Registration for TBLI Asia is now open!  You can register now by clicking here.  We currently have all of the speaker's slots filled for TBLI Asia in Bankok 24-25 May 2007.  We are no longer soliciting presentations . Remaining spots are reserved for sponsors and high priority topics.  You can view the conference program by clicking here.

The consultation considered existing initiatives and standards relevant to the financial sector, and examined ways to strengthen protection of human rights in the activities and decision-making of financial institutions.  Representatives of financial institutions from the public and private sector, non-governmental organizations and other experts participated in the consultation.  The present report summarizes the presentations and discussions from the
consultation. 

Beyond Grey Pinstripes

by the Aspen Institute

'Beyond Grey Pinstripes is a biennial survey and ranking of business schools. Our mission is to spotlight innovative full-time MBA programs that are integrating issues of social and environmental stewardship into curricula and research.' Definitely some surprises this year in terms of newcomers and schools no longer listed in the top.  Does the survey match your experiences with these MBA programs?
Click here to read the whole article.


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.

Last week I attended a fascinating seminar on Paying for Watershed Services (PWS). The idea is quite simple: the environment provides valuable services to society that is not really valued by society until something goes wrong.  Watershed benefits, in general, are quite obvious: water for drinking, bathing, industry and food production. There are additional benefits, such as flood and drought control, preventing waterborne diseases, maintaining wetlands, and biodiversity habitats for fisheries, migratory birds and other wildlife, sediment transport, maintaining estuaries and coastal zones, and protect coastal areas from erosion. PWS are economic instruments that are designed to provide incentives to land users so they will continue supplying an ecological service that benefits society more broadly. Twenty-three experts gathered together at Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Conference Center near Como, Italy to see how this concept could be scaled up. It was a gathering of the best and the brightest. (How I got in the door was a mystery that was solved later on.)

What a great idea! People from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Europe, North America with extensive experience on PWS are sharing experiences and trying to create a ‘How To’ Guide for others. The challenge in bringing so many great minds together is that the process is always slow. Being an impatient person, and not an academic, it seemed very frustrating and tiring. The financial opportunity and demand was obvious, at least to me and the other financial expert, "What is the problem?" Forget challenge.

People know what they know and the language of the PWS was completely different from the financial sector. A translator or connector between the two groups was needed, which was why Agnes and I were there. After the first day, I thought I wouldn't be able to last 5 days because of the slow, high detail, complex approach taken. I often felt that straight-forward concepts and ideas seemed to be non-existent:

• People, industry and farmers need water.
• Watershed services save money by avoiding the use of large technological approaches.
• Communities need to invest in water services, but have less money to do that.
• Reducing use, infrastructure costs, and losses saves money and increases ability to repay loans.
• The financial sector is always looking for new markets and services with low risk and guarantee of payment.

This was all a no brainer!

Albert Appleton, former head of New York City Environmental Services and one of the 23 experts, had already proved that it was possible to save between 4 and 6 billion dollars by restoring the New York City Watershed. Why weren't there more large-scale examples of financial engineering using PWS being carried out? Why is the obvious so difficult to grasp?

That's the main reason why we were all there. For me the most important issue that came out of this meeting was the unbelievable dedication from a group of passionate individuals, who were achieving what would have seemed impossible. The world needs to protect the vast environmental support mechanism that we have been given, and based on our history of taking it for granted, we are going to have to pay for it.  As they say in Brooklyn, ‘there is no free lunch,’ and we shouldn't expect one.  At the end of the day, however, PWS is all about self-interests, and a great, lower cost, healthier lunch.

I met Peter Frost last week. He struck me as a brilliant communicator, passionate individual, and extremely generous. Peter is that and more. For the past 30 years, he has actively worked in all manners of environmental issues, including ornithology, global environmental change (land use and land cover regimes, as well as fire regimes in tropical ecosystems), and sustainable development in African Communities.

He is totally passionate about environmental issues and assisting others. When I mentioned to him what I was doing, he immediately said ‘Oh! I know someone who would fit perfectly in your network and be a great speaker for your TBLI Conference!’ One day later, he supplied a highly supportive and well-written introduction to the various contacts he has introducing to us. It wasn't a case of ‘Oh Jack, you should speak to Robert Rubinstein.’ No, he took the time, studied all our material, and carefully crafted a recommendation letter for us that seemed more like a report than a brief email.

I only met Peter last week. What has become apparent is that Peter is a sustainability connector who goes the extra mile, whether you are his friend for a generation or for one day. He truly understands that there is abundance and we need to spread that abundance. Championing sustianability in Zimbabwe as he did, in one of the most challenging political environments, took great courage and strength.
Congratulations on becoming the TBLI Angel of the Month!

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. Some sites require registration and links may go stale over time.  Please let us know if there is a story we should include in next month's newsletter.

The outlook for sustainable investment is promising, but tenuous.  The growth of the past decade is poised to continue as long as investors, financial professionals, and corporate managers can maintain the momentum of recent trends.

This study provides an essential tool for investment analysts and policy-makers to evaluate the relative financial returns on the use of environmental capital between sectors and companies.

TBLI ASIA

BANGKOK, THAILAND

24-25 MAY 2007

Landmark Hotel

TBLI EUROPE

PARIS, FRANCE

15-16 NOVEMBER 2007

Palais Brongniart

If you would like to post a job opening, email jobs@tbli.org. Please be sure to include an Internet link that can be posted so that interested applicants can obtain more information.

Click here to learn more about the services provided through the TBLI Academy.

With support from the International Finance Corporation and in conjunction with other IFC events in Washington that week, SFA will offer an executive leadership seminar for sustainable growth in the financial services industry. The target group is executives in banks, leasing and consumer finance companies, brokerages and microfinance institutions around the world.
   

Do you have an upcoming event that you would like to post in the TBLI Newsletter? Send a letter to the editor. We have limited space, so we may not be able to post all the announcements that we receive.

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