tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56610211582519050332024-03-05T13:47:26.151-05:00SRI MonitorNews and views on the world of socially responsible investing in Canada, including original content related to social, environmental, human rights and corporate governance issues. Written and maintained by a Toronto-based financial advisor and an Ottawa-based writer/editor.Doug Watthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09865472291944931373noreply@blogger.comBlogger418125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-73052349265851639162017-10-17T10:37:00.000-04:002017-10-17T10:37:40.980-04:00Dustyn Lanz appointed as new CEO at Canada's Responsible Investment AssociationThe Responsible Investment Association on Tuesday announced the appointment of Dustyn Lanz as incoming Chief Executive Officer,
effective January 1, 2018. Current CEO Deb Abbey will retire following a five-year tenure in the role.<br />
<br />
Lanz currently serves as Chief Operating Officer, and has worked with
the RIA since 2013. He has played a central role in growing the RIA’s
membership base and strengthening its brand and communications
initiatives over the last four years, the RIA said in a statement.<br />
<br />
"We are very pleased to appoint Dustyn as the next CEO of the RIA," said Jason Milne, Chair of the RIA's board of directors and Vice
President, Corporate Governance & Responsible Investment with RBC
Global Asset Management. "Dustyn's industry expertise, market
understanding and passion for responsible investment will build on the
success that Deb has helped the RIA to achieve." He added, "Deb has done
an absolutely incredible job of leading this organization since 2013,
and we wish her the very best in retirement."<br />
<br />
To ensure a smooth transition, Abbey will work closely with Lanz until her retirement at the end of the year.<br />
<br />
Although Lanz has only been working in the RI field for four years, he has done an excellent job promoting responsible investment to Canadians, under the able tutelage of Deb Abbey. SRI Monitor believes he will be a strong addition to the world of responsible investing in Canada. <div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Doug Watthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09865472291944931373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-9661345279046024032017-02-15T14:55:00.000-05:002017-02-15T14:55:02.392-05:00Today’s New and Developing Carbon Markets, February 7, 2017
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Organized by </span><a href="http://www.environment.utoronto.ca/"><span style="color: #458cd5; font-family: Calibri;">U
of T’s School of the Environment</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, last Tuesday’s session was filled with a
huge amount of new learning, contextualizing and updates, some of which I will
share with you here. And if you thought you had enough acronyms from SRI, well,
let me introduce you to a whole bunch more! </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The day began with a presentation on Paris and Marrakesh
by </span><a href="http://www.graytaylorlaw.com/"><span style="color: #458cd5; font-family: Calibri;">Gray Taylor</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, introduced as ‘the
godfather of Canadian climate change law’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The COP (Conference Of the Parties) 21 Paris Agreement
which was approved December 12, 2015 represents a worldwide consensus on
addressing climate change.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Major elements include:</span></div>
<br />
<ul style="direction: ltr; list-style-type: disc;">
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
CBDR </div>
<div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">In 1992, the world adopted the </span><a href="http://unfccc.int/files/essential_background/background_publications_htmlpdf/application/pdf/conveng.pdf"><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #458cd5;">United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change</span></span></a><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"> which established the principle
of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities. That is, all countries are
responsible for dealing with climate change, but each will do so according to
its means/abilities.</span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Retention of the aspirational target of limiting warming
to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre industrial levels.</span></div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1;">
<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)</span></div>
<div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
These are the climate actions countries will take - their
contribution to reducing/limiting climate change. Importantly, the NDC is set
by the country itself. Mr. Taylor pointed out that this is a key difference
from Kyoto, where targets were laid down from above. And if you remember, this
fomented some ill will around, put simplistically, richer countries telling
poorer countries what to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
</li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul style="direction: ltr; list-style-type: disc;">
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2;">
Robust reporting scheme</div>
</li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal;"><div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2;">
Climate Finance</div>
<div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
The aim is to set up a fund with a minimum of 100 billion
USD to assist developing country parties with both mitigation and adaption.</div>
<div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
COP 22 was held in Marrakech from November 7<sup>th</sup>
-17<sup>th</sup> 2016. It turned out to be the best of times and the worst of
times. As the <a href="https://www.c2es.org/international/negotiations/cop22-marrakech/summary"><span style="color: #458cd5;">Center
for Climate and Energy Solutions</span></a> (C2ES) reported, “<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Parties arrived in
Marrakech buoyed by the agreement’s unexpectedly rapid entry into force, which
took place November 4, only to be shocked a mere four days later by the
election of Republican candidate Trump, who vowed during the campaign to
“cancel” the Paris Agreement.”</span><span lang="EN"> </span></div>
<div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
</div>
<div style="color: black; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0in;">
We heard from every speaker of the day the significant
uncertainty President Trump has brought to climate change and energy planning.
While the <a href="https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/are-we-all-screwed-if-the-us-leaves-the-paris-climate-agreement"><span style="color: #458cd5;">US
pulling out of Paris</span></a> would be unfortunate, to say the least, <span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">the Agreement requires
at least 55 countries representing 55 percent of the global greenhouse gas
emissions to ratify their pledge, and this would be met even without the US
participating.</span><span lang="EN"> </span>Stay tuned - on Twitter!</div>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Sucheta Rajagopalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13103242263747022021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-20018257637020039812017-02-02T16:34:00.001-05:002017-02-02T16:50:31.632-05:00Pension funds boost responsible investment assets<h2>
Canadian RI Assets Surpass $1.5 Trillion: Canadian RI Trends Report</h2>
<h2>
</h2>
<h2>
</h2>
<h2>
<img class="aligncenter wp-image-25991" height="207" src="https://riacanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/WordpressGraph-1024x353.png" width="600" /> </h2>
<h2>
The 2016 Canadian Responsible Investment Trends Report reveals that
Canada’s responsible investment market is continuing to experience
rapid growth. For example, total responsible investment assets grew 49% in two years to $1.5 trillion. Pension fund assets made up 75% of RI's growth, increasing by $374 billion since 2014. While most of RI's impressive growth is attributable to institutional investors, individual investor assets have nearly doubled in two years to $118 billion, a growth rate of 91%. Overall, responsible investing now represents 38% of Canada's investment industry. Survey respondents are also optimistic about RI's future, with 80% predicting either moderate or high levels of growth in the next two years.</h2>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Doug Watthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09865472291944931373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-89865453835899323422016-09-22T14:01:00.001-04:002016-09-22T14:01:52.751-04:00The Economist's take on Norway's Sovereign Wealth Fund <h3 class="headline" itemprop="headline">
How to not spend it</h3>
<h1 class="rubric" itemprop="alternateName">
It is tough for a small democracy to run the world’s biggest sovereign-wealth fund</h1>
<aside class="floatleft light-grey"><time class="date-created" datetime="2016-09-24T00:00:00+0000" itemprop="dateCreated"> Sep 24th 2016 </time> | <a class="source" href="http://www.economist.com/printedition/2016-09-22">From the print edition</a> </aside><div class="block block-ec_components
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TWO decades after Norway’s government paid a first deposit into its sovereign-wealth fund, the country is learning how to manage a behemoth. The vehicle, which is used to invest abroad the proceeds of Norway’s oil and gas sales, has amassed a bigger fortune than anyone expected, thanks to bumper oil prices. As the direct benefits of oil decline—around 46% of Norway’s expected total haul of oil and gas is gone—the relative importance of the fund will grow. The annual revenues it generates now regularly exceed income from oil sales.<br />
This week the “Pension Fund Global” was worth Nkr7.3 trillion ($882 billion), more than double national GDP. No sovereign-wealth fund is bigger. It owns more than 2% of all listed shares in Europe and over 1% globally. Its largest holdings are in Alphabet, Apple, Microsoft and Nestlé, among 9,000-odd firms in 78 countries.<br />
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In designing the fund, Norway got a lot right. Its independence is not constitutionally guaranteed, but it is protected as a separate unit within the central bank, overseen by the finance ministry and monitored by parliament. It is run frugally and transparently; every investment it makes is detailed online.<br />
Other funds might copy those structures, but would struggle to mimic the Nordic values that underpin them. Yngve Slyngstad, the fund’s boss, says growth came “faster than anyone had envisaged”, and that a culture of political trust made it uncontroversial to save as much as possible. A budgetary rule stops the government from drawing down more than the fund’s expected annual returns (set at 4% a year). The capital, in theory, is never touched. Martin Skancke, who used to oversee the fund’s operations from the finance ministry, attributes the trust the institution enjoys to relatively high levels of equality and cultural homogeneity. It also helps that many rural areas recall poverty just two generations ago.<br />
Yet expectations of the fund may change as Norway itself does. Tesla-driving Norwegians are now less shy about flaunting their wealth. Those under 50 have known only a world in which the 5.2m Norwegians are among its wealthiest people. Immigration is higher than ever, especially after an influx of Syrian refugees.<br />
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Progress, a populist, anti-immigrant party, has long wanted more oil cash spent at home. As a junior coalition partner since 2013, in charge of the finance ministry, it has curbed its urge to splurge. But in the first half of this year the government for the first time took more from the fund than it deposited from its oil revenues: a net withdrawal of Nkr45 billion. Recent low returns meant that the fund’s capital fell slightly, too.<br />
It is too early to see any long-term trend, but some are worried. “It is very hard to have a huge sum of money at the bedside and to tighten your belt at the same time,” says someone close to the fund. Mr Slyngstad is sanguine but acknowledges that few democracies sustain sovereign-wealth funds: politicians always prefer higher spending and lower taxes. He denies ever feeling political pressure. But others’ appetites are evidently growing—if not to spend more, then to use the fund differently. One complaint is that relatively modest dollar returns on investments (5.5% a year since 1998) reflect too much caution among those who guide the fund’s strategy.<br />
Sony Kapoor, a leading critic of the fund, argues that it “screwed up” in the past decade by failing to invest in emerging markets that were hungry for capital, and by ignoring unlisted assets, such as infrastructure. He says the fund missed out on “$100 billion to $150 billion” as a result. Worse, he says, its supposed caution in fact exposed it to high risk by concentrating its assets in rich economies.<br />
Defenders of the fund’s strategy dismiss this criticism, arguing that poorer countries often offer too few suitable, big investment opportunities. But this is not the only criticism from Mr Kapoor and others. In a democracy, morality counts. The ethics of investment are debated ever more hotly. Politicians, NGOs and others increasingly say moral concerns should outweigh others, and even profits.<br />
The fund refuses to invest in firms with products deemed unethical, such as tobacco or many sorts of weapons. It is also becoming more activist in the approach to its portfolio, divesting from those seen as grossly corrupt and flagging concerns over companies’ misuse of water and energy, or any risk that they benefit from child labour.<br />
It is also getting more outspoken on subjects like high executive pay. It has said it will join class-action lawsuits against Volkswagen over the firm’s fiddling of fuel-emissions results. The fund has been instructed by parliament to help fight climate change. So 1% of its portfolio is in firms deemed to be green. It has divested from heavy polluters, firms involved in deforestation and, this year, from coal companies.<br />
Such restrictions create dilemmas. The fund still invests in oil, for example: Royal Dutch Shell is one of its biggest holdings. Its ethical advisers argue that it can achieve more by promoting good practices within oil firms. But a former adviser admits the fund’s climate-change brief makes such investments a “paradox”.<br />
In effect, the fund is exporting Norwegian values as well as capital. In the future it could turn against more products—sugar and fast-food, say, because of obesity. So far the fund’s managers see no serious financial cost from blacklisting 100 or so companies. But they do not deny that some ethical decisions do entail trade-offs. Their own shareholders, the Norwegians themselves, may not always let them do what is right rather than what pays.</div>
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<a class="source" href="http://www.economist.com/printedition/2016-09-22">From the print edition: Finance and economics</a> </div>
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</aside><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Sucheta Rajagopalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13103242263747022021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-88448489310324266552016-03-31T17:30:00.000-04:002016-03-31T17:30:06.222-04:00
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Vancity Investment Management’s Dermot Foley recently participated
in a <a href="http://www.carbontalks.ca/about/" target="_blank">Carbon Talks</a> event hosted by SFU,<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN;"> with the David Suzuki Foundation and the Centre for
International Governance. </span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: black; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Joining Dermot on the panel of experts was <a href="http://www.jeffrubinssmallerworld.com/" target="_blank">Jeff Rubin</a>, former chief economist at CIBC<span>, and anti-oil-sands-expansion campaigner <a href="http://www.nationalobserver.com/2015/11/22/news/rachel-notley-announces-albertas-climate-change-plan" target="_blank">Karen Mahon</a>.
