Feature Articles

Creating a Cleaner World & Making Money

Smart Investing in Clean Energy – the Chrysalix Energy Story 

by Wal van Lierop, President and CEO of Chrysalix Energy Management Inc.

"The investment climate for clean energy technology is changing rapidly around the world. As we see the global depletion of cheap hydrocarbon supplies and feel the intensifying effects of environmental changes, energy security and infrastructure pressures, new clean energy technologies are emerging as attractive solutions to these challenges. However, the question, from the investor’s point of view, is how to know which of these technologies will be successful and lead to strong financial returns."

Wal van Lierop looks at some of the latest developments in the clean energy industry, considers some of the factors of its growing acceptance by mainstream investors, and shares the story of Chrysalix Energy.

Click here for PDF Download

TBLI Conference

Frankfurt, 2-4 November 2005

Registration and program are now online!

Brooklyn Bridge/TBLI Group is proud to present the seventh Triple Bottom Line Investing Conference! It is the world's largest international learning and networking event dealing with sustainable investment. During this three-day event, the latest developments on screening, auditing, reporting, SRI analysis, corporate citizenship, indexes and research will be covered. Anyone involved in the financial sector should attend.

Click here for the  program or  registration or use the navigation under the TBLI Conference button for detailed information. Curious about last conferences? Then see some  impressions from last year's conference, choose between QuickTime or Flash format.

Feature articles focus on current trends and investment opportunities in the field of SRI, TBLI and Corporate Governance, offering a source of new information and insights.

Do you have an idea for an article, or would like to submit an article for publication? Please send a letter to the editor.

Columns

Welcome Back / Follow Your Dreams

by Robert Rubinstein


Welcome Back

For those of who are coming back from holiday, welcome back. Hopefully, you were able to keep that nice rested feeling for more than a week before the work started piling up.  Aren’t you looking forward to the last quarter of 2005?

I am particularly looking forward to greeting you at TBLI 2005 this year in Frankfurt on November 2-4. It is shaping up to be our best event to date, and we should achieve the largest turnout ever. If you are planning on coming please register quickly, so as not to be disappointed.

Follow Your Dream

When I was in school, our teachers always asked to write an essay on “How I spent my summer vacation.”  Reflecting on a wonderful, exciting, restful, and inspiring summer holiday, I think Mrs. Bram’s fourth grade assignment is still a good idea.

In keeping with our yearly tradition, my wife and two sons traveled around Thailand in July and August. After reflecting on those weeks, what stuck me most was that I kept meeting people who followed their dream:

In Koh Pha Ngan, the English traveler who built a beautiful organic retreat to cleanse and re-charge, that was fully molded into the rocky mountain face.

Moon, the Birmese man who helped us through a week of fasting and cleansing was a source of great inspiration.  He is sharing his wealth of knowledge on health and nutrition with a passion that was overwhelming.

Gloria moved her family to Hua Hin, knowing nothing what to expect, created a life around their hobby of karting.

Jeremy used to work in Hong Kong and left to build what I call a “Flintstone Bowling Alley” on Koh Tao. What was so unique about his place was that there was no mechanical pin-setting machine. There were people from the local area who would patiently sit and wait for the ball to reach them and effortlessly put back pins and clear the lane. The main difference was that this was the only bowling alley where the pinsetters clapped when you made a strike. When Sammy, my son, got stuck with an impossible 7-10 split, they moved the pins closer together to make it easier for him to knock them down.  His bowling alley provides much needed jobs in the area.

Dominique, a Canadian/Italian Thai Boxer, cleaned the beach so he could pay for his passion of meeting people and practicing Thai boxing.

A Frenchmen started an ice cream store just to be able to stay in a paradise and give back.

Another Frenchman, Jean Pierre, moved from Nice, for a better quality of life and started a restaurant.

Two Scottish veterinarians came to rescue dogs from disease and abuse.

In Chiang Rai, Woody, from the US started a club/restaurant. When I asked what type of food he would make, he said, “I don’t know, what would you suggest?”

Sam, from Kanchinaburi, followed his dream and started a tiny neighborhood bar where he and his friends could meet, play pool, chat, and most important, make music.

Ed left Koh Samui to make bags and shelter stray dogs.

Puni is still telling fortunes on Sukhumvit because that is what she feels her calling is. She has no financial ambitions, she does it because she likes to meet people and help them find their way in life.

There are countless others, this continuous ebb and flow of people, who need to follow their dreams. It didn’t matter how unusual or insecure the thought, they all felt that following their heart was an absolute imperative to their well-being. I felt very much at home.

Angel of the Month


I recently had the privilege to meet Prida Tiasuwan, the founder and chairman of Pranda Jewelry Public Company Ltd. It was an inspiring and joyful experience. Thirty years ago, Mr. Tiasuwan decided that Thai people needed jobs. That was his motivation. At the same time, he fully integrated his high ethical standards values in how his company was structured (what we all call CSR now). From the time he fought for democracy in the turbulent periods of Thailand’s military control; moral and ethical standards, Buddhist Values, and reverence of family were an integral part that he carried within himself.

Prida Tiasuwan built his idea into a very successful publicly traded company, that “walked the talk,” created jobs, and showed business can be a source for social and environmental change. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to meet you, and congratulations on being our angel of the month.

News

SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE INVESTMENT

Russell Predicts New Alternative Investing Highs

More Investors Ask for Money to be Put Into Ethical Funds

Social Inv. Organization Calls for Pension Transparency

Investing for the Coming Carbon Crunch

Diamonds in the Rough

Getting a Leg up on Growth


SCREENING & REPORTING

Financial Service Providers Figure in FTSE4Good Attrition

Taking Account of Corporate Social Responsibility Reports

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Can companies that make products that kill be socially responsible?

Real-life benefits gain foothold at some firms

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Report From A General In The SEC's War On Fraud

Sinning in the boardroom becomes official policy

CLIMATE CHANGE

The Conservative Case for Green Energy

90% of Large Companies Concerned About Climate Change

Canada-US Partnership to Save Reduce Greenhouse Gases

Climate Change: A Golden Opportunity for Business


MISCELLANEOUS

Garbage (requires RMP)


We select a variety of current news items hosted at third-party websites that cover a broad range of issues from different perspectives around sustainable finance and asset management, corporate social responsibility, climate change, and corporate governance. Please let us know if there is a story we should include in next month's newsletter.

Do you have a comment or reaction on any of the material presented in the Newsletter? Send a letter to the editor.

Publications

Green Dollhouse, Creating a Doll’s Eye View of a Healthier World

70 Pages, USD $19.95, ISBN: 0—9749033-3-7
Shows children and adults how we can all take action to make our homes healthier and more sustainable.

L'Investissement Socialement Responsable

by César de Brito, Jean-Philippe Desmartin, Valéry Lucas-Leclin, François Perrin
€30.00, 311 pages, French Language
(English translation pending)
Mandatory reading for those working with or interested in the French SRI market.

Business and International Development: Opportunities, Responsibilities and Expectations

A Survey of Global Opinion Leaders in Business, Civil Society and the Media (PDF Download)

KPMG International Survey of Corporate Responsibility Reporting 2005

(PDF Download)