The Intentional Endowments Network's "Business Case for ESG" briefing paper was developed to help endowment stakeholders understand what ESG investing is, how ESG investing and analysis can be approached, and how ESG investing strategies perform financially.

Click here to access The Business Case for ESG Briefing Paper (pdf).

This briefing paper was developed by and in consultation with members of IEN's ESG Business Case Working Group. 

ESG Business Case Working Group members:* 

• Fred Rogers, Vice President and Treasurer, Carleton College
• Paul Carey, CFO/Associate VP of Development, Portland State University Foundation
• Felicia Davis, Managing Director, Building Green Campuses, Clark Atlanta University
• Patrick Norton, Vice President for Finance and Treasurer, Middlebury College
• Morgan Olsen, Executive Vice President, Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer, Arizona State University
• Carl Vance, Chief Investment Officer, Lewis & Clark College
• Patrick Drum, Portfolio Manager, Saturna Capital
• Julie Gorte, Senior Vice President for Sustainable Investing, Pax Global
• Lisa Hayles, Institutional Investment Services, Boston Common Asset Management
• Sonia Kowal, President, Zevin Asset Management
• Tom Kuh, Executive Director, MSCI
• Elizabeth Lewis, Sustainable Investment Lead, World Resource Institute
• Ken Locklin , Director, Impax Asset Management
• Erika Pagel, Portfolio Manager, Brown Advisory
• Tanvi Pradhan, Client Associate, RBC Wealth Management
• Cheryl Smith, Managing Partner, Trillium Asset Management
• Tony Cortese, Principal, Intentional Endowments Network
• Georges Dyer, Principal, Intentional Endowments Network
• Sonal Mahida, Director, Intentional Endowments Network

 * (at the time of original publication, March 2016)

Bloomberg Brief l Sustainable Finance

November 25, 2015

• This weeks Bloomberg Brief discusses the impact carbon pricing would have on mining companies.  

Investing With Her l Green Money

By Gloria Nelund

• Women in the US have made substantial economic gains as a result of increased access to education, widening income generation opportunities and significant policy developments that have reshaped the trajectory for women in society. Today, approximately 60 percent of all college graduates are women,[1] and, upon graduating from college, women now tend to out-earn men – according to some estimates – by eight percent.[2]

Why Investing in Women Pays Off l Green Money

By Leslie Samuelrich 

• What do the studies demonstrating the value of having women in leadership positions mean for those of us in the field of impact investing? For starters, it is helpful data to concretely back up what many of us already know from our experience – women can be strong leaders, communicators, problem-solvers and staff managers who can help a company not only survive, but thrive.

Responsible Investing no longer means accepting lower returns l The Globe and Mail

By Susan Smith, November 12, 2015

• This article exemplifies how responsible investing can be profitable through the story of a Ms. Gail Taylor, who choose to align her professional life with her personal values. 

Bloomberg Brief -- Sustainable Finance l November 12, 2015

• This weeks Bloomberg Brief discusses the decline in coal consumption and the investment implications of Exxon's denial of climate change. 

How to free your investment portfolio from fossil fuels l The Guardian

By Marc Gunther, November 11, 2015 

• The Rockefeller Brothers Fund, the University of California and the World Council of Churches are among about 460 faith-based groups, pension funds, colleges and nonprofits that have pledged to divest some or all of their fossil fuel holdings. They can do so with the help of consultants who will advise them on how to minimize their financial risk.

A Guide to Sustainable Investing l The Wall Street Journal

By Alex Davidson, November 8, 2015

• What are you actually getting when you put your money into a sustainable investment? And how do you know the mutual fund or ETF with the “sustainable” label fulfills its promise?

Bloomberg Brief -- Sustainable Finance l November 5, 2015

• This weeks Bloomberg Brief highlights sustainability as an approach to lending, green bonds, and women in finance.  

Portfolio Management Must Stop Being Traditionally Conservative and Start Being Existentially Conservative l JEI

By Garvin F. Jabusch 

• Interesting, and also potentially dangerous, are the longer-term risks embedded deep within the global economy: the causes of events, sometimes known as systemic risks. Earth’s big risks are now visibly real, and we should be reinventing investment management to address them.