Key discussion topics included concern around the commercial viability of the
oil sands, and proposed pipelines like Energy East.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The Tyee provides good coverage of the event:</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;"> <span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;">.</span></span></div>
<a href="http://thetyee.ca/News/2016/03/18/Jeff-Rubin-Carbon-Talks/">http://thetyee.ca/News/2016/03/18/Jeff-Rubin-Carbon-Talks/</a><br />
<br /><br />
Here's an excerpt:<br />
"...Vancity's manager of socially responsible investment funds, Dermot Foley, pointed out that Canada's climate pledges in Paris will put even more pressure on the oil industry -- and soon.<br />
To stay "within that 1.5 to 2 degree limit," Foley said, "means that over the next five years we're going to see emission reduction targets, regulations, and carbon taxes becoming common throughout the global economy." <br />
"We believe climate risk is manifesting as a business risk," he added. "It's time for government to come up with a transition plan for a low-carbon economy." <br />
<br /><br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Sucheta Rajagopalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13103242263747022021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-24530346662724339022016-01-28T10:12:00.001-05:002016-01-28T10:18:24.179-05:00Ontario Hits Green Bond Market for Second TimeThe province of Ontario is poised to close its second green bond offering, according to reports, this time with a price of $750 million. In its first green bond issued in 2014, under the same framework, proceeds were used primarily to fund the Eglinton Crosstown rail link.<br />
<br />
There's no word on what the province will fund with the newest green bond, other than they will be used for eligible projects, which means "all projects funded by the province that have environmental benefits, exclusive of fossil fuel and nuclear energy projects," the province said in a regulatory filing.<br />
<br />
Ontario's first green bond was for $500 million for a term of four years. Ontario is so far the only Canadian province to issue green bonds. By comparison, China has issued $5 billion in green bonds so far this year.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Doug Watthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09865472291944931373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-44327593509619061952016-01-07T16:26:00.000-05:002016-01-07T16:26:58.506-05:00Ontario Credit Union Offers a Financial First: Socially Responsible GICsMennonite Savings and Credit Union (MSCU), based in Kitchener, Ontario, said Thursday that they are the first Canadian financial institution to offer socially responsible guaranteed investment certificates (GICs). Until now, the RI approach to investing, which involves sustainable screens, has been limited to mutual funds and market investments, the credit union noted.<br />
<br />
"We are thrilled to be a leader in SRI," said Brent Zorgdrager, the MSCU's CEO. "Our commitment to our members is to to continue to look for ways to offer value-based products that connect faith and value with finances, inspiring peaceful, just and prosperous communities. Investments in the MSCU SRI GICs provide our members with the confidence that their funds support loans which clearly align with a sustainable, responsible view of their communities and the world."<br />
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ESG research firm Sustainalytics helped the credit union develop a set of socially responsible lending criteria to incorporate into its agricultural and commercial lending practices. These criteria include screening business borrowers for any involvement in industries such as alcohol, tobacco and gambling and for any significant negative impacts on the environment, human rights or communities. Once the screens had been in place for six months, Sustainalytics carried out a review of MSCU's lending portfolio to validate compliance with socially responsible criteria. Because these loans are funded by members' GIC deposits, the screens in place make sure the GICs are SRI compliant.<br />
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"MSCU's socially responsible GICs address a growing demand among individual investors considering the environmental and social impacts of their investments," said Sustainalytics CEO Michael Jantzi. "MSCU has embedded socially responsible criteria into its lending practices in an innovative way and in doing so is providing individuals with greater access to SRI retail banking products enabling them to align their investments with their values."<br />
<br />
Responsible Investment Association CEO Deb Abbey said that while many financial institutions offer responsible investing options, MSCU is leading the way by integrating environmental and social factors into their GICs. "We're very excited to see them take this initiative," she said.<br />
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Doug Watthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09865472291944931373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-38893401440880514212015-10-14T16:48:00.000-04:002015-10-14T16:48:05.660-04:00Canadian banks failing to consider climate change risks, says SHARE<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]-->A new research report from SHARE concludes that Canadian banks have not sufficiently integrated climate change considerations into their long-term business strategies and risk management processes.<br />
<br />The report notes that banks are particularly vulnerable to climate-change related risks because their financing activities span all sectors of the economy. Despite this exposure, however, Canada’s banks are not adequately considering the potential impacts of climate change in the way that they do business, the report notes.<br /><br />
“Canada’s banks are failing to demonstrate to their shareholders that they understand the implications of this fundamental risk to their core business,” says SHARE’s Director of Responsible Investment, Shannon Rohan, who also authored the report. “It is critical for investors that are concerned about the long-term risks associated with climate change to push for improved performance by Canada’s banks in integrating climate change considerations in their business strategies and risk management processes.” <br /><br />
The report, “Banking on 2°: The Hidden Risks of Climate Change for Canadian Banks,” includes a set of recommendations suggesting how Canada’s banks can more effectively manage climate change risks and catalyze the transition to a low carbon economy.<br /><br />
The recommendations include integrating climate change considerations into risk management, establishing carbon reduction targets and incentives to achieve them, and disclosing meaningful information to investors.<br /><br />
To date, five of the big banks have disclosed information under the CDP program. While all five referenced risks from uncertainty around new regulation as well as potential impacts of energy efficiency regulation and carbon taxes, all of the banks considered those risks to be low.<br /><br />
“In their most recent CDP disclosures the banks acknowledge the reputational risks associated with their financing of carbon-intensive industries, although it is not clear how any of the banks are managing this risk,” the report says. “We find that Canadian banks’ disclosures of their consideration of systemic risks associated with climate change and the potential impacts of transitioning to a low carbon economy on their overall business model fall short of what is needed by investors to make informed investment decisions. <br /><br />Download the <a href="http://www.share.ca/files/Climate_Change_and_Bank_Paper_FINAL_1.pdf" target="_blank">full report.</a><br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Doug Watthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09865472291944931373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-26691609457515532442015-08-05T16:24:00.001-04:002015-08-05T16:24:57.812-04:00Conflict Minerals Reporting still a work in progress<h1 class="wsj-article-headline" itemprop="headline">
<span style="font-size: small;">From the Wall Street Journal Tuesday August 4th, 2015</span></h1>
<h1 class="wsj-article-headline" itemprop="headline">
U.S. Firms Struggle to Trace ‘Conflict Minerals’</h1>
<h2 class="sub-head" itemprop="description">
Dodd-Frank requirement to disclose metals in supply chain connected to war-torn region proves costly</h2>
<div class="sub-head" itemprop="description">
<span>By</span> </div>
<div class="author mobile-scrim hasMenu" data-scrim="{"type":"author","header":"Emily Chasan","subhead":"The Wall Street Journal","list":[{"type":"link","icon":"bio","url":"http://topics.wsj.com/person/A/biography/7735","text":"Biography"},{"type":"link","icon":"twitter","url":"http://twitter.com/echasan","text":"@echasan"},{"type":"link","icon":"google","url":"https://plus.google.com/+EmilyChasan/posts","text":"Google+"},{"type":"link","icon":"email","url":"mailto:emily.chasan@wsj.com","text":"emily.chasan@wsj.com"}]}" itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person">
<span class="name" itemprop="name">Emily <strong>Chasan</strong></span> </div>
<div class="tri" data-scrim="{"type":"author","header":"Emily Chasan","subhead":"The Wall Street Journal","list":[{"type":"link","icon":"bio","url":"http://topics.wsj.com/person/A/biography/7735","text":"Biography"},{"type":"link","icon":"twitter","url":"http://twitter.com/echasan","text":"@echasan"},{"type":"link","icon":"google","url":"https://plus.google.com/+EmilyChasan/posts","text":"Google+"},{"type":"link","icon":"email","url":"mailto:emily.chasan@wsj.com","text":"emily.chasan@wsj.com"}]}" itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person">
<a class="author icon email" href="mailto:emily.chasan@wsj.com" itemprop="email">emily.chasan@wsj.com</a></div>
<div class="sub-head" itemprop="description">
<time class="timestamp"> </time> </div>
<div class="sub-head" itemprop="description">
<!--[endif]--> <!--
--> </div>
Hundreds of U.S. public companies are coming up short as they face a deadline to reveal whether their supply chains contain even trace amounts of minerals linked to violence in Africa.<br />
In all, companies shelled out roughly $709 million and six million staff hours last year to comply with rules to disclose “conflict minerals” in their supply chains, according to recent research by Tulane University and Assent Compliance, a New York consulting firm. And next year, they will need to hire auditors to evaluate their results.<br />
