Thoughts on Filing a Shareholder Resolution at ExxonMobil
From The Dwight Hall SRI Fund at Yale University Last week, our shareholder engagement team at the Dwight Hall SRI Fund received some positive news. We learned that the shareholder resolution that we had co-filed at ExxonMobil was to be included in the company’s annual proxy statement and would be voted on by the company’s shareholders in May. This is our latest milestone in an unfinished journey, which began in August of 2014. At that time, the Yale Corporation Committee on Investor Responsibility announced that the Yale Endowment would adopt a special proxy voting directive for the issue of climate change: “Yale will generally support reasonable and well-constructed shareholder resolutions seeking company disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions, analyses of the...
Moving to 100% Impact Investing Across All Asset Classes:...
By R. Paul Herman, CEO of HIP (Human Impact + Profit) Investor Inc. How can you move your endowment and trustees from Intention to Implementation? This four-step guide can help shift your institution more swiftly and comprehensively to a 100% impact-focused portfolio -- across all asset classes. 1. Re-affirm your MISSION, and embed it in every investment conversation – and asset class. Environmental organizations, from The Nature Conservancy to zoos and aquariums, exist to protect, preserve and spread Nature as its mission. However, many endowment portfolios – even those with a clear purpose – are not always aligned with the mission. For the Global Conservation Network, whose mission is to ensure the expansion and preservation of species, Dr. Onnie...
Becker College to Invest 100% of Endowment to Benefit Env...
On March 10th, 2016, Becker College, a founding member of the Intentional Endowments Network, announced that they have officially mandated that all investments in their endowment should generate a positive impact on society as well as a financial return. This makes Becker the first college or university to pursue a 100% impact strategy across its entire endowment, including metrics on health, income, equality, environment, diversity and transparency. The completion date for the portfolio transformation of the school's $5 million endowment is June 30th, 2017. To read the press release, click here.
Press Release: Founding Members of the Intentional Endowm...
Nearly 80 colleges and universities, foundations, investment firms, and non-profits make up the Founding Members of the Intentional Endowments Network (IEN). After an 18-month pilot phase of building this peer-network and learning community, the launch of a more formal membership program represents an exciting milestone for the initiative. The list of members is available here. Please read the press release, and share this exciting news!
Michael Porter TED Talk: Why Business Can be Good at Solv...
In this TED Talk, Michael Porter, a professor at Harvard Business School, makes a case for letting businesses work to solve massive problems like climate change and access to water. Why? Because when business solves a problem, it makes a profit -- which lets that solution grow.
Harish Manwani TED Talk: Profit's Not Always the Point
In this TED Talk, Harish Manwani, COO of Unilever, makes a passionate argument that including value, purpose and sustainability in top-level decision-making is not just savvy, it's the only way to run a 21st century business responsibly.
Christine Bader TED Talk: The Evolution of a Corporate Id...
Christine Bader, Amazon's Director of Social Responsibility, discusses how we need to re-frame the conversation surrounding the alignment of business interests and social good. By focusing on where some have failed, she offers advice on how others can succeed.
Chris McKnett TED Talk: The Investment Logic for Sustaina...
Sustainability is the defining challenge of our time; but what groups can really drive the kind of progress needed? Chris McKnett makes the case that it's large institutional investors. He shows how strong financial data isn't enough, and reveals why investors need to look at a company's environmental, social and governance structures, too.
Audrey Choi TED Talk: Prioritizing Investing for Social C...
Can global capital markets become catalysts for social change? According to Audrey Choi, CEO of Morgan Stanley’s Institute for Sustainable Investing, almost half of global capital is owned by individuals and that gives them the power to make a difference by investing in companies that champion social values.
2016 Proxy Season Brings Opportunity to Accelerate Corpor...
Concerned About Climate and other Environmental Risks? 2016 Proxy Season Brings Opportunity to Accelerate Corporate Sustainability Progress By Stuart Dalheim As we turn the corner into 2016, our attention turns to the upcoming elections. No, I am not referring to the elections for public office that already dominate the airwaves (though they are important too), but the opportunity investors have to participate in shareholder democracy by voting proxies during corporate annual general meetings. Springtime marks the height of the proxy season, which means investors can use their position as owners to vote on slates of corporate directors, make their voices heard about executive compensation packages, and cast ballots on a wide range of social and environmental shareholder proposals. Investors are...
