Resources
We have included links here to a few notable organizations and reports that have been highlighted during our meetings and conversations. (This is not intended to be a comprehensive resource for clean energy investing, but some selected materials of particular relevance to pension, foundation and other institutional investor fiduciaries.)
Publications:
“A legal framework for the integration of environmental, social and governance issues into institutional investment”, produced for the Asset Management Working Group of the UNEP Finance Initiative (October 2005).
This report was commissioned by the United Nations Environment Programme’s Finance Initiative. The study finds that the integration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues into investment analysis, so as to more reliably predict financial performance, is clearly permissible and is arguably required in all jurisdictions. The study, launched at the United Nations headquarters, has been compiled by leading international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
This report is available from the UNEP FI website at www.unepfi.org. It is also available for download here: UNEP FI Report (October 2005).pdf
“A
Climate for Change: A Trustee's Guide to Understanding and Addressing Climate
Risk”. The Carbon Trust and the Institutional Investor Group on Climate Change
jointly commissioned Mercer Investment Consulting to produce this guide
for pension trustees on climate change. (January 2005)
This report by Mercer Investment Consulting states that it is consistent with fiduciary responsibility for trustees to address the financial risk posed by climate change in managing risk and maximizing returns across plan investments.
The report is available from the Mercer website at www.merceric.com. It is also available for download here:
Mercer Report (2005).pdf
Organizations and Events:
2005 Investor Summit of the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR)
The records of the 2005 Institutional Investor Summit on Climate Risk are available at the following website. This includes presentations, speaker remarks, and photos. At the 2005 Summit, Ceres and the Investor Network on Climate Risk released the Investor Progress Report: Results Achieved Since The 2003 Institutional Investor Summit On Climate Risk. Also, a new Call for Action: Managing Climate Risk and Capturing the Opportunities, was also released at the 2005 Summit. Institutional investors, recognizing that climate change embodies significant risks and opportunities for investors and our economy, called on other investors, fund managers and financial advisors, companies, and government to respond affirmatively and definitively to climate risk, and stated their intention to move forward to implement the 10 steps of the new Call for Action.
http://incr.com/05investorsummit/summit_records.html
Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)- www.cdproject.net
The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) provides a secretariat for the world's
largest institutional investor collaboration on the business implications
of climate change. CDP represents an efficient process whereby many institutional
investors collectively sign a single global request for disclosure of information
on Greenhouse Gas Emissions. CDP then send this request to the FT500 largest
companies in the world. More than 350 of the 500 largest corporations in the
world currently report their emissions through this website.
Carbon Trust - www.carbontrust.co.uk
The Carbon Trust is an independent company funded by Government. Our role is to help the UK move to a low carbon economy by helping business and the public sector reduce carbon emissions now and capture the commercial opportunities of low carbon technologies.
Ceres - www.ceres.org
Ceres is a national network of investment funds, environmental organizations
and other public interest groups working to advance environmental stewardship
on the part of businesses. Ceres is renowned for its unique ability to bring
diverse groups together to find positive solutions for complex environmental
and social challenges. For example, in May 2005 at the United Nations, Ceres
brought together representatives of U.S. and international pension funds representing
$5 trillion in capital to address the profound investment risks and emerging
business opportunities driven by climate change. This groundbreaking event
received media coverage around the world.
Clean Energy Group - www.cleanegroup.org
Clean Energy Group (CEG) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to greater
use of cleaner energy technologies, such as fuel cells and solar, in newly
restructured energy markets. CEG was organized in January 1998. CEG promotes
policies and programs that support replacement of the existing electricity
generation system with new, less polluting clean energy technologies in
the U.S. and abroad through creative financing, business partnerships, public
policy and advocacy.
Clean Energy States Alliance - www.cleanenergystates.org
Many states across the U.S. have established funds to promote renewable
energy and clean energy technologies. The Clean Energy States Alliance (CESA)
is a nonprofit organization that provides information and technical services
to these funds and to work with them to build and expand clean energy markets
in the United States.
Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) - www.iigcc.org
The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) is a forum
for collaboration between pension funds and other institutional investors
on issues related to climate change, based in the UK and comprised primarily
of UK and EU investors.
Investor Network on Climate Risk - www.incr.com
The Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR) was launched by 10 investor leaders on November 21, 2003 at the Institutional Investor Summit on Climate Risk at the United Nations in New York City. INCR leaders convened a new Institutional Investor Summit at the UN on May 10, 2005 and announced a new Investor Call for Action.