Looking Beyond the List Written By: Casson Rosenblatt 2007-10-22 14:09:50 As we can attest at The Panelist, the list phenomena is not new. And for many genres it provides a great jumping-off point for selecting a book, movie or travel destination. It also creates a lot of buzz and debate. But when it comes to CSR, I have begun to wonder if these lists are such a good thing.
MBAs Meet SRI Written By: Casson Rosenblatt 2007-09-25 14:06:49 Even with the growing presence of corporate social responsibility in the business world and socially responsible investing in the finance world, these are still relatively small issues and niche markets. Business schools, however, are taking the lead and presenting their students with lots of opportunities to explore these emerging fields through classes, specializations, and extra-curriculars. Now comes word that the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley is starting a student-managed SRI fund. Currently there is $250,00 in the fund and investments will begin when $500,00 has been raised, although the goal is to get to $1 million as soon as possible in order to "produce better data on [their] investment criteria and [their] effectiveness."
Mission-Aligned Investing Written By: Casson Rosenblatt 2007-12-30 12:15:27
The LA Times has spent significant energy (at least, in comparison to other journalistic outfits) on discussing foundations and the way in which they invest their endowments. In January, they ran a report on the Gates Foundation, discussing how the foundation's grant programs and investing often act in contradictory manners that set off a firestorm of discussion. Should foundations align their investing as well as their programs with their missions?
The Gates Foundation has yet to agree, but other foundations have moved forward to re-examine their policies. The LA Times'most recent addition to their series reviews all of the forward momentum on this subject that has taken place in the last year. While a foundation's investing choices may not assist with its investment choices, the concepts behind decisions to shift funds towards mission-aligned investing are certainly relevant for everyone.
Photo:Dhjiz, Creative Commons, Flickr
Quick Updates on SRI and CSR Written By: Casson Rosenblatt 2007-07-13 08:59:41 For those of you who would like a rundown every month of what happened in the world of socially responsible investing and corporate social responsibility, one place to go is The Motley Fool. Its column "Stocks with Scruples" by S.J. Caplan comes out once a month (usually in the middle of the month) and provides its readers with all of the necessary nuggets to know what happened in the past month in the field. Though not in depth, the coverage is a great place to keep up-to-date as well as a perfect jumping off point for further research.
Saving Ourselves from Ourselves Written By: Casson Rosenblatt 2007-08-16 13:16:57 Most Americans inherently believe in the power of free markets. It is ingrained in us along with our sense of individualism. Even those who believe in "big government" are not necessarily in favor of elected officials telling citizens how to live their lives.
Yet with the growing awareness of how individual choices affect society as a whole, more and more legislation has been coming out that limits individual choice for the benefit of the larger public. Indoor smoking and trans-fat bans are just two examples. These bans met fierce opposition from many corners, particularly restaurants, since their businesses would be most affected. But the smoking ban, at least, has been a success for patrons, and there has yet to be a flood of restaurants going out of business because of it.