“Conflict minerals” include tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold originating from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The conflict-torn country holds vast reserves of these four minerals, which are widely used in a flurry of products, from electronic devices to engagement rings to auto parts.<br />
Some companies, including microchip-maker <!--
--> <a href="http://quotes.wsj.com/INTC">Intel</a><!--
--><span class="company-name-type"> Corp.</span><!--
-->, sent employees overseas to verify their products were conflict-free.<br />
Yet 90% of the 1,262 companies that filed conflict-mineral reports with U.S. securities regulators last year said they couldn’t determine whether their products are conflict-free, according to Tulane University’s research.<br />
Major tech firms were among the best at reporting whether conflict minerals were in their supply chain, while a handful of smaller companies didn’t even file their reports by the June deadline, or left out required details about their supply chain.<br />
<br />
Below, the top and bottom companies as ranked by Assent Compliance based on research from Tulane University.<br />
<br />
<strong>TOP 5</strong> <br />
<div class="
media-object
wrap
" data-layout="wrap
">
<div class="media-object-rich-text">
<ul class="articleList">
<li>Microsoft</li>
<li>BlackBerry</li>
<li>Intel</li>
<li>Ford</li>
<li>Modine Manufacturing</li>
</ul>
<strong>BOTTOM 5</strong> <br />
<ul class="articleList">
<li>Westport Innovations</li>
<li>Misonix</li>
<li>Lifeloc Technologies</li>
<li>Protea Biosciences Group</li>
<li>Federal Signal</li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sub-head" itemprop="description">
<!--
--> </div>
The finding illustrates the challenges companies face in keeping tabs on all of the <br />
players and materials in their global supply chains.<br />
Rules arising from the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act mandate that companies begin to disclose in reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission whether any tin, tantalum, tungsten or gold, in their supply chains is connected to violent militia groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The companies so far enjoyed a two-year phase-in period during which they could declare that they couldn’t determine if these minerals were in their products. But that phase-in has now expired, and large companies will need to be more specific when they next file by end-June 2016, and will have to hire outside auditors to inspect these reports.<br />
“It’s a herculean task,” said <!--
--> Chris Bayer,<!--
--> an independent research consultant who studied the latest reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for Tulane University. Tracking materials from more than 2 million artisanal miners in the Eastern Congo that smelt small amounts of metals—and determining their links to guerrilla operations—is like trying to “apply modern supply-chain logistics to the equivalent of the 1849 California gold rush,” Mr. Bayer said.<br />
“We have no reason to believe there are conflict minerals in any of our products, but we’re spending an enormous amount of money trying to prove it,” said <!--
--> Brian Cooper,<!--
--> chief financial officer of communications and safety-equipment maker <!--
--> <a href="http://quotes.wsj.com/FSS">Federal Signal</a><!--
--><span class="company-name-type"> Corp. </span>in Oak Brook, Ill.<br />
Twelve percent of the world’s supply of tantalum stems from miners in the DRC, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The hard blue-gray metal is essential in companies’ ability to build smaller and lighter cellphones, laptops, hard drives, and other devices. But to track the origin of tantalum, companies often have to dig four or five layers deep into their supply chains, as the material travels across the globe to various parts manufacturers. <span class="wsj-article-credit" itemprop="creator"><span class="wsj-article-credit-tag"> </span> </span> <br />
<!--
--> <br />
With the money and manpower to conduct extensive examinations of their supply chains, several major technology companies including <!--
--> <a href="http://quotes.wsj.com/MSFT">Microsoft</a><!--
--><span class="company-name-type"> Corp.</span><!--
-->, <!--
--> <a href="http://quotes.wsj.com/AAPL">Apple</a><!--
--><span class="company-name-type"> Inc.</span><!--
--> and Intel Corp. topped the list in terms of compliance with the law and providing additional information on their processes. But even Microsoft and Apple said that they were “conflict undeterminable” last year. Intel says its products are “conflict free,” but sent employees to 90 mineral smelters around the world to gather that information.<br />
Most companies struggled to comply with the rules already in place when they filed conflict mineral reports—without audits—before the June deadline.<br />
Only 314 companies, or fewer than 24% of the total, reached full compliance with the law<br />
Two-thirds, including <!--
--> <a href="http://quotes.wsj.com/GOOG">Google</a><!--
--><span class="company-name-type"> Inc.</span><!--
--><span class="article-chiclet hide up" data-channel="/quotes/zigman/30194416/composite"> </span>and <!--
--> <a href="http://quotes.wsj.com/AMZN">Amazon.com</a><!--
--><span class="company-name-type">,</span><!--
--><span class="article-chiclet hide up" data-channel="/quotes/zigman/63011/composite"> </span>didn’t describe the country of origin of their metals, as required, and about 43% failed to disclose the framework they used to conduct due diligence, according to Mr. Bayer.<br />
Companies’ ability to find conflict minerals in their products largely depends on where they sit in the supply chain, Mr. Bayer said. <br />
Federal Signal has about 60 staff members from its technology, legal and procurement departments involved, Mr. Cooper said. They bought specific conflict minerals software to track its supply chain, and followed up with suppliers who didn’t respond. Still, a handful of suppliers couldn’t, or wouldn’t, answer its queries, he said.<br />
Apple told suppliers last year that if they weren’t getting their minerals audited by the end of 2014 they would be kicked out of the company’s supply chain. Apple has verified 135 of its smelters are conflict-free and another 64 are in the process of verification.<br />
Under Dodd-Frank, the U.S. Commerce Department was supposed to publish a world-wide list of refiners and smelters that are being used to fund militia groups, but it said in September that the task was impossible. Companies still have to comply with the SEC reporting rules. The SEC declined to comment.<br />
Only six companies, including Intel and capacitor maker <!--
--> <a href="http://quotes.wsj.com/KEM">Kemet</a><!--
--><span class="company-name-type"> Corp.</span>, have managed to submit their conflict minerals reports to a voluntary external audit so far.<br />
“The cost of doing a bad job isn’t much,” said <!--
--> Jeff Schwartz,<!--
--> professor of law at the University of Utah’s law school. “Companies can kind of just check the boxes in the rule, send out a survey, report the results, and I don’t think the SEC is really going to do anything about it.”<br />
Just after Dodd-Frank was passed into law, Kemet, which is the world’s largest producer of tantalum capacitors, decided it was better off opening its own tantalum mine in the DRC village of Kisengo, in the country’s conflict-free Katanga province in 2011. Kemet has strict rules for production and tracing, and has invested in building the town’s infrastructure through roads, bridges and new wells.<br />
“Our tantalum supply is 100% clean right now,” said <!--
--> Joel Sherman,<!--
--> director of social responsibility at Kemet.<br />
<div class="articleTagLine">
</div>
<div class="articleTagLine">
—Kristin Lin contributed to this article.</div>
<strong>Write to </strong>Emily Chasan at <a class="icon " href="mailto:emily.chasan@wsj.com" target="_blank">emily.chasan@wsj.com</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Sucheta Rajagopalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13103242263747022021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-17804889679594197452015-07-21T16:32:00.000-04:002015-07-21T16:32:24.263-04:00EIRIS Foundation launches database of companies doing business in occupied lands of Palestine and Crimea<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">In an effort to improve transparency as well as to provide objective ethical finance information, the EIRIS Foundation has launched a new online database of
companies operating in the occupied territories of Crimea and Palestine. </span></div>
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society, media and the investor community will have access to objective and
comprehensive information about corporate operations in these two occupied
territories," EIRIS said in a release announcing the project. </span></div>
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project was undertaken by the EIRIS Conflict Risk Network, putting to use its
extensive expertise gained by studying the interplay between corporate activity
and conflict in Sudan and Burma/Myanmar. International law recognizes
occupation as a form of conflict, and occupying governments use economic
activity to help secure and maintain control of territories, EIRIS noted.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;"></span></div>
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data on a wide variety of company activities</span>. With the release of our
analysis and database of corporate activity in Crimea and Palestine, we expand
on that expertise,<span style="background: white;">” </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-CA;">said Kathy Mulvey, director of EIRIS Conflict
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to objective information about corporate presence and operations in the
occupied territories of Crimea and Palestine. Publication of this database of
companies active in these regions has begun to address this lack of access<span style="background: white;">.”</span></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Doug Watthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09865472291944931373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-18673082624352494452015-07-16T09:15:00.000-04:002015-07-16T09:15:09.851-04:00Responsible Investment Association Conference 2015: A Look BackCouldn't make it to the Responsible Investment Association's annual conference in Banff last month? Fear not. Take a look back with SRI Monitor's Doug Watt, who attended the conference and filed five stories to various media outlets on a number of key issues, including the debate over fossil-fuel free investment products, green bonds, and how institutional investors are using sustainable investment.<br />
