Social Funds recently published a two-part article on corporate responsibility for fighting human trafficking and forced labor, especially commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). Reporter Robert Kropp writes that corporations have an important role to play in the prevention of child sex tourism, but American companies appear reluctant to act: of 623 global signatories of a Code of Conduct for Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism, only 5 are American.

The World Trade in People

(read more…)

Last week, Responsible Investor reported that Adam Seitchik, former CIO of Trillium Asset Management, is joining London-based Auriel Capital Management. RI’s Hugh Wheelan wrote that in hiring Mr. Seitchik, Auriel “is joining a growing number of hedge funds building strategies in the responsible investment space.”

Why are absolute return managers becoming more interested in environmental, social and governance (ESG) analysis? According to Mr. Seitchik, the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) have spurred broader investor interest in ESG research. In a conversation on June 22, he discussed the impetus behind his move:

(read more…)

As the Obama Administration seeks to overhaul financial regulation, a multi-trillion-dollar coalition of investors has argued that the government should require corporate disclosure of climate change-related risks. Climate Risk Disclosure in SEC Filings – a deceptively modest title – calls for replacing the current hodgepodge of voluntary disclosure with a federally mandated reporting regime.

Ceres, the Environmental Defense Fund, and other sponsors of this Corporate Library-produced study formally presented their findings to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a June 12 letter.

(read more…)

Executive pay practices have recently drawn scrutiny from both Congress and the Obama Administration. Last week, Nell Minow of The Corporate Library testified before the US Committee on Financial Services on “Compensation Structure and Systemic Risk.”

In her June 11 testimony, as in her previous work, Ms. Minow emphasized that boards of directors bear ultimate responsibility for corporate pay practices. While many sustainable/socially responsible investors (SRI) welcome “say-on-pay,” she spoke frankly about the limits of this and other tactical reforms:

(read more…)

Miller-McCune is a new magazine whose tagline is “Turning Research into Solutions.” On its website, it reports on a 30-year study of green attitudes among adolescents. The results are sobering.

“A research team led by Laura Wray-Lake of the Pennsylvania State University’s Department of Human Development and Family Studies examined data from the ‘Monitoring the Future‘ study, a sophisticated survey of the beliefs and behaviors of American secondary school students. The scholars mapped trends in a variety of environment-related areas, including conservation-conscious behaviors, feelings of responsibility for the environment and faith in technology.

(read more…)

In May, the Obama Administration announced new fuel economy standards for cars sold in the US. According to activist Daniel Becker, as quoted in the New York Times, “This is the single biggest step the American government has ever taken to cut greenhouse gas emissions.”

More big steps are to come. The EPA has been soliciting public comments for “the first comprehensive national system for reporting emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHG) produced by major sources in the United States.”

(read more…)

On May 26, Responsible Investor reported on a new study calling for pension funds to better prepare for climate change. Pension trustees may even have a fiduciary duty to account for climate-related risk, according to study authors Craig Mackenzie and Francisco Ascui of the University of Edinburgh Business School.

Investor Leadership on Climate Change, written on behalf of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), explores the role of investors in reducing global carbon emissions. As reported by RI’s Hugh Wheelan, the study finds that this role will be immense:

(read more…)

In March 2009, KLD Consulting sought to identify which emerging-market nations were improving their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure. Through a review of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) data, the lead researchers noted efforts by emerging-market companies to comply with GRI’s reporting guidelines.

Brazil, South Korea, South Africa, India, and Chile all made significant progress towards broader, more detailed ESG disclosure.

(read more…)

Only 24% of voters know that “cap and trade” describes an environmental policy proposal, according to a new Rasmussen poll. Matthew Yglesias at ThinkProgress cited the results this week, and also noted that 46% of respondents guessed that cap and trade involves Wall Street regulation or health care.

The KLD Blog is not typically concerned with opinion polls, but this survey hits close to home. As stated on our “About” page, “KLD analysts stay apprised of economic, financial and political developments worldwide, and the KLD Blog shares our expertise with you.”

(read more…)

As noted by Robert Kropp at Social Funds, 2009 is witnessing a dramatic increase in “say on pay” shareholder resolutions. He gives some credit for this to “public outrage” over executive compensation levels during a worldwide recession. Shareholder engagement is also driven by sustainable and socially responsible investment (SRI) advocates, who help investors work together to achieve common goals.

Green America (formerly Co-op America) recently launched a “proxy education center” for shareholders. With support from Ceres, the AFL-CIO, and the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility, the site offers guidance on proposed resolutions in four topic areas at 23 major companies.

(read more…)