Date:  June 29th, 2017

In this webinar, Fran Seegull, Executive Director at the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance at The Ford Foundation, Allison Spector, Senior Manager of Investors' Council & Membership Programming at The Global Impact Investing Network, and Shawn Wischmeier, CIO of Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, will offer an introduction to impact investing for institutional investors.

 Panelists:

• Fran Seegull, Executive Director, U.S. Impact Investing Alliance, Ford Foundation  

• Allison Spector, Senior Manager, Investors' Council & Membership Programming, Global Impact Investing Network

• Shawn Wischmeier, CIO of Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies

• Georges Dyer (Moderator), Principal, Intentional Endowments Network

Date:  May 31st, 2017

A profound change of the global food and agriculture system is needed if we are to nourish the 7.3 billion people of today and the additional 2 billion people expected by 2050. The food and agriculture sector offers key solutions for development, and is central for hunger and poverty eradication, as outlined in the UN Sustainable Development Goal Two to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.

In this webinar, Sada Geuss, an Investment Manager from Trillium Asset Management, will present on Trillium’s recently released White Paper: Impact Investing in Sustainable Food and Agriculture Across Asset Classes: Financing Resilient Value Chains through Total Portfolio Activation. Maria Lettini, Director of the Farm Animal Investment Risk and Return (FAIRR) Initiative, will focus on the risks associated with investments in factory farming and the animal protein sector, and will offer some examples of diversification of the protein supply chain. Don Wiviott, Partner at Sustainable Farm Partners, will discuss the investment opportunities in grain production and carbon capture, and David Miller will present on Iroquois Valley Farms impact investments in organic and local agriculture. Following their presentations, there will be an interactive question and answer session with the panelists.

Panelists:

• Sada Geuss, Investment Manager, Trillium Asset Management
• Maria Lettini, Director, Farm Animal Investment Risk & Return (FAIRR) Initiative
• Don Wiviott, Partner, Sustainable Farm Partners
• David Miller, CEO, Iroquois Valley Farms
• Moderator: Georges Dyer, Principal, Intentional Endowments Network    

Webinar:  KnowTheChain Benchmarking Findings: How Are Companies Addressing Forced Labor and Human Trafficking Risks in Their Supply Chains? 

Date: January 19th, 2017

Benchmarks can play a powerful role in encouraging companies to uphold labor standards and protect workers’ rights. In 2016, KnowTheChain, a resource for businesses and investors to address forced labor abuses and human trafficking within their supply chains, has benchmarked 60 large global companies on their efforts to address these risks in sectors that are at high risk of forced labor: the Information & Technology Communication, Food & Beverage, and Apparel & Footwear.   

Based on these findings, this webinar will provide insights into: 

• Why forced labor is relevant to investors?
• How investors can address forced labor risks in their portfolio?
• How are companies across the three sectors addressing forced labor risks?  
• What are gaps and opportunities for improvement in the sectors?
• How can investors use the KnowTheChain findings?
• What questions should investors ask their investee companies? 

Panelists:  

• Bennett Freeman, Senior Advisor, Know the Chain; former Senior VP, Sustainability Research and Policy, Calvert Investments
• Megan Wallingford, Senior Advisor, Sustainalytics
• Felicitas Weber, KnowTheChain Project Lead, Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
• Moderator:  Sonal Mahida, Director, Intentional Endowments Network 

• Presentation
• KnowTheChain Investor Resources 

Speakers Bios:

Bennett Freeman, Consultant, Board Member and Speaker on Business and Human Rights, Sustainability, and Responsible Investment

Over the last 17 years of a three decade-plus long career, Bennett Freeman has worked at the intersection of multinational companies, responsible investors, NGOs, governments and international institutions to promote corporate responsibility, sustainability and human rights around the world.  An innovative leader in the fields of business and human rights, natural resource governance and responsible investment, he has played key roles in developing and leading several now well-established multi-stakeholder initiatives and global standards.  Read full bio... 