<br />
Here's a sampling of Doug's stories: <br />
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<a href="http://www.benefitscanada.com/investments/strategies/aimcos-philosophy-on-sustainable-investing-68092">http://www.benefitscanada.com/investments/strategies/aimcos-philosophy-on-sustainable-investing-68092</a></div>
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<b>RIA Canada</b>: Find a middle ground on fossil fuel debate, says
Preston Manning</div>
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<a href="http://riacanada.ca/find-a-middle-ground-on-fossil-fuel-debate-says-manning/">http://riacanada.ca/find-a-middle-ground-on-fossil-fuel-debate-says-manning/</a></div>
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<b>Advisor</b>: Why One Fund Company Won't Dump Fossil Fuels</div>
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<a href="http://www.advisor.ca/investments/market-insights/why-one-fund-company-wont-dump-fossil-fuels-184213">http://www.advisor.ca/investments/market-insights/why-one-fund-company-wont-dump-fossil-fuels-184213</a></div>
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<b>Advisor:</b> Opportunities Growing in Green Bonds<br />
http://www.advisor.ca/news/industry-news/opportunities-growing-in-green-bonds-184167<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Doug Watthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09865472291944931373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-16506918397550918572015-06-29T15:14:00.000-04:002015-06-29T15:14:53.395-04:00WSJ: Green bond sales struggle<span>By</span> <br />
<div class="author mobile-scrim hasMenu" data-scrim="{"type":"author","header":"Mike Cherney","subhead":"The Wall Street Journal","list":[{"type":"link","icon":"bio","url":"http://topics.wsj.com/person/A/biography/8224","text":"Biography"},{"type":"link","icon":"twitter","url":"http://twitter.com/Mike_Cherney","text":"@Mike_Cherney"},{"type":"link","icon":"email","url":"mailto:mike.cherney@wsj.com","text":"mike.cherney@wsj.com"}]}" itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person">
<span class="name" itemprop="name">Mike Cherney</span> </div>
<div class="tri" data-scrim="{"type":"author","header":"Mike Cherney","subhead":"The Wall Street Journal","list":[{"type":"link","icon":"bio","url":"http://topics.wsj.com/person/A/biography/8224","text":"Biography"},{"type":"link","icon":"twitter","url":"http://twitter.com/Mike_Cherney","text":"@Mike_Cherney"},{"type":"link","icon":"email","url":"mailto:mike.cherney@wsj.com","text":"mike.cherney@wsj.com"}]}" itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person">
</div>
<div class="author mobile-scrim hasMenu" data-scrim="{"type":"author","header":"Mike Cherney","subhead":"The Wall Street Journal","list":[{"type":"link","icon":"bio","url":"http://topics.wsj.com/person/A/biography/8224","text":"Biography"},{"type":"link","icon":"twitter","url":"http://twitter.com/Mike_Cherney","text":"@Mike_Cherney"},{"type":"link","icon":"email","url":"mailto:mike.cherney@wsj.com","text":"mike.cherney@wsj.com"}]}" itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person">
<ul class="author-info"><div class="info-name">
Mike Cherney</div>
<div class="info-title">
The Wall Street Journal</div>
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<time class="timestamp">June 24, 2015 8:47 p.m. ET </time><!--[if ! lte IE 8]--></div>
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A flattening in “green bond” sales this year is highlighting the uncertainty facing the market for the debt, which is billed as financing projects that would mitigate climate change.<br />
Green bonds have been sold all over the world in recent years and have helped pay for energy-efficient buildings, improvements to water and sewer systems and mass transit. As the market has grown, however, so have concerns about whether projects financed by green bonds are truly beneficial for the environment, and whether the companies, municipalities and banks that sell the bonds are using the money as promised.<br />
The Climate Bonds Initiative, a nonprofit group in London that tracks the market, forecast $100 billion in new green bonds in 2015 after <a class="icon none" href="http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2015/01/14/green-bonds-bloom-in-2014/" target="_self">sales roughly tripled last year</a>. But green-bond sales are about in line with last year’s pace, with $18.3 billion sold as of Wednesday, compared with $20 billion in the first half of last year, according to the group. About $37 billion of green bonds were sold last year in total.<br />
<br />
The sluggish sales come as the broader debt market is booming, with investors snapping up bonds that offer higher yields than the low rates on safe-government debt. Some analysts say heavy demand for regular bonds could be dissuading some issuers from selling green bonds, which typically need additional effort to show a project is environmentally friendly.<br />
Even so, the flat pace of sales in the first part of 2015 from a year ago has disappointed and flummoxed the debt’s supporters. “It’s been a bummer of a first quarter, and a bummer of a first five months really,” said <!--
--> Sean Kidney,<!--
--> the group’s chief executive officer, adding that green-bond sales still could hit $70 billion this year. <br />
<br />
Bankers, investors and environmental groups are working to add clarity to the green-bond market. Mr. Kidney’s group is rolling out an advisory service for issuers who want to sell green bonds but are unfamiliar with the market. It is also putting out detailed criteria by sector for its own certification program, which is available for green bonds.<br />
The Banking Environment Initiative, a group of financial institutions at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, said this month that it will work with other organizations to “support the emergence of industry-level consensus on standards” for green bonds.<br />
And in March, the International Capital Market Association, a trade group for banks, issuers and asset managers, updated a set of <a class="icon none" href="http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2015/03/27/updated-green-bond-guidelines-show-incremental-progress/" target="_self">voluntary green-bond guidelines</a> that were initially released last year. The guidelines recommend that an outside party review whether a green bond is appropriate and suggest issuers regularly report on their project’s environmental impact.<br />
The guidelines “focus on transparency and disclosure,” said Marilyn Ceci, head of green bonds at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. That allows investors to make informed decisions about whether they want to purchase green bonds linked to a specific project.<br />
The guidelines don't explicitly exclude any type of project from being financed with green bonds. Some investors have gone a step further. One investor group, coordinated by the nonprofit Ceres, supports adherence to the guidelines but said any project that helps perpetuate fossil-fuel uses or emissions might be better served with conventional bonds.<br />
“The marketplace asks a lot of questions,” said <!--
--> David Sand,<!--
--> chief investment strategist at Community Capital Management, which manages $2 billion and was part of the Ceres group. “The last thing that anybody, investment banker or issuer, wants to do is come to market with something that doesn’t hold up to scrutiny.”<br />
Mr. Kidney said he expected the green-bond numbers to be boosted this year by new issues from India and China, trends that haven’t significantly materialized so far. U.S. municipalities have stepped up their volume of sales, but he said relatively few U.S. corporations have ventured into the market.<br />
To be sure, there are a few days left this month for deals before the first half of the year concludes, and new issuers have still tapped the market. Earlier in the year, German bank Berlin Hyp AG sold what was billed as the first green covered bond, a type of mortgage-backed security that is common in Europe. In the U.S., Morgan Stanley <a class="icon none" href="http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2015/06/03/morgan-stanley-goes-in-for-green-bonds/" target="_self">sold its first green bond</a>, as did the city of <!--
--> <a href="http://quotes.wsj.com/bond/%22">Asheville, N.C.</a><!--
--> <br />
Asheville was looking to sell a $50 million bond tied to water-system upgrades, including replacing asbestos water pipes with iron ones that help limit leaks, when its bankers at Bank of America Merrill Lynch suggested turning the bond green, said <!--
--> Barbara Whitehorn,<!--
--> the city’s chief financial officer.<br />
The city provided a description of the environmental benefits of the upgrades, which were already completed, and plans to update investors on the “environmental sustainability” of its water system, according to a bond prospectus. Ms. Whitehorn said Asheville didn’t get an outside opinion on its green bond because it was “really clear in what the purpose was, that we’re conserving water.” But she said the city would consider it for a larger infrastructure project.<br />
“I’m hoping over time that we’ll get some more clear criteria,” Ms. Whitehorn said. “I think the criteria right now are really amorphous. You can kind of say, ‘Sure, it’s green.’”<br />
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Sucheta Rajagopalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13103242263747022021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-60027448980824199222015-03-01T21:47:00.002-05:002015-03-01T21:47:52.208-05:00PDAC 2015 Community Engagement: never too early, never too often <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Who knew anthropologists were so much fun? Sunday afternoon’s
CSR stream began with a session, <i>Respecting human rights during the exploration
phase</i>. Two of the three panellists were anthropologists by education and
training, although currently working in mining. The session managed to be both interesting
and amusing, with many anecdotes that both brought a laugh and taught a lesson.</div>
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Alison Colwell of <a href="http://www.bsr.org/en/our-work/industry-focus/mining" target="_blank">Business for Social Responsibility,</a> (the non
anthropologist) began with an overview of the <a href="https://www.unglobalcompact.org/Issues/human_rights/The_UN_SRSG_and_the_UN_Global_Compact.html" target="_blank">Ruggie Principles</a>, and the Protect,
Respect, Remedy framework. Although the Principles are not legally binding Ms.
