Tensions Mount Over Organic Labeling of "Hydrosol" In 1988, when she was just 29, Diana Kaye was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The aggressive disease is one of the fastest-growing forms of cancer and has been linked in various studies to exposure to toxic chemicals. Kaye enrolled in an experimental chemotherapy program and eventually recovered, although […]
It’s hard to find travel-size, environmentally friendly shampoo and shaving gel, and when you finally do, what becomes of the almost-empty plastic bottles you bring back from your backpacking adventure in Ecuador or business trip in France?
The basic premise of socially responsible investing is simple: If money makes the world go "round, greener, more humane investments can improve the way it spins. Yet before hailing a new era of green capitalism, it’s also important to understand some of its limitations.
While stock screening and shareholder activism are directed toward large corporations, community investing is about funding worthwhile projects and supporting individuals—in some ways making this the most inspiring form of SRI.
Though many socially conscious mutual funds have screens for environmental issues and do shareholder activism, there are only half a dozen that make environmental issues a priority.
When Allied Signal held its annual meeting in 1999, Shelley Alpern, director of social research at Trillium Asset Management, was there, charging that executive compensation is "out of control" and demanding a sustainable policy of pay equity.
Animal waste from corporate-owned factory farms has polluted 35,000 miles of rivers in 22 states and contaminated groundwater in 17 states
Watchdog and Research Organizations "As You Sow, (415)391-3212, www.asyousow.org. Represents SRI investors in a "dialogue" with corporations. "Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies (CERES), (617)247-0700, www.ceres.org. A coalition of environmental, investor and advocacy groups that holds companies to a 10-point code of environmental conduct. "Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), (212)870-2295, www.iccr.org. A coalition of religious […]
Regulation of air pollution has been a constant battleground since the Clean Air Act was passed in 1970, with environmentalists often fighting smokestack utilities (see "Blue Skies," cover story, November/December 1999). Now, imminent victory may turn into defeat as the Bush administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposes to weaken strong guidelines adopted under President Clinton.
Although there are many socially responsible banks, credit unions and loan funds, ShoreBank Pacific (an outgrowth of Chicago’s South Shore Bank) stands out for environmentalists eager to put their savings or banking dollars to work directly supporting green efforts.