Megan Wallingford, Senior Advisor, Sustainalytics

 Sonal Mahida, Director, Intentional Endowments Network

Sonal comes to IEN with over 15 years of experience in the field. During her career Sonal has worked on ESG investing and sustainability issues at institutional investors, S&P 500, Fortune 500companies, as well as non-profits. As Head of North America for the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), she developed and led initiatives to aid U.S. and Canadian investors in the practice and implementation of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) integration and risk management.  Prior to joining PRI, Sonal worked on corporate sustainability at Hess. Read full bio...

Webinar:  Transitioning to Integrating Investment Practices with Program Mission

Date:  10/19 at 1:00-2:00pm EST

Co-hosted by the Intentional Endowments Network (IEN) and the Network for Sustainable Financial Markets (SFM), this webinar will provide an overview of processes used by the Heron Foundation and Hampshire College to develop investment policies and implement management practices that align investments with their respective institutional missions.

Panelists:  

Date: November 3, 2021 1:00p.m. ET

Despite the growing number of institutional investors considering environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in their investment decision making to enhance their due diligence process, most investors don't have a complete understanding of how human rights is an essential component of their sustainable investing strategy. Without adequate human rights due diligence, there is an increased possibility that investors may be connected to a range of adverse impacts on human rights caused by or linked to their portfolio companies or with business models that undermine human rights. Unfortunately, almost none of the world’s leading venture capital firms practice adequate human rights due diligence, leaving them blind to the risks caused by algorithmic bias. This poses significant risks for investors, as their VC investments can be tied to environmental, human rights and labor abuses.  In this session, investors will come away with the understanding of the risks associated with investing in funds that don't practice adequate human rights due diligence, the consequences for people connected with their investment activities, and how to take action to manage those risks to align with their own ESG policies. 

Speakers:

• Michael Kleinman, Director, Silicon Valley Initiative, Amnesty / AIUSA
• Anuradha Mittal, Founder and Executive Director, The Oakland Institute
• Nikolaj Pedersen, Senior Lead, Human Rights, UN Principles for Responsible Investment
• Susan Winterberg, ESG Consultant; Former Fellow, Technology & Public Purpose Project, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Speaker Bios: 

Michael Kleinman, Director, Silicon Valley Initiative, Amnesty / AIUSA

Michael Kleinman is Director of Amnesty International’s Silicon Valley Initiative. Previously, he was the founder and CEO of Orange Door Research, which helped donors, NGOs and UN agencies gather data in conflict-affected countries. Prior to that, he was Director of Investments at Humanity United, one of the Omidyar Group Philanthropies, where he worked on the intersection of technology and human rights.  He has also worked for development and humanitarian NGOs in Afghanistan, Iraq and Sudan. His writing on development, human rights and technology has been published in The Washington Post, TechCrunch, Vox, The Guardian, Stanford Social Innovation Review, San Francisco Chronicle, LA Times, openDemocracy and McSweeneys. He is a graduate of Yale and Harvard Law School.

Anuradha Mittal, Founder and Executive Director, The Oakland Institute

Anuradha Mittal, founder and executive director of the Oakland Institute, is an internationally renowned expert on development, human rights, and agriculture issues. Recipient of several awards, Anuradha Mittal was recognized as the Most Valuable Thinker by the Nation magazine. Since 2008, under Anuradha's leadership, the Institute has unveiled land investment deals in the developing world which reveal a disturbing pattern of a lack of transparency, fairness, and accountability. The dynamic relationship between research, advocacy, and international media coverage has resulted in an amazing string of successes and organizing in the US and abroad. Mittal has authored and edited numerous books and reports. Her articles and opinion pieces have been published in widely circulated newspapers including the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Bangkok Post, Houston Chronicle, and the Nation. Anuradha has addressed the US Congress, the United Nations, given several hundred keynote addresses including invitational events from governments and universities, and has been interviewed on CNN, BBC World, CBC, ABC, Al Jazeera, National Public Radio, and Voice of America. Anuradha currently serves on the board of the Environmental Defender Law Center; advisory board of  CorpWatch; and is the Chair of the Board of Directors of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream company.

Nikolaj Pedersen, Senior Lead, Human Rights, UN Principles for Responsible Investment

Nikolaj Pedersen is the PRI’s senior lead on human rights. His role is to design and implement projects with signatories and partners to mainstream international human rights standards in the investment industry. Nikolaj previously held roles in the PRI’s Signatory Relations team servicing institutional investors in Europe, North America and the Middle East. Prior to joining the PRI, Nikolaj worked in the business and human rights field in Denmark in both consulting and the private sector. He has a master’s degree in International Studies from Aarhus University and holds financial qualifications: IMC and CAIA.

