Certificate in CSR/Sustainability

If you are interested in a meaningful career you may want to think about applying to the Certificate in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)/Sustainability. In this "work as you learn" program you will gain core competencies for CSR/Sustainability and direct experience in a work based Capstone Project in the field. This program helps you to take your career in CSR and Sustainability to the next level.

Event - Sustainable Investing Conference: Risk Value Impact

The 5th annual Sustainable Investing: Risk, Value, Impact conference will take place May 4th–6th at the Westin Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Participants will learn about new approaches, trends and policy developments while networking with industry leaders.

This event offers a unique opportunity to network with leaders of the sustainable, responsible and impact investing community, and to learn about new approaches, trends and policy developments in the field. The conference will attract representatives of investment management and advisory firms, research firms, financial planners and advisors, broker-dealers, community development institutions and asset owners such as pension funds and foundations, along with policymakers and corporate leaders.

Unimpressive Year for Canadian Cleantech Stocks: Top Performers

It has been an unimpressive year for cleantech stock in Canada. The S&P/TSX Renewable Energy and Clean Technology Index opened at 109.26 on January 3, 2014 and it closed at 110.47 on December 24, 2014. The index has just one solitary stock single stock with a triple digit gain. 

Green Stock Outlook Post Santa Claus Rally

While markets have been generous once again this Christmas, there are some dark clouds on the horizon for green investors.

Almost ever year Wall Street enjoys a "Santa Claus Rally" and this commonly includes green stock. This year, as markets fell in December, investors where wondering whether bearish sentiments were going to deny them a Christmas rally.

White Paper - Communications Strategy for Green Investment

A 2013 white paper released by the publisher of the Global Green Economy Index™ addresses communications as a strategy for advancing green investment and growth. Research and data associated with the Global Green Economy Index™ (GGEI) suggest that strategic communications and better information exchange between consumers, businesses and policymakers is often an overlooked strategy for advancing green growth and cleantech investment.

The white paper from Dual Citizen LLC supports this finding through six cases where strategic communications and better information campaigns have a role to play in supporting investment, cleantech entrepreneurship and policy development that advances green economic growth.

Event - Investing in the UK Green Economy

Investing in the UK green economy: challenges and next steps for policy will take place on January 22, 2015, at Glaziers Hall, 9 Montague Close, in London UK. Hosted by Westminster Forum Projects (WFP), this CDP certified conference aims to provide a timely opportunity to examine the progress and next steps in the ongoing transition towards a green and low carbon UK economy - examining the remaining challenges in meeting 2020 objectives, implications for sustainable investment with ongoing negotiations for 2030 targets, and priorities for Government policy in the next Parliament.

Required Climate Investments and Impact on Growth According the IPCC Synthesis Report

Massive investment is required for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Here is a summary of needed investments and their impact on growth from the IPCC's recently released Synthesis Report.

Concern about the impact on growth is one of the primary reasons why some resist mitigation efforts. However, the Synthesis report says that the impact of climate investment on global economic growth would be negligible. Such investment would not impede growth which is expected to be between1.6 per cent to 3 percent per year until the dawn of the next century.

Event - Solar Energy Investment & Technology Forum 2014

This event will take place on November 14th 2014 in Bengalure. Solar Energy Investment & Technology will be hosted by UBM India, the organiser of Renewable Energy India Expo. The theme for this event is, "accelerating solar energy for growth of large and SME industries."

Risk Assessment Causes Swedish Pension Fund to Divest from Fossil Fuels

Based on a comprehensive risk analysis one of Sweden's largest pension funds have decided to divest from fossil fuels. On October 20, 2014, the Second AP Fund announced that it would begin divesting from fossil fuels.

This is but the latest investment fund to divest from fossil fuels in order to mitigate against risks. The Second AP Fund announced that it will divest its holdings in 12 coal and 8 oil-and-gas production companies. This represents a divestment of holdings with a total market value of about SEK 840 million (€91 million or $116 million).

Fossil Free Investment Resources

There are now a number of firms who are helping investors to move away from fossil fuels. While investing in fossil fuels and associated industries was once the bedrock of a sound investment strategy, there is a growing awareness that these investments are approaching the end of their life cycle.

Investors cannot ignore the overwhelming body of climate science that links the burning of fossil fuels to the economic catastrophe of climate change. Investors are also concerned about a large and growing number of governments, businesses, institutions and people who are demanding that we transition away from fossil fuels.

Governments around the world are also supporting emissions reductions efforts, carbon pricing schemes and support for renewable energy. The burning of fossil fuels is also a health issue which is clearly linked to asthma, coronary heart disease and respiratory disorders. That is why some healthcare professionals are at the forefront of divestment.

Infographic: Investors and Sustainability

Lucrative Investment Opportunities are Driving the Growth of Sustainability

Climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts are helping to fuel the growth of stock markets. Investors are increasingly seeing the wisdom of factoring sustainability into their investment equations. The S&P 500 recently surpassed the 2000 level and surveys indicate that companies on this index are mindful of climate change.

According to a 2012 report from the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, almost 90 percent of S&P Global 100 Index companies identified climate change and extreme weather as current or future business risks. The growth of S&P mirrors the growth of the American stock market as a whole. One of the factors driving this growth is the increasing interest in sustainable investing.

