Responsible Investor

RI round-up June 5

RI’s bite-sized round-up of the week’s major responsible investment news.

E+Co, the US venture capital firm that funds small and medium enterprises that supply clean, affordable energy to households, businesses and communities in developing countries in Asia, Africa and South America, has won the inaugural Sustainable Investor of the Year award at the Financial Times’ Sustainable Banking Awards. Runner-up was Sustainable Asset Management in Switzerland. Responsible Investor magazine is a supporting partner of the awards, which recognise banks and other financial institutions that have shown leadership and innovation in integrating social, environmental and corporate governance considerations into their operations. Five groups were shortlisted for the award including F&C’s global and sustainable investment team, the Calvert Social Investment Foundation in the US, and Aavishkaar India Micro Venture Capital Fund, which provides micro-equity funding of $20,000 to $500,000 to entrepreneurs and ventures helping local communities in rural and semi-urban India.
Banco Real of Brazil was named as Sustainable Bank of the Year.
A third of FTSE 100 companies have inadequate or weak environmental reporting records – a number that has remained virtually unchanged since 2003 – despite major improvements by companies in formulating environmental policies, according to the annual survey from Ethical Investment Research Services (EIRIS). EIRIS said the number of companies it rated as

“exceptional” on environmental policy had risen from 4% in 2003 to 16% in 2007. The number it rated as “inadequate” on environmental policy also fell from 9% to 5% over the same period. The records of FTSE 100 companies operating in countries of human rights concerns have also improved, with 94% having a clear policy in 2007, up from 89% in 2003.
Stephanie Maier, Head of Research at EIRIS said: “Our research shows encouraging signs of improved corporate responsibility practices amongst the UK’s biggest companies. ESG issues offer both challenges and opportunities for companies. Through active engagement, responsible investors can play a key role in encouraging businesses to adopt more responsible practices, and are well placed to benefit from best practice”.
The full report can be downloaded: here
Pension funds need more “legal certainty” over how socially responsible investing affects their fiduciary duty, according to a study commissioned by ASSET4, the Swiss research and the German government.
The study, titled ‘Long-term and sustainable pension investments: a study of leading European pension funds’, by Dr Axel Hesse, an independent researcher, based on interviews with 10 of Europe’s largest pension funds and asset managers with more than €460bn assets under management, said investors had also identified a clear need for “materially important sustainability information”. Link to report

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