Susan Winterberg, ESG Consultant; Former Fellow, Technology & Public Purpose Project, Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs

Susan Winterberg is an independent ESG consultant working with private investors, government funders and business leaders to better manage ESG issues.  Susan is currently a consultant with IFC in the ESG Networks and Thought Leadership team. She previously was the Inaugural Fellow for the Technology and Public Purpose Project at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, where her research focused on advancing responsible investment practices for venture capital funds and portfolio companies. Susan also previously worked at Business for Social Responsibility (BSR), a network of ESG leads at 250 multinational companies, asset managers, and private equity funds. At BSR  she led the Inclusive Economy team on addressing 'S' issues of creating good jobs, diversity, equity & inclusion, product affordability and access, and community and government relations. Her earlier career was in foreign investment facilitation for sustainable cities, where she led the Urban Planning and Development practice at the Canadian infrastructure transaction advisory firm CPCS which has implemented projects in over 110 countries.  She holds a Masters in Urban Planning from Harvard University and a Bachelors of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Cincinnati.

Recording:

Resources:

• In King Leopold’s Steps: The Investors Bankrolling the PHC Oil Palm Plantations in the Democratic Republic of Congo | Oakland Institute 
• Why and how investors should act on human rights | UNPRI
• Risky Business: How leading venture capital firms ignore human rights when investing in technology | Amnesty International
• Responsible Investing in Tech and Venture Capital | Harvard Kennedy School Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
• How Venture Capital Can Join the ESG Revolution | Stanford Social Innovation Review

This webinar is part of IEN’s Investing in Racial Equity Series

Date: Tue, July 13, 2021, 1:00 p.m. ET

Resources Shared: 

• Investing in Racial Equity: A Primer for University and College Endowments | IEN
• Diversity in Action: The Framework | Institutional Limited Partners Association 
• Path to 15 | 55 : a path to grow at least 15% of black businesses, create 600,000+ new jobs and add $55 billion to the US economy
• Rockefeller Brothers Fund's DEI approach 
• The 2021 CEO Blueprint for Racial Equity: what companies can do to advance racial equity and combat systemic racism in the workplace, communities, and society | PolicyLink, FSG and Just Capital 
• Due Diligence 2.0 Commitment 
• Impact America Fund & Jacmel Growth Partners : two organizations that are good examples of different approaches to investing for justice 

View recordings of other webinars and workshops hosted as part of our Racial Equity Investing series here. 

Date: May 13, 2021, 1-2pm ET 

How can investors be part of a solution to racial equality? Come join us for an introduction to Natixis AIA Racial Equity Portfolios, developed in partnership with JUST Capital and Anthony Rust, Consultant and IEN Board Member, aiming to avoid or divest from companies that cause, contribute to, exploit or profit from racial injustice.

Investors have a key role to play to bring about racial equity by steering capital towards companies that embrace diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). A growing body of evidence also points to how companies that are leaders in DEI outperform their peers. Natixis will speak to how they relied on the expertise of NGOs and advocacy organizations to align themselves to the realities of our changing society and identified opportunities that came with this broadened scope of analysis that’s overlooked by many investors.

Through this webinar, participants will come away with an understanding of:

• Why investing in companies that incorporate DEI and away from companies with business models that perpetuate racial inequities make financial sense
• What an approach that focuses on investing in companies that factor in the economic power of underrepresented populations looks like in practice
• How you can be a more socially conscious investor too

Speakers:

• Victor Howell, Vice President, Natixis Investment Managers
• Lorraine Spradley Wilson, Managing Director, Investment Products, JUST Capital
• Anthony Rust, Consultant / IEN Board Member

Recording:

Resources:

• Natixis Investment Managers Announces AIA Racial Equity Portfolios
• Customized Equity Portfolios Invest for Racial Equality
• A CEO Blueprint for Racial Equity
• Corporate Insights into the CEO Blueprint for Racial Equity
• The Corporate Racial Equity Tracker

Date: August 5, 2020

Historically, investors have prioritized diversification with a focus on asset class, investment strategy, sector, and company. However, the diversification of manager backgrounds (and thus perspectives) has often gone unexplored. Allocating to asset management firms owned by people of color is necessary to diversify talent and deal flow and improve the endowment investment's risk and return profile. This panel digs into examples of how institutions can begin to allocate to diverse-owned asset managers and leave the participants with action steps to deploy capital behind people of color for better investing.