Colwell felt that ‘the court of public opinion’ has led many companies to adopt
them. </div>
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She identified 6 best practices in the area of respecting
human rights,</div>
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1)Be respectful; treat people fairly. This is particularly
important for the exploration team as they are often the first people on the ground</div>
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2)Engage early, engage often</div>
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3)Recognize that human rights due diligence must be
integrated as early as possible - <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in the
country risk assessment, in initial MOUs, in stakeholder mapping etc.</div>
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4)Train staff and contractors about what is expected of them</div>
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5)Encourage and incentivize all staff to flag potential
human rights issues</div>
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6)Have one person responsible for human rights</div>
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Next up was a conversation between Chris Anderson of Rio
Tinto and France Bourgouin of BSR.</div>
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"Increasingly, weirdos like us are getting hired by
mining companies” began Dr. Anderson. “When I was last at PDAC, about 10 years
ago, there was maybe 5 minutes on CSR in the whole week.” The idea of thinking
about people, about communities, about behaviour, moving beyond strictly technical
issues has taken hold in mining companies, many of whom acknowledge the concept
of a social license to operate.</div>
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I<span style="font-family: inherit;">s the<span style="font-family: inherit;"> exploration stage too early to start thinking about
human rights or community engagement? Definitely not. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dr. Anderson felt that “they (the exploration
team) need t</span>o understand the lens of human rights because that’s how the
project is going to be seen by the rest of the world.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">When asked about the challenge of securing resources for ‘the
soft stuff’ at a time when mining companies are struggling, Dr. Anderson quipped
“‘My motto is ‘soft is hard'. In today’s world digging the ore out of the
ground is the easy stuff. Above ground social issues are the challenge.”</span></div>
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I<span style="font-family: inherit;">n the 1950’s health and safety issues began to be raised,
resulting in the education and training of health and safety professionals. Then
in the 1970s, environmental issues were addressed, again creating new academic programmes
and professional qualifications. Over the last 10 years, we can see the nascent
professionalization of dealing with the social impacts of mining.</span> </div>
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D<span style="font-family: inherit;">r. Anderson stated, “It’s still early days in getting mining
companies to recognize human rights.” However, there was agreement that with
more interdisciplinary training there would be a broader spectrum of mining
professionals who understand that mining is not just about geology, it’s also
about people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The session concluded with a few thoughts on what needs to be done - demystify human rights, integrate human rights due diligence into what you are already doing in exploration, offer more interdisciplinary training to people interested in pursuing a career in mining.</span></div>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Sucheta Rajagopalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13103242263747022021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-25929257705407110432015-03-01T10:48:00.001-05:002015-03-01T10:48:10.915-05:00Cluster munitions ban aims to spark human rights discussions in Canada’s investment community<i>Originally published on RIA Canada website</i><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Critics might say it’s nothing more than a
symbolic gesture. But it could have wide-ranging implications for
Canada’s investment industry.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Last week, two of Canada’s investment firms <a href="http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1484297/nei-investments-and-desjardins-investments-announce-a-ban-on-cluster-munitions-investing">announced</a>
they were banning companies involved in cluster munitions. The
companies involved, NEI Investment and Desjardins, have SRI fund
families, which already exclude cluster munitions. But this move goes a
step further, banning cluster munitions manufacturers in all of their
investment products.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The companies decided to publicize the move, after studying the Canadian government’s <a href="http://www.parl.gc.ca/Content/LOP/LegislativeSummaries/41/1/s10-e.pdf">Cluster Munitions Act</a>,
which contains a provision banning the “aiding and abetting” of the
manufacturer of cluster munitions, says Michelle de Cordova, Director of
Corporate Engagement & Public Policy at NEI Investments.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
“We read this and thought, wow, that’s
pretty unusual, it’s not every day that the government appears to be
attempting to forbid everybody from investing in something,” she says.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
As well, there has been little discussion
of the clause in the Canadian investment industry, de Cordova adds. “How
many people even know that that this is the will of the Parliament?”</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
“We hadn’t seen any discussions, we hadn’t
been involved in any discussions on this topic, that’s the point we
decided we needed to go live on this and tell as many people as possible
that this provision is in the act and that Parliament also thinks it
means investment,” she adds.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
In addition to drawing attention to the issue, NEI’s <a href="http://www.neiinvestments.com/documents/PublicPolicyAndStandards/2015/NEI%20Cluster%20Munitions%20Policy.pdf">cluster munitions policy</a> could be a blueprint for other companies interested in making a similar move, she adds.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The next step for NEI is writing to all
cluster munitions manufacturers around the world, explaining to them
that they have been excluded from Northwest funds, NEI’s mainstream fund
family, and explaining why, at the same time encouraging them to get
out of that area of manufacturing.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
De Cordova admits banning cluster munitions
in investments might be a challenge for some Canadian financial firms,
particularly those who do not have an in-house ESG team, or any type of
RI policy. But the ban could at least get a discussion started, de
Cordova hopes.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
“What do you do if you are running index
funds, does this apply in that situation? It’s trying to get some
clarity on what a Canada-wide prohibition on cluster munitions would
actually look like.”</div>
<h5 style="text-align: left;">
<strong>Advisor support</strong></h5>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Carol Smith, an advisor with Desjardins
Financial Security Investments in Mississauga, Ont., says she strongly
supports the cluster munitions ban.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
“When I saw commercials with kids with
their limbs blown off, I was horrified,” Smith says. “So when I saw that
Desjardins and NEI Investments have decided to ban these from their
entire investment lineup, I thought that was very admirable.”</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
“It’s encouraging that they have taken this stand. I tip my hat to them; I think it is great.”</div>
<br />
<strong>Human rights agenda</strong>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
NEI’s de Cordova says the Canadian
government’s move to make cluster munitions illegal raises questions
about other human rights-related issues.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
She points to the United Nations <a href="http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/GuidingPrinciplesBusinessHR_EN.pdf">Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights</a>,
which state that there is an absolute duty on all companies to respect
human rights, including a due diligence process: </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
”Making sure that you
are not implicated in human rights abuses, or if someone in your supply
chain is implicated, that you should take steps and use the leverage you
have to try and address that issue.”</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Since the UN’s convention also applies to the investment community, NEI has raised the issue with the <a href="http://www.unpri.org/">United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment</a>.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
“If there is an absolute duty on companies
to respect human rights, the implication there is that there might be
some issues where on the ESG side, where an investor has to take action
on the issue,” she says. “Maybe it’s not exclusion, maybe it’s
engagement, but some type of action. We haven’t really had a
satisfactory answer to that question.”</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Still, opening a dialogue on cluster
munitions is a good start, de Cordova says, particularly for those
investment companies who have yet to even consider whether they are
onside with Canadian law.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
“I think we might find new issues emerging, we are right at the beginning of this discussion.”</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Doug Watthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09865472291944931373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-56601790154769499912015-02-24T17:25:00.000-05:002015-02-24T17:25:04.877-05:00Obama vetoes Keystone!
From the Globe and Mail on line:<br />
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President Barack Obama vetoed the Congressional approval of the Keystone XL pipeline Tuesday although he made clear he wasn’t making any final decision about the merits of the controversial Canadian pipeline.</div>
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“Through this bill, the United States Congress attempts to circumvent longstanding and proven processes for determining whether or not building and operating a cross-border pipeline serves the national interest,” the president said in a letter to the Senate. “Because this act of Congress conflicts with established executive branch procedures and cuts short thorough consideration of issues that could bear on our national interest – including our security, safety, and environment – it has earned my veto.”</div>
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Read the full article at the Globe and Mail <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/obama-keystone-pipeline-decision/article23180005/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />And the American take from Forbes <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/tomzeller/2015/02/24/obama-vetoes-keystone-bill-but-the-saga-is-not-quite-over/" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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I'm sure there will be lots more to come.</div>
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Stay tuned!</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Sucheta Rajagopalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13103242263747022021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-30516030459699817292015-02-10T10:09:00.000-05:002015-02-10T10:09:53.442-05:00Cluster munitions investing banned outright by NEI Investments and Desjardins Investments<div class="MsoNormal">
Two of Canada's leading responsible investment firms said today that they are banning all investment in companies that manufacture cluster bombs. Such weapons have long been excluded by SRI funds, including Desjardins Investments' SRI fund family and NEI Investments' Ethical Funds family. Today's announcement extends that exclusion to all of their conventional fund families as well.</div>
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Cluster munitions are banned under international
humanitarian law, the companies noted in a joint press release. In November
2014, Canada passed legislation to make it illegal for Canadians to make, use
or trade these weapons anywhere in the world, or to “aid, abet or counsel” such
activity. When introducing the legislation in the Senate, the government
indicated that this would include knowingly investing in a cluster munitions
manufacturer.</div>
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“These are indiscriminate and abhorrent weapons, responsible
for thousands of civilian deaths,” said John Kearns, CEO of NEI Investments.
