Social Investment Forum’s Spring Symposium
15th April 2008
Matt Crossman joined members of the SRI community from across Europe and North America for a meeting of ethical fund managers and engagement professionals held in London. As well as benefiting from a talk from keynote speaker Ernst Ligteringen of the Global Reporting Initiative, various other speakers from organisations such as Oxfam and US Unions sparked discussion on activist and investor collaboration. Representatives from the investment community in the UK and Europe discussed different methods of corporate engagement, as well as sharing in debates about the best ways to integrate environmental and social concerns into traditional investment analysis. Discussion on the challenges and opportunities for aligning business practices and human rights considerations was enhanced by the presence of representatives of the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, an important news source for Rathbone Greenbank. Several opportunities for future collaborative work emerged by the end of the day, with a genuine sense of momentum building from the sharing of promising practices in responsible investing.