White Paper - Sustainable Investing: Imperative and Opportunity

This whitepaper was produced by Morgan Stanley. As they explain on their Sustainable Investing website, they believe that private sector capital can play a key role in driving large-scale solutions to the most critical challenges to global prosperity and well-being.

Their Institute for Sustainable Investing seeks to help businesses, institutions and individuals direct capital to these challenges in scalable ways.

Cleantech Stocks are Following Technology's Downward Spiral

Declines in the Nasdaq are capturing headlines and cleantech composite indexes appear to be following suit. Despite being a top performer over the past two years, cleantech is being dragged down with the rest of the market. In 2013 the cleantech index was up 58 percent but there were plenty of stocks that doubled and even tripled.

Technology stocks have taken a big hit over the course of the last few weeks and this is directly impacted cleantech stock performance. Technology is one of the biggest drivers of sustainability. While cutting-edge green technologies have the potential to improve quality of life, reduce environmental impact and generate profits, the reverse is also true. A slowdown in cleantech can also slow technological efforts to address the environmental challenges we face.

Event - Casting a Vision for the Impact Investing Movement (Roundtable Discussion)

This roundtable discussion will take place on Thursday, April 17th, 2014, 9:30am - 11:30am EST / Streamed Panel Discussion: 7:00am - 8:30am PST / 10:00am - 11:30am EST / 16:00 - 17:30 (Paris-Brussels) meeting in New York.

The Impact Investing Movement may be in its infancy, but the baby is growing quickly! While the current size of the Impact Investing market is estimated at $36 billion, various projections predict that it could grow to anywhere from $500 billion to $1 trillion by 2020. To realize this growth, Impact Investing will need to attract mainstream capital from high net-worth investors, investment funds, sovereign wealth funds, university endowments, insurance and pension funds, foundations, and more.

Impact Investing differentiates itself from other investment approaches in that it seeks to measure both financial and social merits of an investment. Other approaches may only screen for investments with negative social impacts, prioritize financial performance over social impact, or provide only unintentional social benefits. Impact investing covers the full range of asset classes, from early-stage to mature, and many sectors, including environment, education, financial services, health, housing, and more.

Financing the Low Carbon Economy: The 2014 Clean Trillion Report

More investment is needed to avert the worst impacts of climate change. Without such investments we will not be able to avoid a temperature increase of more than two degrees Celsius (2 °C) above pre-industrial levels (this is the upper threshold agreed upon by scientists and governments in 2010).

On Wednesday January 15, the non-profit investment group Ceres launched their latest Clean Trillion Report, entitled Investing in the Clean Trillion: Closing The Clean Energy Investment Gap. The report incorporates data from the International Energy Agency (IEA). The Ceres report was released as investors met in New York for a conference on climate risk where they called for a fossil fuel stress test.

To have an 80 percent chance of staying within this 2 °C limit we will have to build a low carbon infrastructure which will cost a total of $36 trillion by 2050. To be successful in this effort we will need to see an average investment of 1 trillion a year.

Event - Social Return on Investment - Canadian Network Launch and Professional Development Session

Social Return on Investment - Canadian Network Launch and Professional Development Session Wed Oct 30, 2013,  from 10 AM to 4 PM at the Centre for Social Innovation (CSI) 215 Spadina Ave, Toronto Toronto. Come celebrate the launch of SROI Canada Network and take part in a full-day program offered by the international SROI Network’s Sheila Durie.

Investor Resolutions Focus on Climate Change and Sustainability

According to new data released by Ceres, shareholders in the US continue to show interest in disclosures regarding companies exposure to climate change risks. At the annual round of corporate shareholder meetings (aka proxy season) representing $500 billion in assets, Ceres reports that a total of 110 climate change and environmental sustainability-related resolutions were filed with 94 companies based in the US.

According to Ceres data, the number of investor resolutions relating to climate change and environmental sustainability has increased more than three fold from around 30 a decade ago to more than 100 last year.

Alternative Energy Stocks and Risk Mitigation

Good investing strategies are dependent on proper risk assessment. Climate change constitutes a significant economic risk.

Alternative energy stocks are part of wider market trends. The Dow hitting an all time high of 15,000 in May bodes well for alternative energy stocks in the second half of 2013. The strong stock performance at the beginning of the year is also a good predictor of stock performance for the rest of the year (historically, the performance of the stock market in January is a good predictor of the market for the year).

Although there are some contradictory reports, overall an increasing number of investors are integrating climate change into their risk assessments.

As reported in the Guardian, a 2012 memo from several major investment networks responsible for more than $22.5 trillion in assets said, “Further delay in implementing adequately ambitious climate and clean energy policy will increase investment risk for institutional investors and jeopardize the investments and retirement savings of millions of citizens.”

Mandating Corporate Sustainability Data

Corporate sustainability data is vital information for investors to make informed decisions and as such disclosure should be mandated by law. This is the view expressed in a white paper by Harvard University’s Initiative for Responsible Investment titled On Materiality and Sustainability: The Value of Disclosure in the Capital Markets.

The paper points out that mandated sustainability data would have a number of positive corollaries including diminished financial risks and improved investment opportunities. It can also reduce distrust in capital markets, cut excess speculation and short-termism, and help prevent financial crises.

Among those that do share sustainability data there are widely differing interpretations of what needs to be disclosed. Standardization would make this data easier to interpret and compare.