At a two-day symposium in London, United Kingdom in late March 2012 representatives of several responsible, social and sustainable investment organizations announced that they would work together to produce an inaugural global sustainable investment trends report for 2012. The report will be published in December 2012. The organizations also announced the launch of a global internet site, also in December 2012, and closer cooperation on policy issues.
The symposium was organized by the European Sustainable Investment Forum (Eurosif); the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF); and US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment. Participating institutions included: the Association for Sustainable & Responsible Investment in Asia (ASrIA); the Canadian Social Investment Organization (SIO); the Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development (VBDO); and the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA), The Africa Sustainable Investment Forum Project (AfricaSIF.org) provided input from Africa.
Over the past decade, each of these organizations has published an annual or biennial report documenting national or regional trends in socially responsible investment (SRI) or sustainable investment, based on the respective organization’s mandate and membership profile.
For the first time the global report will aggregate data internationally using a comparable methodology. This will create a valuable resource, both for the national/regional partner organizations and the broad SRI community.
“This partnership enables us to draw on international knowledge and expertise to support our members to deliver leading edge sustainable investment services,” said Penny Shepherd MBE, UKSIF Chief Executive. “UKSIF was delighted to host this second annual summit which built on the success of last year’s inaugural gathering in New York City.”
For more information about the Symposium and the planned Global Trends 2012 Report, please read the press release distributed by the US SIF on April 2, 2012.