Socially Responsible Investing: Transparency, Accountability, and Profitability

Every week brings news that makes socially and environmentally responsible investing and green business more relevant then ever.

We witness the arrival of positive changes in both politics and business, as SRI is considered in more wide-ranging discussions, and public demand increases for political and corporate transparency. More good news: executives are being held to greater accountability in compensation matters as well as in corporate governance.

Meanwhile, the multi-billion dollar Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which funds a variety of important causes, needs to apply the same thorough standards to its own investments, some of which, it could be argued, are contravening the very goals of the foundation.

And yes, Climate Change. Global warming must be addressed with a creative combination of innovation and regulation. Clean and renewable energy sources and fuel-efficient vehicles are no longer just fashionable options; they are necessary. Public opinion is shifting as we acknowledge the reality of global warming.

In this issue you'll find another array of articles to help you address your financial goals and your social and environmental concerns, beginning with our exclusive interview with the new Social Investment Forum CEO, Lisa Woll, who predicts continued SRI expansion over the next ten years.

Also Jack Robinson of Winslow Capital Management gives us his unique take on green investing; David Reiling offers a look at Community Investing, Minnesota style; and Michael Jantzi reports on SRI in Canada.

We feel compelled to close with a special SRI News column of great significance to social investing: the acceptance speech by the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner and microcredit pioneer Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank. Also see the expanded mutual fund chart with new additions from the Domini Funds and the Blue Funds.

This issue continues below with our expanded Spring version that includes a wide variety of additional SRI articles and resources.

Coming up in our next issue (Summer 2007) - we invite you to celebrate a noteworthy milestone for GreenMoney with our Special 15th Anniversary "Visionaries" issue. A variety of leaders will share their views and expectations for the next 15 years of SRI and sustainable business. Glimpse the future through the eyes (and pens) of Amy Domini, Gary Hirshberg, Joan Bavaria, Joe Keefe, Hazel Henderson, and many others in the exclusive 15th Anniversary edition of the GreenMoney Journal.

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Feature articles
	GreenMoney Interview: Lisa Woll, CEO of the Social Investment Forum Interviewed by Cliff Feigenbaum, founder of the GreenMoney Journal
	Green Investing for Today and Tomorrow Jack Robinson, Winslow Capital Management
	Bringing Socially Responsible Finance to Scale The SRI in the Rockies conference is always one of the highlights of my year. It's a pleasure to see my colleagues in the SRI community, hear from the creative, passionate people leading the way to expand and strengthen the industry, and share news from the Twin Cities, where my family's three community development banks - University Bank, Park Midway Bank and Franklin Bank, known together as Sunrise Community Banks - are based. David Reiling, Sunrise Community Banks
	SRI in Canada: Principled Leadership in Challenging Times When people around the world are asked about Canada, they often refer to the wide-open spaces and the abundance of natural resources and physical beauty. We're seen as a kindler, gentler nation that respects human rights, the environment, and a country that has a social safety net to take care of the most vulnerable in society. Michael Jantzi, Jantzi Research
	SRI NEWS COLUMN (expanded online version): Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank- The Nobel Peace Prize winner 2006 Note to Readers: Something of global significance happened late in 2006 when the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to microcredit pioneer Muhammad Yunus of Grameen Bank. Though we have covered the work of Grameen Bank through the years, we felt his landmark acceptance speech on alleviating world poverty last December in Olso needed to be shared.
	Publishers Note: "Since the Last Time…" 2006 ended on several positive notes, the most hopeful being the November elections, when voters chose to restore the balance of power in our nation's capital. Cliff Feigenbaum
Exclusive Online Articles
	Global Sustainable Investing - the Next Stage in the Evolution of Socially Responsible Investing Edgewood Partners is committed to optimized performance and carefully managed risk. We believe the best way to accomplish these goals is to invest in sustainable companies on a global basis. Our investment strategy, Global Sustainable Investing, represents a higher standard of investing and is based on a carefully-researched universe of companies. These companies have chosen to integrate sustainable business practices into all aspects of their operations. Common sense, as well as recent studies, confirms that companies with strong corporate governance, pervasive environmental policies and collaborative management styles have less risk and perform better over time. Mary Barrett, Edgewood Partners
Additional Online Articles
	Focus on Gates Foundation Investment Strategy Raises Long-Standing Issue for Foundations From The Social Investment Forum (News Release: January 12, 2007)
	Top Five Socially Responsible Investing News Stories of 2006 Green investing booms, microfinance pioneer wins Nobel Peace Prize, shareowner democracy increases, resolutions receive record votes, and UN launches Principles of Responsible Investment Bill Baue, Socialfunds.com
	Calvert Partners with Sudan Divestment Task Force and Save Darfur Coalition Calvert, one of the nation's largest families of socially responsible mutual funds, announced recently that it has formed a partnership with the Sudan Divestment Task Force (SDTF), a project of the Genocide Intervention Network, together with the Save Darfur Coalition (SDC), to assist the growing Sudan divestment campaign in the U.S., Calvert will immediately begin working with SDTF and SDC by lending its analytical expertise and offering advocacy support.
	Portfolio 21 Announces Top 10 'Green' Companies of 2006 Mutual fund says financial performance tied to corporate environmental performance
	New Domini Funds Invest in the World Domini charts new territory with the creation of the Domini PacAsia Social Equity Fund and the Domini EuroPacific Social Equity Fund. Anne Moore Odell, socialfunds.com
	Green Century Shareholders Vote to Continue Investment in the Domini 400 Social Index
	Starbucks Leads Global Coffee Industry in Paying Premium Prices for Sustainably-Sourced Coffee
	New LOHAS Market-Size Data Released: A $209 Billion Opportunity New research provides first published update to LOHAS market size since 2000
	Major Step Forward for Socially Responsible Investing: Progressive Asset Management launches seven index-based, benchmarked portfolios for key asset classes Reaching Out to Wider RIA Marketplace, PAM Initiative Aims to Remedy Scarcity of Index- Based SRI Products Pegged to Well-Known Benchmarks; Aperio Group Acting As Sub-Advisor, Accounts Can Be Held at FOLIOfn.
	Unions see Greenbacks in 'Green' Future - Organized labor is joining forces with environmentalists to push for an eco-friendly economy. With alarm growing over global warming and the economic vulnerability created by American dependence on foreign oil, it's increasingly obvious to many that the only viable future is a green one. Moises Velasquez-Manoff, Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
	Two American Dreams Let's take a look at two typical Americans, Barry and Mary, from the same society but living in two completely different worlds. Stick with us, we promise the artistic license will be worth it. David Rippe and Jared Rosen