Council for Socially Responsible Investment

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Council for Socially
Responsible Investment
Strategic Planning Workshop February 2005 -
Options
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Interfaith Centre for Corporate Responsibility

• Started in early 1970s
• Question Do I or any groups I belong to
  benefit from investments in companies that profit
  from the Vietnam war or Apartheid?
• Now 275 Protestant, Catholic Jewish
  institutional investors - 110 billion under
  investment
• South Africa (1971 1st shareholder resolution)
• Gap (factory worker conditions)
• Coca Cola (HIV Aids)
• Ford (Vehicle emissions)
• American Electric Power

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ICCR Shareholder Initiatives

• NEW YORK, N.Y.///February 19, 2004/// In
  response to shareholder proposals electric
  power giants American Electric Power and Cinergy
  have agreed to report publicly about on how they
  are responding to growing pressure to reduce
  greenhouse gas and other emissions.
• They were filed at American Electric Power
  NYSEAEP by Connecticut Retirement Plans and
  Trust Funds and co-filed by Christian Brothers
  Investment Services, Trillium Asset Management,
  Board of Pensions of the Evangelical Lutheran
  Church in America, The Pension Boards - United
  Church of Christ, and the United Church
  Foundation, and at Cinergy Corp. NYSECIN by
  the Presbyterian Church (USA). Bill
  Somplatsky-Jarman, Associate for Mission
  Responsibility Through Investment, Presbyterian
  Church, said We're hoping that this report
  will also be a leading example of risk assessment
  and disclosure that can be taken up by other
  companies."

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Hermes

Hermes concentrates on the financial performance
of companies and works with them on governance
and strategic issues. Social and environmental
matters are dealt with within this framework.
There is no screening. Hermes deals mainly with
BT Pension Fund.
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Three International Initiatives

• 1 Carbon Disclosure Project
• 2 Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change
• 3 Investor Network on Climate Change

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Carbon Disclosure Projectwww.cdproject.net

• Acts for 95 institutional investors (assets 10
  trillion)
• Has sent 2 questionnaires in 2002 and 2003 to
  FT500 largest companies asking about climate
  change
• Over 300 companies have completed questionnaire
• ANZ Banking Group (response available)
• Westpac Banking Corp (response available)
• Commonwealth Bank of Australia (answered but no
  public report)
• National Bank of Australia (answered but no
  public report)

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Institutional Investors Group on Climate
Changewww.iigcc.org

• The Institutional Investors Group on Climate
  Change (IIGCC) is a forum for collaboration
  between pension funds and other institutional
  investors on issues related to climate change.
• Has 25 UK members who include
• BBC Pension Fund
• Central Finance Board of Methodist Church
• Corp of London Pension Fund
• Local Authority Pension Fund
• Universities Superannuation Fund

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Institutional Investors Group on Climate
Changewww.iigcc.org

• IIGCC seeks to
• Promote better understanding of the implications
  of climate change amongst our members and other
  institutional investors.
• Encourage companies and markets in which IIGCC
  members invest to address any material risks and
  opportunities to their businesses associated with
  climate change and a shift to a lower carbon
  economy.
• Membership involves attending one full member
  meeting p.a. and participating in one workstream
• They have had a conference and produced various
  reports

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(No Transcript)
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Investor Network on Climate Risk www.incr.com

• The INCR was started by in the USA by Treasurers
  from the states of California, Connecticut,
  Maine, New Mexico, New York City, New York State,
  Oregon, Vermont, plus Service Employees Pension,
  and Communication Workers Pension Funds (assets
  of 1 trillion).
• Supported by CERES and WRI.
• Their goal is to help leading institutional
  investors understand the financial implications
  of climate change, and use that in their standard
  portfolio management practices.

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Corporate Governance and Climate Change Douglas
Cogan

• The report by INCR has profiled 20 of the
  worlds biggest corporate emitters of greenhouse
  gases, on how they are factoring climate change
  into their business strategies and governance
  practices
• Auto Sector
• Electric power sector
• Oil and Gas
• Other Industry

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New Zealand Climate Change Investment Options
for CSRI

• Do nothing
• Add it to our list of activities, give it no
  special priority, but support other NZ and
  overseas groups
• Set up a programme (as resources permit) under
  CSRI dealing with investment and climate change
  issues and add this to our existing list of
  strategic priorities (could include sending the
  Carbon Disclosure questionnaire to all banks and
  major institutional investors in NZ assisting NZ
  institutional investors to link in with INCR
  publicising the link between investment and
  climate change)

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New Zealand Climate Change Investment Options
for CSRI

• Factors to consider
• CSRI has limited resources
• CSRI could be seen as a one issue advocate,
  without providing a neutral forum for all
• UKSIF has programme based activities where
  members can both cooperate and compete
• Climate change is seen as too important and
  influential

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New Zealand Climate Change Investment Options
for CSRI

• Possible resolutions
• Support efforts to clarify definitions and
  validated measures of SRI
• Add to current strategic key activities the issue
  of climate change
• Link with overseas initiatives, especially in the
  USA and Australia, around their programme goals
  and activities