SAM
launches tenth annual assessment for Dow Jones Sustainability
Indexes
SAM announced the start of the annual review for the
Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI). For the tenth
time since the initial assessment for the indexes in
1999, SAM has sent out invitations to the largest 2'500
companies worldwide to participate in the company's
yearly analysis. The universe of invited companies will
for the first time also include companies from China,
India, and Russia. Companies participating in the annual
review for the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes will
need to submit the answers to the SAM questionnaire
as well as further documents by 4 June. The resulting
changes to the DJSI family will be announced on 4 September.
www.sustainability-indexes.com
CalPERS
Expands Environmental, Diversity Corporate Governance
Guidelines
CalPERS, the US$240bn pension fund for state and local
public employees in California, underlined the importance
of environmental disclosure and diversity of boards
by expanding corporate governance guidelines for its
portfolio companies. The new rules — aimed at getting
companies to disclose and act upon climate risks and
to support diversity within corporate boards —
will be added to the fund's Global Principles of Accountable
Corporate Governance. The principles are used to vote
proxies, engage management and boards of equity companies,
and implement initiatives.
www.calpers.ca.gov
onValues
releases analysis of Swiss sustainability investing
market
A new study titled Sustainable Investments in Switzerland
2007 by onValues, a specialist investment consulting
company, reports total AuM in sustainability-driven
portfolios in the country to have reached CHF30bn at
YE07 — a 67% increase compared to the year before.
Assets managed in sustainable funds and other collective
vehicles grew 92% in the same period.
www.onvalues.ch
Itaú,
Ethos and SustainAbility launch sustainable finance
award for journalism and academia
Brazil's Banco Itaú, the international consultancy SustainAbility
and Brazil's Instituto Ethos have launched the Itaú
Award for Sustainable Finance. The initiative aims to
encourage the production of news stories and academic
papers on the theme and to support a focused debate
among journalists and academics. The award will be in
two categories, Journalism and Academia.
www.sustainability.com
Watson
Wyatt endorses sustainable investing
Sustainable investing makes investment sense, according
to Watson Wyatt, a global investment consultancy. In
a research note entitled Investing for the future, the
firm points to academic research that has found positive
correlations between ESG factors and financial performance.
According to the firm, pension funds are also taking
a longer-term view in recognition that an emphasis on
short-term outcomes can be detrimental to the pursuit
of long- term investment goals.
www.watsonwyatt.com
PGGM
makes commitment to microfinance
PGGM, the €88bn asset manager of the Dutch
healthcare pension fund, is making one of the world's
largest institutional commitments to microfinance after
announcing an investment of €200m with specialist
fund managers over the next two to three years.
www.pggm.nl
FRR
adopts new responsible investment strategy
The Board of the FRR, the French pension reserve
fund, adopted a new responsible investment strategy
for the five years to come. The strategy requires that
each asset class in which the Fund invests be examined
with regard to the possible integration of social, environmental
and corporate governance criteria into the investment
process — a move that the fund has already implemented
within its European equity portfolios. The fund's board
also indicated that it would like the issue of global
warming to be given particular attention in connection
with the review of the fund's strategic asset allocation,
which is expected to take place between now and the
beginning of next year.
www.fondsdereserve.fr
New
Zealand obliges KiwiSaver schemes to disclose responsible
investing approach
New legislation in New Zealand came into force
on 1 April that obliges every KiwiSaver scheme as well
as complying superannuation funds to disclose their
approach to responsible investing. Each scheme must
state whether or not it takes into account responsible
investment in its investment procedures and policies.
If responsible investment is taken into account, the
provider must have more information available about
this for prospective members.
www.seccom.govt.nz
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