2016 Proxy Season Brings Opportunity to Accelerate Corpor...
Concerned About Climate and other Environmental Risks? 2016 Proxy Season Brings Opportunity to Accelerate Corporate Sustainability Progress By Stuart Dalheim As we turn the corner into 2016, our attention turns to the upcoming elections. No, I am not referring to the elections for public office that already dominate the airwaves (though they are important too), but the opportunity investors have to participate in shareholder democracy by voting proxies during corporate annual general meetings. Springtime marks the height of the proxy season, which means investors can use their position as owners to vote on slates of corporate directors, make their voices heard about executive compensation packages, and cast ballots on a wide range of social and environmental shareholder proposals. Investors are...
Audrey Choi TED Talk: Prioritizing Investing for Social C...
Can global capital markets become catalysts for social change? According to Audrey Choi, CEO of Morgan Stanley’s Institute for Sustainable Investing, almost half of global capital is owned by individuals and that gives them the power to make a difference by investing in companies that champion social values.
Chris McKnett TED Talk: The Investment Logic for Sustaina...
Sustainability is the defining challenge of our time; but what groups can really drive the kind of progress needed? Chris McKnett makes the case that it's large institutional investors. He shows how strong financial data isn't enough, and reveals why investors need to look at a company's environmental, social and governance structures, too.
Christine Bader TED Talk: The Evolution of a Corporate Id...
Christine Bader, Amazon's Director of Social Responsibility, discusses how we need to re-frame the conversation surrounding the alignment of business interests and social good. By focusing on where some have failed, she offers advice on how others can succeed.
Harish Manwani TED Talk: Profit's Not Always the Point
In this TED Talk, Harish Manwani, COO of Unilever, makes a passionate argument that including value, purpose and sustainability in top-level decision-making is not just savvy, it's the only way to run a 21st century business responsibly.
Michael Porter TED Talk: Why Business Can be Good at Solv...
In this TED Talk, Michael Porter, a professor at Harvard Business School, makes a case for letting businesses work to solve massive problems like climate change and access to water. Why? Because when business solves a problem, it makes a profit -- which lets that solution grow.
Press Release: Founding Members of the Intentional Endowm...
Nearly 80 colleges and universities, foundations, investment firms, and non-profits make up the Founding Members of the Intentional Endowments Network (IEN). After an 18-month pilot phase of building this peer-network and learning community, the launch of a more formal membership program represents an exciting milestone for the initiative. The list of members is available here. Please read the press release, and share this exciting news!
Becker College to Invest 100% of Endowment to Benefit Env...
On March 10th, 2016, Becker College, a founding member of the Intentional Endowments Network, announced that they have officially mandated that all investments in their endowment should generate a positive impact on society as well as a financial return. This makes Becker the first college or university to pursue a 100% impact strategy across its entire endowment, including metrics on health, income, equality, environment, diversity and transparency. The completion date for the portfolio transformation of the school's $5 million endowment is June 30th, 2017. To read the press release, click here.
Moving to 100% Impact Investing Across All Asset Classes:...
By R. Paul Herman, CEO of HIP (Human Impact + Profit) Investor Inc. How can you move your endowment and trustees from Intention to Implementation? This four-step guide can help shift your institution more swiftly and comprehensively to a 100% impact-focused portfolio -- across all asset classes. 1. Re-affirm your MISSION, and embed it in every investment conversation – and asset class. Environmental organizations, from The Nature Conservancy to zoos and aquariums, exist to protect, preserve and spread Nature as its mission. However, many endowment portfolios – even those with a clear purpose – are not always aligned with the mission. For the Global Conservation Network, whose mission is to ensure the expansion and preservation of species, Dr. Onnie...
Thoughts on Filing a Shareholder Resolution at ExxonMobil
From The Dwight Hall SRI Fund at Yale University Last week, our shareholder engagement team at the Dwight Hall SRI Fund received some positive news. We learned that the shareholder resolution that we had co-filed at ExxonMobil was to be included in the company’s annual proxy statement and would be voted on by the company’s shareholders in May. This is our latest milestone in an unfinished journey, which began in August of 2014. At that time, the Yale Corporation Committee on Investor Responsibility announced that the Yale Endowment would adopt a special proxy voting directive for the issue of climate change: “Yale will generally support reasonable and well-constructed shareholder resolutions seeking company disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions, analyses of the...
