Feature Articles
Dark cloud over good works of Gates Foundation
by Charles Piller, Edmund Sanders and Robyn Dixon, Times
Staff Writers (HTML Link, free registration may be required.)
ABSTRACT: While
it is common knowledge that a large number of NGOs and foundations do
not invest their money according to sustainaible and socially
responsible priciples, to what degree do these investments undermine
their primary goals and operating missions? ...... read moreUN-NGLS
Development Dossier
Debating NGO Accountability
by Jem Bendell
'Concerns about the role and accountability of NGOs have been voiced from different quarters in recent years. Some donors, governments, corporations, and international agencies raise important questions about the effectiveness of NGO work and the legitimacy of their advocacy. .......read more
Columns
Make
It Happen
by Robert Rubinstein
Some feel that when you are on a roll
you can sit back and enjoy the
coffee. I believe that when you are getting traction, you step on the
gas. You pull out all the stops and put even greater effort. Resistance
and friction is waning, so you get more accomplished with less effort.
TBLI is taking root, significantly. The idea of being able to manage
all investments with a sustainability lens, including social and
environmental added value and competitive market returns, is slowly
becoming a reality. We are far from finished, but the ‘herd’ is
starting to move.........read more
Angel of the Month
Last year a man named Paul Scott
called me. It was rather an odd phone call, because he just called to
help. He didn't want anything. In fact, after he offered to help
promote TBLI, I said we could do an exchange for attendance. A short
while later, he contacted me and apologized for not doing enough to
promote TBLI and refused to take me up on my barter. He said, “I don't
deserve it.” I was thinking who is this guy? I finally met Paul
last
week, on a trip to London. ........read more
News
Socially Responsible Investment
Top
Five Socially Responsible Investing News Stories of 2006
A new kind of fund sees green in some surprising sectors
Green funds appeal to ‘German principles’
Gates Foundation Nixes SRI
Link
to articles in this
category
Screening & Reporting
Does green investing pay as well as conventional investing?
It's worth tapping into the eco-pound?
Is socially responsible investing a sham? Moral Failure
Link to articles in this category
Corporate Social Responsibility
The Rising Trend For NGO And The Private Sector Cooperation: CSR
Translating Between Business and Nonprofit: From "Impactful" to KPIs
From Competition to Cooperation: Companies Collaborate on Social and Environmental Issues
Link to other articles in this categoryCorporate Governance
Advanced Corporate Governance Reporting
U.S. Institutional Investors Continue to Boost Ownership of U.S. Corporations
Link to other articles in this categoryEnvironmental
& Clean Technology
Launch of Three New Clean Tech Indexes Culminates Banner Year for Green Investing
Environmental Trends for 2007
India ahead of many in adapting to global warming
CEOs Ask Bush to Back Climate Protection
Clean Energy’s Big Year
Link to other articles in this category
Miscellaneous
Tower of tomorrow
Link to other articles in this category
Click here to see all of the news links
Publications
Corporate Political Contributions and Stock Returns
by Michael J. Cooper, Huseyin Gulen and Alexei V.
Ovtchinnikov (PDF Download)
ABSTRACT: We
examine whether firms are rewarded in terms of increases in shareholder
wealth for their involvement in the U.S. political system. We develop a
new and comprehensive database of firm-level contributions to U.S.
political campaigns from 1979 to 2004. We construct variables that
measure the extent of firm support for candidates. Strikingly, we
find that these measures are positively and significantly correlated
with the cross-section of future returns. The effect is strongest
for firms that support a greater number of candidates which hold office
in the same state that the firm is based. In addition, there are
stronger effects for firms whose contributions are slanted toward
Democratic candidates and House candidates. (PDF Download)Milton Friedman and the Social Responsibility of Business
by Joel Makower, posted at WorldChanging
In a 1970 Times magazine article, the economist Milton Friedman argued that businesses' sole purpose is to generate profit for shareholders. Moreover, he maintained, companies that did adopt "responsible" attitudes would be faced with more binding constraints than companies that did not, rendering them less competitive. The occasion of Friedman's passing last week offers an opportunity to revisit that argument. It remains the basis for many companies' contention today that "corporate social responsibility," "sustainable business," and other such monikers are a distraction from their core obligation: to act in their shareholders' best interests. That is, acting "responsibly" risks reducing profits or forgoing revenue in the name of social good.
Links to more new publications
Sustainability Reports
Transurban Group 2006 Sustainability Report
Crest Nicholson 2005 Corporate Responsibility Report
Vancity Group 2004-05 Accountability Report
Westpac Stakeholder Impact Report 2006
ScottishPower 2005/06 Corporate Responsibility Report
P&G 2005/2006 Sustainability Report
Links
to more sustainability
reports
Cross Postings and Address Removal
Please excuse us for cross posting.
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