Socially Responsible Investing : Opinion

We, the undersigned socially responsible investors, respectfully request that the UN Human Rights Council extends the mandate of Professor John Ruggie, UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and other Business Enterprises (SRSG).

No institution has killed American shareholder democracy more than the mutual fund

The bright line between corporate governance and socially responsible investing (SRI) is beginning to blur. The shareholder’s role in corporate governance—proxy voting, shareholder proposals, monitoring and engagement or full-blown activism—traditionally has been a distinct activity from SRI, an investment approach based on excluding certain types of industries from one’s portfolio based on moral or ethical grounds.

Climate change is the envelope within which all human commerce and civilization take place; human-induced warming will change both profoundly. Already, storms have become more severe; insurers are forecasting a doubling-to-tripling in losses from floods as a consequence. In 2006, we saw record heat in the South, a spate of early-season tornado activity, devastating fires in the West, flooding in New England—dramatic weather that is exactly what we would expect as a consequence of climate change.

Even if the saintly practices may help the company deliver superior earnings—far from proven—you won’t benefit if the value of such practices was already reflected in the stock’s price when you bought it.