E-newsletter of Investing for the Soul January 30, 2011
Ron Robins, Editor. E-mail /705-635-3034 Latest news at: http://investingforthesoul.com/
Top ethical investing news for January 30, 2011
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Sustainalytics Report Links Sustainability Performance
To Shareholder Value. - [COMMENTARY]
"A new study by Sustainalytics highlights links between
sustainability performance and shareholder value. The report,
'Sustainability and Materiality in the Natural Resources Sector' looked
at environmental and social practices in the forestry, mining and oil
and gas sectors and found positive correlation to competitiveness in
each sector." This type of research is vitally needed.
Congratulations to Sustainalytics!
Sustainability Key Competitive Driver in Natural Resources Sector,
press release, January 27, 2011, Sustainalytics, Switzerland.
'Say On Pay' Rules For Companies Now Official US SEC
Policy. - [COMMENTARY] "The
Securities and Exchange Commission today adopted rules concerning
shareholder approval of executive compensation and "golden parachute"
compensation arrangements as
required under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection
Act." At last they are official.
SEC Adopts Rules for Say-on-Pay and Golden Parachute Compensation as
Required Under Dodd-Frank Act, press release, January 25, 2011,
Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), USA.
Nine US Companies To Be Challenged On Hydraulic
Fracking. - [COMMENTARY]
"Shareholders file resolutions with Cabot Oil & Gas, ExxonMobil,
Chevron, and other energy companies to spur more responsible 'fracking'
practices." The process of fracking to recover oil needs much more
study, especially concerning how it affects fresh water supplies.
Investors challenge nine oil and gas companies on hydraulic fracturing
practices, press release, January 21, 2011, Ceres, USA.
WWF Canada Reports On Carbon Risk In Canadian Institutional Portfolios. - [COMMENTARY] "WWF-Canada released a ground-breaking report highlighting climate change as a new risk for institutional investors...The study found that the S&P/TSX Index has the third-largest carbon footprint among major global indices, measured by carbon emissions per USD 1 million sales. Only the Indian and Emerging Markets global indices have larger footprints.."
It is Canada's resource sector that primarily accounts for
the high carbon counts. The report is important reading for anyone
investing in Canadian stocks. It also provides a carbon footprint
analysis for various Canadian funds.
WWF-Canada Report Shows High Cost of Carbon to Investors, January
19, 2011, WWF, Mercer & Trucost, Canada.
Michigan Court Ruling Aids Development Of Islamic
Finance In USA. - [COMMENTARY]
"Lawyers said a U.S. court decision to dismiss a case alleging AIG's (AIG.N)
sharia-
compliant businesses promoted religious doctrine, will boost confidence
in the industry and lift sales of Islamic products in the longer term."
Islamic finance has met with many obstacles in the US. Slowly though,
the legal challenges to it there are being resolved.
US legal win to boost Islamic finance -lawyers, by Shaheen Pasha,
January 18, 2011, Reuters, Dubai.
Shareholder Proxy Access Improves Firm's Value, Harvard Study. - [COMMENTARY] "We use the SEC’s October 4, 2010 announcement that it would significantly delay implementation of its August 2010 proxy access rule as a natural experiment. Because firms with substantial institutional ownership would have been most affected by the SEC’s now-delayed changes, we use the share and composition of institutional investors to sort firms into those more and less affected by the October 4 news. Firms that would have been most affected by proxy access, as measured by institutional ownership, lost value on that day."
Continuing, "The value drop was 55 basis points for a
10 percentage point change in activist institution ownership. These
results suggest that financial markets placed a
positive value on shareholder access, as implemented in the SEC’s August
2010 Rule." Ethical investors take note!
Does Shareholder Proxy Access Improve Firm Value? Evidence from the
Business Roundtable Challenge, by Bo Becker, Daniel Bergstresser,
and Guhan Subramanian, November 22, 2010, Harvard Business School, USA.
Report Evaluates Climate Change Reporting By Small US Companies. - [COMMENTARY] "Pax World Management LLC... and Clean Air-Cool Planet (CA-CP)... released a new report, 'Risk and Opportunity in a Low-Carbon Business Climate: Small & Mid-Caps and Climate Change.' The report notes that reporting on any of several types of climate-related risk is generally inadequate among smaller companies, and that what reporting is done is generally limited to only regulatory risk, while ignoring other potential risks (e.g. physical, business interruption or supply chain, etc.)."
This report discusses the climate change reporting in a
number of different US industry sectors and specific companies.
Risk and Opportunity in a Low-Carbon Business Climate: Small & Mid-Caps
and Climate Change, January 5, 2011, Pax World Management LLC and
Clean Air-Cool, USA.
Greenpeace Publishes Survey Of Greenest Electronics Manufacturers. - [COMMENTARY] "In seven categories of electronics, Asus led with two products at the top of the heap, as well as the highest-scoring product surveyed, the Asus VW-247H-HF monitor. Among the other categories, Asus also led with the greenest notebook computer, while HP can boast the greenest desktop and Acer landed the greenest netbook computer. Samsung's Blue Earth mobile phone led that category, Sony Ericsson made the greenest smartphone, and Sharp took the top spot in the television category."
This is Greenpeace's third annual survey. Of course
electronics is an area where many toxic materials are used.
Asus Sits Atop Green IT Product Survey from Greenpeace, by Matthew
Wheeland, January 7, 2011, Greener Computing, USA. Also see the
CES Sustainability Report, January 5, 2011.
Latest Commentaries by Ron Robins on Alrroya.com
Can US Bankers and Politicians be Truthful? January 6, 2011.
Investors Rush to Cash In on Climate Change, January 12, 2011.
Invest Ethically for ‘All Good’ Returns, January 21, 2011.
A Global Central Bank and Currency? January 27, 2011.
Note: Articles are linked to the original source. Some sites may require registration, and may, or may not, archive stories. All links were active at the time of publication.
Disclaimer: Neither The Soul Investor nor Ron Robins make investment recommendations. Nothing in this newsletter should be interpreted as a recommendation or solicitation to buy/sell any securities or investments. The Soul Investor is a source of general information and resources for spiritual investing, ethical investing, and socially responsible investing (SRI). Investors should consider their actions thoroughly and consult their professional advisers prior to taking any investment action. The Soul Investor does not necessarily agree with the opinions expressed in articles in its newsletter or offered on the web pages to which it might be linked. Such opinions are the responsibility of the writers themselves. Furthermore, The Soul Investor does not offer or provide any warranties, representations, guarantees, implied or otherwise, as to the accuracy, legality, copyright compliance, timeliness or usefulness of the information, materials or services in this e-newsletter, or other sites, to which it might be linked. Also, Mr. Ron Robins is not an investment advisor, nor is he licensed with any professional investment related body, and thus is not able to, nor does he make, any investment recommendations.
The Soul Investor is a publication of Investing for the Soul, a registered business name in Ontario, Canada. Copyright © 2011 Ron Robins. All rights reserved.