector. As he explains in his piece, Mr. Moskowitz was a colleague and advisor to many of the leaders who made this growth possible. But even as the social investment community has expanded, Milt Moskowitz has maintained his place at its center.

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