“The implications of the new cluster munitions act have not been widely
discussed in the investment industry, but as responsible investment leaders we
want to demonstrate how you can exclude these weapons from the entire
investment universe.”</div>
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Kearns says NEI will also be engaging companies on cluster munitions as part of its
corporate engagement strategy for 2015.</div>
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“By banning investment in cluster bombs, Desjardins
Investments is applying a responsible investment strategy to all Desjardins
specialized savings products,” added Desjardins Investments chief operating
officer Eric Landry. “With this decision, we reassert a cooperative value:
money should be working for people, not the other way around.”</div>
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Ottawa-based NGO Mines Action Canada has successfully
advocated for the destruction of Canada's cluster munitions
stockpile, as well as for industry-wide divestment from cluster munitions
manufacturers.</div>
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“Cluster munitions are claiming civilian lives in the
conflict areas of Syria and eastern
Ukraine today, and
sub-munitions dropped decades ago in countries like Vietnam
and Cambodia
continue to cause deaths from delayed detonations. Yet, between 2011 and 2014,
financial institutions across the world have invested US $27 billion in producers
of these inhumane weapons,” said Paul Hannon, executive director of Mines
Action Canada.</div>
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“We applaud financial institutions taking a stand against
cluster munitions, and ask their peers to do the same by introducing policies
to ensure they are not supporting companies involved in the production of these
illegal weapons.”<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Doug Watthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09865472291944931373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-71384603434895306122015-01-23T18:20:00.002-05:002015-01-23T18:20:39.406-05:00RIA launches 2015 Responsible Investment Trends Report<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At a boisterous party for the launch of the RIA’s 2015
Canadian Responsible Investment Trends Report, the SRI community celebrated a major
milestone: over one trillion dollars in RI assets under management.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The report identifies 3 factors that contributed to this
growth. These are: the adoption of RI strategies by large pension funds, new
entrants to the industry particularly among investment managers and qualitative
factors including personal values, increased awareness of ESG risks and
generational transfer of wealth. Read more about the report </span><a href="http://www.advisor.ca/news/industry-news/responsible-investment-assets-rise-to-1-trillion-173724" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">here</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remarks by Michael Jantzi, CEO of global research powerhouse
Sustainalytics, provided food for thought. Michael began by acknowledging the
RIA, its predecessor, the SIO, and everyone in the room whose contributions
have brought us to where we are today. He identified the broader acceptance of
sustainability, “study after study shows sustainability is a top 3 priority for
CEOs globally”, as something which leads naturally to discussion of ESG issues.
Showing how pension fund managers’ thinking has evolved, Michael gave us </span><a href="http://www.responsibleinvestment.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Unleashing-Responsible-Investment-Michael-Jantzi.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">this inspiring quote</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> from Peter Borgdorff, head of PFZW, the second largest pension
fund in the Netherlands,”<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial",sans-serif;">A good pension is worth nothing in a polluted and unsafe world.
We intend to use the power of this money to bring a better world closer," </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the retail side, assets showed significant growth, but
remain small relative to institutional assets. As someone who has worked in
retail for many years, I was pleased to hear Michael say “Retail deserves more
attention from the responsible investment community. We will not capture all
the opportunities if it’s only about gains on Wall Street or Bay Street.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A number of advisors who are new to SRI attended the launch,
testament to the attractiveness of SRI as a business building strategy. Media
coverage of issues such as the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh
and the Northern Gateway pipeline have more investors asking their advisors,
‘what’s in my portfolio?’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tammy Laframboise, a long time professional member of the
RIA, believes that growth in SRI funds will continue to outpace growth in other
mutual funds,”SRI funds are managed with a longer time horizon and so are
better able to withstand the increasing volatility in the market. “<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Confirming this, the Report identified the top 3 reasons for
considering ESG criteria in the investment process are to minimize risk, client
or beneficiary demand, and to improve returns over time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sandra Odendahl of RBC summed it up neatly when she welcomed
us to the event, “SRI is growing, RI is growing, Impact Investing is growing.
You can make money and do good. Yay!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Sucheta Rajagopalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13103242263747022021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-50362487016253298952014-11-13T17:24:00.001-05:002014-11-13T17:24:28.846-05:00SHARE releases ESG concerns regarding Tim Hortons/Burger King merger<h3>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">SHARE this week released a <a href="http://www.share.ca/files/SHARE_Proxy_Advisory-THI-BKW_2014.pdf" target="_blank">proxy advisory</a> regarding environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues that may be of concern to shareholders in the Tim Hortons-Burger King merger proposal.<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> </span></span></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> </span></span></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">In a joint proxy circular issued earlier this month, Tim Hortons and
Burger King Worldwide described details of a deal touted as the largest
restaurant merger in history, creating a post-merger entity with combined
global sales of $23 billion and with 18,000 restaurant locations in 98
countries.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></span></span></h3>
<h4>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"></span></span></h4>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">
<span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;">After analyzing the currently available
information on the proposed merger, SHARE has identified certain ESG issues
that may be of concern to shareholders of a successfully merged new entity,
including:</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Inherited reputational risks
from BKW’s U.S. employment practices</span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Differences in
sustainability reporting between the two companies;</span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Potential job losses and
decreased tax contributions;</span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Lack of independent
directors;</span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Excessive executive
compensation</span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Environment</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Tim
Hortons has published comprehensive sustainability reports in recent years, achieving
a B+ level of reporting based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework.
Burger King, however, does not release annual sustainability reports. To date, there
have been no specific commitments from Tim Hortons or its new owners regarding
the continuation of GRI-based sustainability reporting. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Social</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">A prominent national campaign in the U.S. has targeted the fast food
industry for the extremely low wages paid to employees. In addition, the
National Labor Relations Board recently censured a large Burger King franchisee
for its anti-union activities.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Concerns have also been raised about cuts to operational
costs by 3G Capital, Burger King’s owner, which could take the form of hundreds
of layoffs at Tim Hortons’ head offices and distribution centres, considering 3G’s
pattern of similar losses which occurred at Heinz and Labatt plants after takeovers
by 3G Capital.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Governance</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">3G Capital has a history of poor corporate governance;
BKW’s board does not have a majority of independent directors, has no
nominating committees, and other key committees, such as the compensation
committee, are entirely composed of insider directors. By contrast, at least two-thirds of the current Tim
Hortons board are independent directors and its audit committee is entirely
independent.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Conclusions</span></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">The proposed merger may raise ESG concerns for long-term
investors who will now be faced with new governance structures and practices as
well as new risk profiles based on ownership of Burger King’s global
operations.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 115%;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
<br />
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">SHARE asks if the combined company will
continue and expand THI’s practice of issuing regular sustainability reports
for investors based on GRI indicators.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 115%;"><span><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">How will reputational risks from Burger King’s
employment practices in the U.S. impact on the combined company’s value?</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 115%;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 115%;"><span><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">W</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">ill 3G Capital and Burger King be making
specific commitments regarding retention of employees at company-controlled
facilities in Canada?</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 115%;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">What will be the merged company’s approach to
Canadian taxes?</span></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 115%;"><span><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">Will the company commit to nominating
independent directors to at least two-thirds of the board of the new company
after the merger?</span></span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"></span></span></span></span><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -18pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 115%;"><span><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; line-height: 115%;"><span>·<span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="-moz-font-feature-settings: normal; -moz-font-language-override: normal; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></span></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-size: small;"></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">All good questions from SHARE and ones investors deserve
answers to.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
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<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Doug Watthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09865472291944931373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-71399623400687039212014-10-09T16:08:00.000-04:002014-10-09T16:08:15.082-04:00Eurosif Study Reveals Double Digit Growth in SRI Strategies<div class="MsoNormal">
Eurosif's sixth study of sustainable and responsible investment in Europe shows that SRI investment strategies have grown at double digit rates between 2011 and 2013, faster than the broader European investment market.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For example, the study reveals that assets subject to
exclusion criteria, also known as negative screening, grew by 91% between 2011
and 2013, and now cover an estimated 41% of European professionally managed
assets. Voluntary exclusions related to cluster munitions and anti-personnel
landmines are the most common.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Assets subject to engagement and voting policies have grown
by 86% over the period to reach 3.3 trillion euros, versus 1.8 trillion euros
in 2011. Half of that growth comes from the U.K.,
with other key contributors being the Netherlands,
Norway and Sweden.<strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;"> </span></strong></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<strong><span style="font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Impact investing is the fastest growing strategy, the study reveals, with 132% growth since
2011. Impact investing is now a 20 billion euro market. </span></strong>Key
markets for this strategy are the Netherlands
and Switzerland,
representing an estimated two-thirds of European assets, followed by Italy, the United
Kingdom and Germany. Microfinance represents an
estimated 50 % of European impact investing assets.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The study also sheds light on how the integration of
non-financial factors into investment decisions is implemented. All forms of
ESG integration have grown by 65% since 2011, making this one of the fastest
growing strategies.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite the impressive growth of the SRI market, the study
highlights a number of market failures such as the wide variations in adoption
of SRI practices across countries and the weakness of the retail SRI market.
Institutional investors continue to drive the SRI market in Europe
with an even higher market share than in 2011.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Data was collected or estimated at the end of 2013 covering
institutional<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and retail assets from 13
distinct European markets. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://www.eurosif.org/semantics/uploads/2014/09/Eurosif-SRI-Study-2014.pdf">Download
the Eurosif study.</a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.0pt;"></span></div>
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<br />
<br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><a href="http://www.eurosif.org/semantics/uploads/2014/09/Eurosif-SRI-Study-2014.pdf"></a></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Doug Watthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09865472291944931373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-48248517665252528802014-09-25T16:25:00.001-04:002014-09-25T16:25:24.901-04:00Montreal Carbon Pledge Attracts Large Institutional InvestorsA group of large institutional investors have signed on to the Montreal Carbon Pledge, agreeing to measure and publicly disclose the carbon footprint of their investment portfolios on an annual basis.<br />
<br />
Overseen by the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment, the pledge
hopes to attract $3 trillion of portfolio in time for next year’s UN climate
change conference.<br />
<br />
"We are proud to launch the Montreal Carbon Pledge, a commitment by
investors to translate climate talk into walk," said Fiona Reynolds, Managing
Director of the Principles for Responsible Investment. "The first step to
managing the long-term investment risks associated with climate change and
carbon regulation is to measure them, and this initiative sets a clear path
forward."<br />
<br />
Carbon footprinting enables investors to quantify the carbon content of a
portfolio, the PRI said, noting that 78% of the largest 500 publicly listed
companies now report their carbon emissions.<br />
<br />
Eight funds are inaugural participants in the Montreal pledge, including the $298 billion
California Public Employees’ Retirement System and France’s public sector
pension plan known as ERAFP. The only Canadian fund to commit so far is
Montreal-based Bâtirente, which manages $1.2 billion in assets.<br />
<br />
Batirente chief executive officer Daniel Simard said the pledge is the next
step in the fund’s commitment to socially responsible investing.<br />
<br />
“We think we must move to a new stage in responsible investment, and that is
about capital allocation,” he said in an interview with the Globe & Mail.