Recording:

Resources:

• Diversifying Investments: A Study of Ownership Diversity and Performance in the Asset Management Industry, Knight Foundation, Bella Research Group & Harvard Business School, January 2019
• Racial Equity Investing: A Primer for College & University Endowments, Intentional Endowments Network, August 2020
• 2020 Belonging Pledge – A Commitment to Advance Racial Equity which is a sign-on pledge to discuss racial equity in your next investment committee meeting 
• DAMI's website on tracking and reporting
• IEN's webpage on diverse managers which includes sample investment policy statements 

Speakers:

	Tiffany McGhee, Partner, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Chief Investment Officer of Institutional Client Services, Momentum Advisors. Read Tiffany's bio here.
	Jasmine Richards, Head of Diverse Manager Research, Cambridge Associates. Read Jasmine's bio here.
	Anthony Rust, Chair of the Investment Committee, Warren Wilson College. Read Anthony's bio here.
	Justin Wilson, Director, Diverse Asset Managers Initiative (DAMI). Read Justin's bio here.

Date:  November 14, 2018, 11:45 a.m. ET

This webinar will be a high level overview on how investors can incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) factors at various levels of the investment process. Panelists introduced the basics of DEI, why DEI consideration is important, and the various ways an institutional investor can consider DEI issues. 

Presenters:

• Anthony Rust, Chair of the Investment Committee, Warren Wilson College; Impact Fund Manager, BEI Business Equity Fund
• Justin Wilson, Director, Diverse Asset Managers Initiative
• Julianne Zimmerman, Managing Director, Reinventure Capital
• Moderator: Kaede Kawauchi, Program Manager, Intentional Endowments Network

This webinar is part of IEN's Investing in Racial Equity Series

Date: December 15, 2020, 1:00 p.m. ET

It is abundantly clear how investments in private prisons, or lack of investments for entrepreneurs of color, affect racial justice outcomes. But what about all the other investments in a portfolio? In this session led by Andrea Armeni, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Transform Finance, we will focus on some of the more difficult-to-see ways in which endowments are inextricably linked to outcomes that negatively affect communities of color. Transform Finance, along with other experts in the field, will lead us into conversation to argue that capital has a long way to go in being a true ally – or even just not being a source of harm – for communities of color, and this starts with identifying where race shows up in a portfolio in less obvious ways. Panelists will provide a look at some examples that tie seemingly neutral investment decisions to harmful practices that exacerbate issues like the racial wealth gap, job quality, education, housing, and health. We will discuss some of the real actions investors can take – and also try to get some ideas from the audience on obstacles to this approach.

Speakers:

• Andrea Armeni, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Transform Finance
• Lisa Hayles, Investment Manager at Trillium Asset Management
• Renaye Manley, Board Member of Majority Action, the Council of Institutional Investors, and the Thirty Percent Coalition 

Recording: 

Resources referenced: 

• How Investments Drive Injustice and What Investors Can Do About It | Transform Finance, September 2020
• Equity in the Boardroom: How Asset Manager Voting Shaped Corporate Action on Racial Justice in 2020 | Majority Action, 2020
• Racial Justice Investing Group - RJI is a coalition of investors, asset owners, and business leaders who are taking action for racial justice within our own organizations, as well as in our engagements with portfolio companies
• S&P 250 Workplace Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Disclosure Scorecard | As You Sow 
• Nasdaq filed a proposal with the SEC to require Nasdaq-listed companies to disclose diversity statistics & have at least 2 diverse directors | Nasdaq is getting tremendous push back on their diversity proposal. It's important for all investors to submit supportive comments to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at [email protected] To reference the talking points that have been disseminated via the Thirty Percent Coalition, contact Kaede ([email protected]).