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According to the EIRIS report entitled, "A Risky Business?  Managing Core Labor Standards in Company Supply Chains", 45% of the companies studied "have no policy or management systems in place to protect labor standards in their supply chain and fail to report on the issue."  According to EIRIS, investors should be concerned about breaches of labor standards for several reasons:  reputational risk, time spent by management addressing issues raised by NGOs, poor product quality, and legislation that could limit access to markets. 1.10

Sunday, October 25, 2009 3:30 PM - 4:45 PM
Room: Tucson F

Speaker(s)
Kimberly Gladman PhD, CFA Director of Research and Ratings, The Corporate Library Presenter View
Kyle Johnson Senior Investment Consultant, Cambridge Associates Presenter View
Christa Velasquez Director of Social Investments, Annie E. Casey Foundation Presenter View
Timothy Smith Senior Vice President, Walden Asset Management Moderator

Description

The world of ESG investing and Mission Based Investing is rapidly transforming. A broader range of investors is now involved in the discipline of sustainable investment. In addition, new products, alternative asset classes, and innovative approaches have expanded the range of what investors can do in the field. This panel of experts will describe and explore how endowments are pioneering new approaches in mission investing, how consultants work with their clients to identify and create mission investing practices, and how innovative integration of governance information has led to new investment opportunities.

Speaker Biographies

Kimberly Gladman oversees the research practice and leads a group of analysts responsible for governance ratings for The Corporate Library. Previously, Ms. Gladman managed a team of associates researching global corporations at Domini Social Investments, a leading socially responsible investment fund manager. She also served as Lead SRI Analyst for Domini's European equity fund, and spent several years participating in the firm's shareholder advocacy on social, environmental, and governance issues. Before joining Domini in 2001, Ms. Gladman had an academic career, focused on interdisciplinary research and teaching. She earned a B.A. from Yale University in 1990, and a PhD from New York University in 2001.

                    

Kyle Johnson is a senior investment consultant at Cambridge Associates LLC.  He works with a broad range of clients on general investment issues such as asset allocation strategy, manager selection, and investment program evaluation.  In addition, he also serves on the firm's Mission-Related Investing team. Before joining Cambridge Associates in 2005, Mr. Johnson was the director of institutional client relationships for Domini Social Investments LLC where he was responsible for serving institutional clients and their consultants.  Previously, he worked at KLD Research & Analytics, Inc., as a research analyst and as committee chair for KLD's suite of socially and environmentally screened indexes.

                    

Christa Velasquez is Director of Social Investments at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a private charitable organization whose principal mission is to help build better futures for disadvantaged children and families.  Ms. Velasquez is responsible for developing, coordinating, and managing the Foundation's $100 million social investment fund.  She also manages the due-diligence process and is responsible for deal structuring, portfolio monitoring, creating SI training tools and developing a technical assistance plan for grantees and partners.  Prior to joining the Foundation, Ms. Velasquez spent six years at Brody∙Weiser∙Burns (BWB), a consulting firm based in Connecticut, the last two years as an associate partner.

                    

Timothy Smith is a Senior Vice President of Walden Asset Management and has been a national leader in responsible investing for over 35 years. He served as Executive Director of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) for 24 years. He chaired the Board of Directors of the Social Investment Forum for 5 years, and he currently serves as a director of the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of the United Methodist Church, Shared Interest, and World Neighbors. In December 2007, Mr. Smith was named by Ethisphere Institute as one of top 100 most influential people in Business Ethics.