“For us, measuring our footprint means considering reducing our carbon
footprint. So we will need to see how we can rethink our asset management in
these terms.”<br />
<br />
Toby Heaps of Corporate Knights told the Globe a number of Canadian
investors have been reviewing the pledge and may sign on, including the Canada
Pension Plan Investment Board, which said it is assessing the new initiative.<br />
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Doug Watthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09865472291944931373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-61900408853120651592014-09-12T17:21:00.000-04:002014-09-12T17:21:40.952-04:00Banks showing limited commitment to responsible investing<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Despite the growth in responsible investment as reported by
various sustainable investment forums, such as Canada’s <a href="http://riacanada.ca/">Responsible Investment Association</a>, the uptake
of responsible investing in the banking sector leaves much to be desired,
according to an extensive report on banking from RI research firm <a href="http://www.sustainalytics.com/">Sustainalytics</a>.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Only 7% of banks surveyed by Sustainalytics report that the
share of responsible assets is more than 5% of total assets under management.
Nearly all of these institutions are from Europe, with three from North America
and one from South America. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Another 96 institutions (27%) either have less than 5% of
AUM dedicated to RI assets or do not disclose the value of their RI assets. Two
hundred and forty-one institutions (67%) don’t provide any evidence of RI
assets under management.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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Further, just 20% of the banks around the world surveyed by
Sustainalytics are PRI signatories. And only 27% have published some kind of
responsible investment policy. </div>
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Only 6% of banks live up to Sustainalytics highest
requirements, which include the application of at least two out of three RI
strategies: exclusion, best-in-class and engagement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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“While a number of banks are engaged in RI, the majority of
them are not PRI signatories, do not have RI policies in place and have not
disclosed responsibly management assets,” the report says.</div>
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The report notes that the banking industry supports a wide
range of sustainability related products and services, including green consumer
loans, rebates for energy efficient home retrofits, large scale renewable
energy project and green bonds. </div>
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In fact, 72% of banks assessed on this indicator have
disclosed programs or activities to promote sustainability-related products and
services, mostly in the form of clean energy financing and consumer loans.
Eleven banks stand out for setting quantitative targets to expand
sustainability financing commitments within a specific time frame.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Doug Watthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09865472291944931373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-33553625007146172532014-09-12T12:19:00.000-04:002014-09-12T12:19:10.915-04:00We have clout, let's use it!<h1 itemprop="name headline ">
<span style="font-size: small;">Some good ideas from the Guardian....</span></h1>
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Originally published August 22nd, 2014 </div>
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<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/aug/22/responsible-investors-unpri-listed-companies-survey#start-of-comments">http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/aug/22/responsible-investors-unpri-listed-companies-survey#start-of-comments</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Responsible investors working together can drive a silent revolution</span></h1>
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A new study of listed companies shows a high presence of investors signed up to the Principles for Responsible Investment - what if they were to speak with one voice on sustainability? </div>
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Far from ignoring issues such as the impact of climate change or the growth in social inequalities, there is a growing movement within the financial community to respond to these challenges by fostering responsible investments and businesses where long-term thinking is prioritised.<br />
According to recent <a href="http://images.qnasdaqomx.com/Web/NASDAQOMX/%7bb9720b66-a534-41d3-bd44-93a42b0f49fe%7d_LongTermInvestingStudyNASDAQ_July.pdf">research</a> by NASDAQ OMX, more than one-third of capital invested by asset managers in publicly-traded companies is currently held in portfolios for at least five years – a key measure for long-term investing – the highest level since the financial crisis.<br />
Long-termism and responsible investing have found two key supporters in recent years. One being the Sustainable Stock Exchange (SSE) initiative <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/social-stock-exchange-measuring-companies-social-impact">where stock exchanges work together</a> to create more sustainable capital markets through enhanced corporate transparency. Secondly, the growing number of institutional investors collaborating through the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) initiative to support responsible investment practices. PRI has grown significantly since its early days when a small group of 20 institutional investors representing $2tn launched it in 2006, supported by UN. The initiative now has 1,260 signatories representing $45tn in assets under management (AUM).<br />
But how exactly that collective size translates in terms of share ownership in listed companies across the world, has been unknown until now. Recently, our organisations jointly conducted a study to uncover the actual presence of PRI signatories in companies in which they invest - the key factor in determining their potential to influence business behaviour. We were surprised by what we found.<br />
In a worldwide sample of 379 listed companies with a combined market capitalisation of $19tn, our PRI equity ownership study revealed that signatories of the PRI on average hold nearly half of all the shares held by asset managers in those companies. The analysis focused on companies with optimum levels of ownership data available and that were representative of all sectors and major markets. Given that the formidable combined weight could be leveraged on companies where institutional investors are considered key stakeholders, this should give business leaders pause.<br />
But can PRI investors become active owners and speak with one voice? A strong collaborative effort will be required, and this is perhaps the biggest challenge.<br />
Having achieved sizeable presence in listed companies, PRI signatories should be able to influence those businesses to achieve a better environmental, governance and social (ESG) performance. From mitigating business impact on climate change to the implementation of long-term sustainable growth strategies, responsible investors have the opportunity to play a pivotal role in shaping corporate policy.<br />
Rather than the regular interactions between investors and senior management in companies focusing merely on financial performance indicators, topics of particular concern to responsible investors could be raised. But to accomplish that, the first step is for investors to realise their collective power.<br />
Secondly, they would need to use this knowledge to join forces and identify where they can be most influential in their corporate engagement. Investors can work together through the PRI’s collaborative platform, known as the Clearinghouse, engaging by company, issue, region or asset class. For example, the PRI’s coordinated engagement on managing risks in hydraulic fracturing, includes 41 institutional investors with a total AUM of $5.1tn. Current topics include executive remuneration, corruption, water quality and scarcity and supply chain risk.<br />
The <a href="http://www.alliancetrustinvestments.com/sri-hub/posts/51638/July/Bangladesh-Investor-Trip">recent visit</a> by a group of responsible investors to textile factories in Bangladesh following the tragic collapse of the Rana Plaza complex in 2013 is an example of how they are trying to make a difference. The purpose of the site visit was to engage with the garment industry and local producers in order to improve working conditions in the textile industry. There is clearly a great deal of work left to do, however this shows how responsible investors can use their influence to facilitate better working conditions in developing countries while reducing the supply chain risks of fashion retailers.<br />
It is worth noting that PRI signatories’ presence is not felt equally across all regions and sectors. It’s stronger in companies listed in the UK, continental Europe, the Middle East and Africa. This reflects the fact that, with few exceptions, European and South-African financial institutions have led the responsible investment movement. Conversely, PRI ownership lags in Australia, Asia Pacific, and particularly in the US and Canada. Although, North America is expanding. In 2014, 23 new US investors signed on to the PRI, including Harvard Management Company, which manages the university’s $32bn endowment fund.<br />
The study reveals that the presence of PRI signatories reaches the highest levels of asset manager ownership in sectors facing some of the greatest sustainability challenges: mining, industry and utilities. For example, PRI signatories own an average of 49% of the shares held by asset managers in 58 industrial companies included in the study and an average of 50% asset manager ownership in 28 companies in the basic materials sector.<br />
Across all sectors and countries, there is a growing desire among many investors to embed sustainability into their investment decision-making process. There is also the opportunity for company executives to implement long-term, value-driven strategies and for investor relations professionals to prioritise communication with their growing base of responsible investors. This will allow them to attract more long-term shareholders which will naturally result in lower stock price volatility.<br />
The silent revolution has arrived. There is a mandate for change; the challenge for responsible investors, and the companies they own, is achieving the right pace for that change.<br />
<em>Will Martindale is policy and research manager for the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment and focuses on operationalising long-term investment. Miguel Santisteve is an Associate Director at NASDAQ OMX Advisory Services and focuses on Responsible Investment and ESG insights for investor relations</em></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Sucheta Rajagopalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13103242263747022021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-92186895678084360572014-06-25T13:37:00.001-04:002014-06-25T13:40:00.413-04:00Peter MacKay: Pale, Male and Stale<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;">
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Peter
MacKay’s recently revealed Mother’s Day and Father’s Day greetings to his staff clearly demonstrate
the extent of institutionalized gender stereotyping by decision makers in Canada.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Here’s
what he had to say to mothers, “</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">By the time many of you
have arrived at the office in the morning, you’ve already changed diapers,
packed lunches, run after school buses, dropped kids off at daycare, taken care
of an aging loved one and maybe even thought about dinner.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">And fathers? “I wish to take this opportunity to
recognize our colleagues who are not only dedicated Department of Justice
employees, but are also dedicated fathers, shaping the minds and futures of the
next generation of leaders.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">(Read the full text of both messages <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/06/24/full_texts_of_peter_mackays_mothers_fathers_day_emails_to_staff.html" target="_blank">here</a>.)</span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Gender
diversity on boards and in the C suite is an important issue for socially responsible
investors. We have been working tirelessly, engaging management and<a href="http://www.share.ca/shareholderdb/results/search&channel=proposals&keywords=women&start=60/" target="_blank"> sometimes bringing resolutions</a> in an attempt to increase the number of women on corporate
boards, and in senior management, in Canada.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">In </span><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/the-glass-ceiling-women-on-boards-we-have-a-long-way-to-go-9210255.html" target="_blank">an article</a><span style="color: black;"> discussing Britain’s efforts to get more women on Boards, Jacey Graham, co-author of </span><a href="http://www.som.cranfield.ac.uk/som/dinamic-content/research/ftse/The%20Female%20FTSE%20100%20Women%20to%20Watch%202014.pdf" target="_blank">The Female FTSE Board Report 2014</a><span style="color: black;">, </span></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: black;">comments on equality, ‘</span></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">It will not be easy, for while there is a "lot less outright sexism, there's still a huge amount of unconscious bias".’</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"></span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">The idea that systemic biases exist, or that there is an ’old boys network’ that prevents women from moving onto boards is frequently dismissed. </span><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;">However humiliating this most recent episode is for Mr. MacKay, he has added immeasurably to the debate by bringing this latent sexism into the open. </span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN;"><o:p></o:p></span> </div>
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</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Often,
when quotas or results based legislation is discussed, the response is either that
there are not enough qualified women available, or that we are moving in the
right direction and it is only a matter of time before we achieve gender
parity.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">A
<a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/editorials/women-on-boards-the-osc-nudges-management/article16395975/" target="_blank">Globe and Mail editorial</a> discussing the <a href="http://www.osc.gov.on.ca/en/14198.htm" target="_blank">OSC ‘s new rules</a> on board diversity
lauds the voluntary guidelines stating “unlike quotas, it’s a reasonable step”.
