What is socially responsible investing?
According to the Responsible Investment Association of Canada (RIA), responsible investment (RI) “is the integration of environmental, social and governance factors (ESG) into the selection and management of investments. There is growing evidence that RI reduces risk and leads to superior long-term financial returns.”
In recent years, responsible investment has come to encompass:
- Ethical investing
- Socially responsible investing
- Sustainable investing
- Green investing
- Community investing
- Mission-based investing
- And more recently, impact investing.
For more information, visit the Responsible Investment Association of Canada's website.
Selected Books and E-Books
Alternative Investments by Call Number: E-BookPublication Date: 2013Alternative Investments is a comprehensive guide to alternative investments that reveals today's latest research and strategies. It provides an in-depth discussion of the historic performance, benchmarks, and strategies of every major alternative investment market. With contributions from professionals and academics around the world, it offers valuable insights on the latest trends, research, and thinking in each major area.
The Next Generation of Responsible Investing by Call Number: E-BookPublication Date: 2011Responsible investing provides a long-term sustainable investment strategy that values environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in investment decision-making and seeks to reduce risk in investment portfolios through managing ESG issues. This book explores this topic in an edited volume intended for those with an interest in finance and business.
Responsible Investing in Times of Turmoil by Call Number: E-BookPublication Date: 2011The SRI phenomenon is said to be entering the mainstream of financial intermediation. From a fairly marginal practice promoted or campaigned for by NGO's and at odds with financial practice and orthodoxy it grew into well formulated policy adopted by a wide range of investors. Academic literature on SRI has also boomed on the assumption that mainstreaming is taking place. However, little thinking has been carried out on questions specifically arising from this alleged 'mainstreaming'.This book, addressed to those with a scholarly or practitioner's interest in SRI, starts filling this neglected dimension.
Responsible Investment and the Claim of Corporate Change by Call Number: E-BookPublication Date: 2011Elisa M. Zarbafi analyzes the role of financial stakeholders as a potential driver of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and focuses her theoretical analysis on socio-psychological drivers to understand the complex nature of responsible investment.
The Routledge Handbook of Responsible Investment by Call Number: E-BookPublication Date: 2015This handbook provides an atlas of current practice in the field of responsible investment. With a large global team of expert contributors, the book explores the impact of responsible investment on key financial actors ranging from mainstream asset managers to religious organizations.
Socially Responsible Finance and Investing by Call Number: E-BookPublication Date: 2012Socially Responsible Finance and Investing offers an important basis of knowledge regarding both the theory and practice of this ever-evolving area of finance and provides a comprehensive view of socially responsible foundations and their applications to finance and investing as determined by the current state of research.
Selected Websites
- CSR Wire: Socially Responsible InvestingProvides the latest news, views and reports in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability.
- Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI)Each year, 3,400 companies around the world are asked industry-specific questions focusing on economic, environmental and social factors that are relevant to the companies’ success. Using this data, combined with sustainability and risk/return objectives of investors, RobecoSam produces its family of indices, including their global indices and sub-indices.
- Ethical PerformanceProvides information on CSR and socially responsible investing (SRI) for companies, investors, professional service organizations and institutions worldwide.
- The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible InvestmentThe Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment is the leading voice advancing sustainable, responsible and impact investing across all asset classes. Its mission is to rapidly shift investment practices toward sustainability, focusing on long-term investment and the generation of positive social and environmental impacts.
- MCSI ESG ResearchMSCI ESG Research provides in-depth research, ratings and analysis of the environmental, social and governance-related business practices of thousands of companies worldwide. The research provides critical insights that can help institutional investors identify risks and opportunities, and implement their responsible investment objectives.
- Responsible Investment Association of Canada (RIA)The Responsible Investment Association (RIA) is Canada’s membership association for Responsible Investment (RI). The Association’s purpose is to support the responsible investment activities of its members; promote and support an integrated reporting framework in which there is standardized disclosure of material ESG information; promote the integration of ESG factors into investment analysis and decision-making processes; and promote the practice of responsible investing in Canada.
- Vigeo EirisVigeo Eiris is a global provider of ESG research and services to investors as well as private, public and non-profit organisations. It offers decision-making tools designed for all type of investors, covering all ethical and responsible investment approaches.