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Key organizations and documents in the field of Socially and
Environmentally Responsible Investing (SERI) include:
UN
Global Compact: proposed by Secretary-General Kofi
Annan in 1999 at the Davos Summit, this is the key UN document
attempting to promote basic human rights, labor and environmental
principles within the private sector.
UNEP
Finance Initiative has a working group on asset management
as well as a newsletter and a Statement
by Financial Institutions on the Environment and Sustainable
Development and a list of signatory
financial institutions..
The
Social Investment Forum (SRI): has an excellent summary
of Socially
Responsible Investing.
Business
for Social Responsibility (BSR): very thorough site
on Corporate Social Responsibility, including issues relating
to SRI. BSR also has a report on community
investment policy.
World
Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD):
WBCSD is a coalition of over 170 international companies united
by a shared commitment to sustainable development via the
three pillars of economic growth, ecological balance and social
progress.
AccountAbility:
is an international, not-for-profit, professional institute
dedicated to the promotion of social, ethical and overall
organisational accountability, a precondition for achieving
sustainable development.
Global
Reporting Initiative (GRI): first comprehensive attempt
to quantify triple-bottom line reporting - economic, environmental
and social reporting.
Business
and Human Rights Resource Center: The purpose of the
Centre's website is to promote greater awareness and informed
discussion of important issues relating to business and human
rights. The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre's
online library covers over 1200 companies, over 160 countries,
over 150 topics.
Cadbury
Report: published in 1992, this report focuses on
control and reporting functions of boards and on the role
of auditors. At the heart of the Committee's recommendations
is a Code of Best Practices designed to achieve the necessary
high standards of corporate behavior.
Conference
of Catholic Bishops: 1991 statement on Corporate Social
Responsibility
Institutional
Shareholders' Committee: drafted in the UK, this report
"sets out best practices for institutional shareholders
and/or agents in relation to their responsibilities in respect
of investee companies"
Institutional
Shareholder Responsibilities: August 2003 statement
issued by the International Corporate Governance Network as
a follow-up to the Institutional Shareholder's Committee report.
It defines the role of institutional investors as dealing
with issues that "may relate to...the management of environmental,
ethical and social risks."
Domini
Social Investment Group: One of the largest and oldest
SRI funds with a description of their screening
methodology.
Calvert
Group: Also one of the largest and oldest SRI funds
with their thorough explanation
of SRI.
Pax
Funds: Another precursor of SRI with a description
of its philosophy.
Caux
Roundtable: since 1994, an organization driven by
the belief that the world business community should play an
important role in improving economic and social conditions.
It developped the CRT Principles
for Business.
United
Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF): has a website
which details its functionnings and includes an annual
report and an annual
letter from the CEO on its activities.
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