However, that purported reasonableness is undercut by the fact that “Women make
up just 12 per cent of directors on the boards of major publicly traded
companies in Canada, a number that has climbed painfully slowly from about 9
per cent a decade ago.“<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Discussing gender quotas, <a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/03/economist-explains-14" target="_blank">The Economist</a> suggests
they are becoming more popular due to both the “glacial pace of voluntary
change” and that Norway’s quota law (requiring 40% of directors be women) </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-themecolor: text1;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span lang="EN">“has not been the disaster some
predicted.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“The average number of women on Canadian boards is about 14 percent,
which reflects a complete failure to draw on the deep female talent pool that
is out there.” Peter Dey, Canadian Director as quoted in <a href="http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/b51198804b07d3b2acabad77fcc2938e/Focus9_Women_on_Boards.pdf?MOD=AJPERES" target="_blank">Women on Boards: A Conversation with Male Directors. </a></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">Quotas. It’s time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Sucheta Rajagopalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13103242263747022021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-56110608213808243952014-06-17T15:01:00.000-04:002014-06-17T15:01:37.135-04:00SRI fundcos take active ownership role<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Mutual
funds with a responsible investment mandate are taking an active ownership
role, opposing management resolutions far more often than non-RI fund groups,
and supporting ESG shareholder resolutions. That’s the conclusion of the <a href="http://riacanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/RIA-Proxy-Voting-Survey-20131.pdf">Canadian
Mutual Fund Proxy Voting Survey</a>, released this week by the <a href="http://riacanada.ca/">Responsible Investment Association</a>. </span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The
survey covers the 2013 proxy voting season, examining the voting patterns of 25
Canadian mutual fund families.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The three
SRI-branded fund families (NEI, Meritas and Inhance) voted against
compensation-related (say on pay) resolutions put forward by management 92% of
the time at Canadian companies and 97% at U.S. companies, compared to 13% at
both Canadian and U.S. companies by their mainstream counterparts.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">On resolutions concerning executive stock incentive compensation plans, the RI funds voted against management 84% of the time, as opposed to 26% of the time by mainstream funds.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The RI
fund groups were also more likely to support climate-related shareholder resolutions,
voting in their favour 92% of the time versus 39% by non-RI fund groups.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">"Voting against management recommendations is of course not limited to the RI funds -- a number of the non-RI fund groups surveyed supported multiple ESG issues and appear to be ready to take a long-term view," the study says.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Along with NEI, Meritas and Inhance, Desjardins,
PH&N and CIBC were highlighted as being the most critical of the status quo and most vigilant with their proxy voting.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Overall, the survey found that Canadian mutual funds side with management on the vast majority of resolutions brought to vote at TSX companies -- around 95% of the time, in most cases. In contrast, the three RI-branded funds voted with management on their resolutions only 56% of the time, and virtually none of the time in the case of "say on pay" resolutions.</span></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">"Not all mutual funds accept the status quo," the study concludes. "There are a handful of fund families, specifically those with an orientation towards responsible investment, who take a more active stance in challenging management recommendations. They tend to oppose more management-sponsored resolutions and support more ESG-related shareholder resolutions than their mainstream counterparts."</span></span></span></div>
</h2>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Doug Watthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09865472291944931373noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5661021158251905033.post-90123867393412500232014-05-09T15:33:00.001-04:002014-05-09T15:33:12.493-04:00Passive Investment, active ownershipCatching up on my reading I found this excellent article from April's Financial Times...<br />
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Passive investment, active ownership<br />
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<span>By Mike Scott</span></div>
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Sometimes it seems as if passive investors have the worst of all possible worlds. Invested across the market, they are exposed to every corporate scandal, disaster or anti-business trend that comes along – and unlike investors pursuing an active strategy, they cannot even sell their shares if companies do something awful.<br />
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Investors with shares in companies beset by controversy sometimes say there is nothing they can do to change the company’s behaviour, as they are only invested in them because they belong to a particular Index in which the investor owns every share.</div>
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So is it possible for a passive investor to engage effectively with the companies in its portfolio without the ultimate sanction of divestment? John Wilcox, chairman of Sodali, a New York-based investment consultancy, and former head of corporate governance at TIAA-CREF, one of the world’s largest pension funds, says it is.</div>
“Having a passive investment strategy has nothing to do with your behaviour as an owner. It is very clear from stewardship codes around the world that there are ownership responsibilities to owning shares, no matter how you got there,” he says. “At TIAA-CREF a large part of the portfolio was indexed but that had nothing to do with our decisions about whether to examine the companies in our portfolio.”<br />
Being a “permanent” owner is not an excuse not to engage, it is a reason to engage, Mr Wilcox adds. “If you are a permanent owner, you want to make sure those assets perform well.”<br />
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Despite being unable to divest, passive investors still have a lot of influence over the companies they invest in, says Jane Welsh, head of indexation research at Towers Watson, the consultancy. <br />
“They are generally such large investors and have such large positions that their vote is worth a lot. The last thing companies want is to have big investors vote against them,” she adds. “It is embarrassing and, on top of that, the company has to go back to the drawing board and start again.” <br />
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In addition, Mr Wilcox says, proxy advisory firms and organisations such as the UN’s Principles for Responsible Investment and the Carbon Disclosure Project do half the job for passive investors by highlighting the issues that need attention.</div>
Rakhi Kumar, head of corporate governance at State Street Global Advisors, says there is a big difference between passive investment and passive ownership. <br />
“As an asset manager with one of the world’s largest passive offerings and a near-perpetual holder of index constituents, active ownership represents the tangible way in which SSgA can positively impact the value of our underlying holdings,” he says. <br />
“Our size, experience and long-term outlook provide us with corporate access and allow us to establish and maintain an open and constructive dialogue with company management and boards. The option of exercising our substantial voting rights in opposition to management provides us with sufficient leverage and ensures our views and client interests are given due consideration.” <br />
<br />
Some active managers will sell out if they are concerned with the risks a company is running, Ms Welsh says, but not all of them will. Some active managers, particularly those with a long-term approach, act more like passive investors by identifying the risks and working with the company to address them over the long term.<br />
“I have some sympathy with the typical pension fund; they are exposed to everything because they are invested in the entire index,” says Aled Jones, head of responsible investment for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Mercer, the consultancy. “But it does not mean they should not be asking questions about specific issues.”<br />
If anything, when it comes to engaging with a company’s management, being a passive investor is an advantage, he suggests. “Active investors often have a high turnover of shares in their portfolios so they do not hold the shares long enough to have an influence. For really meaty issues in areas such as environmental, social and governance issues, it can take a year or two of engagement to make progress.”<br />
Because they are invested across the entire market (they are also known as universal investors), passive investors have an interest in raising standards everywhere, not just in individual companies, Mr Jones points out. As a result, they can engage at the market level by talking to regulators and stock exchanges or by focusing on sector leaders in the hope that the rest of the market will follow.<br />
“We do not consider the objectives of raising governance standards at individual companies and the market as a whole to be mutually exclusive, and both serve to enhance the value of our portfolios,” says Mr Kumar. <br />
“SSgA adopts a two-pronged approach, whereby issuer-specific engagement is complemented by ongoing dialogue with market regulators.” <br />
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Passive investors are not completely powerless when it comes to exiting poorly managed companies. Funds can alter their mandates to exclude certain investments. The Norwegian Government Pension Fund is currently waiting to hear whether the government will order it to divest from fossil fuel companies. The fund has also sold out of palm oil companies because of fears over deforestation and dropped individual companies such as Walmart and Vedanta for failing to meet its investment guidelines. </div>
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There are a number of indices that focus on the best performers in areas such as environmental performance, such as the FTSE4Good, the Dow Jones Sustainability index and MSCI’s global sustainability indices.</div>
In addition, argues Lorne Baring, founder of wealth manager B Capital, “passive investors do exit poor companies. Badly managed companies lose value and soon drop out of the index that the passive fund tracks. As an example, a FTSE 100 company that is underperforming the market will probably be ejected from the FTSE 100 and replaced by a stock that is performing well. The investor is passive, the fund is passive, however the mechanics of the tracker deselect companies that are underperforming.”</div>
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<a href="http://www.ft.com/servicestools/help/copyright">Copyright</a> The Financial Times Limited 2014.</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer"><p id="blogfeeds"><$BlogFeedsVertical$></p></div>Sucheta Rajagopalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13103242263747022021noreply@blogger.com0