2016 Proxy Season Brings Opportunity to Accelerate Corpor...
Concerned About Climate and other Environmental Risks? 2016 Proxy Season Brings Opportunity to Accelerate Corporate Sustainability Progress By Stuart Dalheim As we turn the corner into 2016, our attention turns to the upcoming elections. No, I am not referring to the elections for public office that already dominate the airwaves (though they are important too), but the opportunity investors have to participate in shareholder democracy by voting proxies during corporate annual general meetings. Springtime marks the height of the proxy season, which means investors can use their position as owners to vote on slates of corporate directors, make their voices heard about executive compensation packages, and cast ballots on a wide range of social and environmental shareholder proposals. Investors are...
Audrey Choi TED Talk: Prioritizing Investing for Social C...
Can global capital markets become catalysts for social change? According to Audrey Choi, CEO of Morgan Stanley’s Institute for Sustainable Investing, almost half of global capital is owned by individuals and that gives them the power to make a difference by investing in companies that champion social values.
Becker College to Invest 100% of Endowment to Benefit Env...
On March 10th, 2016, Becker College, a founding member of the Intentional Endowments Network, announced that they have officially mandated that all investments in their endowment should generate a positive impact on society as well as a financial return. This makes Becker the first college or university to pursue a 100% impact strategy across its entire endowment, including metrics on health, income, equality, environment, diversity and transparency. The completion date for the portfolio transformation of the school's $5 million endowment is June 30th, 2017. To read the press release, click here.
Chris McKnett TED Talk: The Investment Logic for Sustaina...
Sustainability is the defining challenge of our time; but what groups can really drive the kind of progress needed? Chris McKnett makes the case that it's large institutional investors. He shows how strong financial data isn't enough, and reveals why investors need to look at a company's environmental, social and governance structures, too.
Christine Bader TED Talk: The Evolution of a Corporate Id...
Christine Bader, Amazon's Director of Social Responsibility, discusses how we need to re-frame the conversation surrounding the alignment of business interests and social good. By focusing on where some have failed, she offers advice on how others can succeed.
Harish Manwani TED Talk: Profit's Not Always the Point
In this TED Talk, Harish Manwani, COO of Unilever, makes a passionate argument that including value, purpose and sustainability in top-level decision-making is not just savvy, it's the only way to run a 21st century business responsibly.
Michael Porter TED Talk: Why Business Can be Good at Solv...
In this TED Talk, Michael Porter, a professor at Harvard Business School, makes a case for letting businesses work to solve massive problems like climate change and access to water. Why? Because when business solves a problem, it makes a profit -- which lets that solution grow.
Moving to 100% Impact Investing Across All Asset Classes:...
By R. Paul Herman, CEO of HIP (Human Impact + Profit) Investor Inc. How can you move your endowment and trustees from Intention to Implementation? This four-step guide can help shift your institution more swiftly and comprehensively to a 100% impact-focused portfolio -- across all asset classes. 1. Re-affirm your MISSION, and embed it in every investment conversation – and asset class. Environmental organizations, from The Nature Conservancy to zoos and aquariums, exist to protect, preserve and spread Nature as its mission. However, many endowment portfolios – even those with a clear purpose – are not always aligned with the mission. For the Global Conservation Network, whose mission is to ensure the expansion and preservation of species, Dr. Onnie...
Press Release: Founding Members of the Intentional Endowm...
Nearly 80 colleges and universities, foundations, investment firms, and non-profits make up the Founding Members of the Intentional Endowments Network (IEN). After an 18-month pilot phase of building this peer-network and learning community, the launch of a more formal membership program represents an exciting milestone for the initiative. The list of members is available here. Please read the press release, and share this exciting news!
Thoughts on Filing a Shareholder Resolution at ExxonMobil
From The Dwight Hall SRI Fund at Yale University Last week, our shareholder engagement team at the Dwight Hall SRI Fund received some positive news. We learned that the shareholder resolution that we had co-filed at ExxonMobil was to be included in the company’s annual proxy statement and would be voted on by the company’s shareholders in May. This is our latest milestone in an unfinished journey, which began in August of 2014. At that time, the Yale Corporation Committee on Investor Responsibility announced that the Yale Endowment would adopt a special proxy voting directive for the issue of climate change: “Yale will generally support reasonable and well-constructed shareholder resolutions seeking company disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions, analyses of the...