Inaugural Ethical Investment Awards
12 December 2001 at 12:12 pm
Paddy Manning’s Ethical Investor Magazine with Ron Clarke’s Centre for the Encouragement of Philanthropy in Australia have announced the winners of two new Australian awards — the inaugural Corporate Sustainability Awards 2001, and the Ethical Fund of the Year Award 2001.
Bendigo Bank has won the inaugural CEPA Trust-Ethical Investor Sustainable Company Of The Year Award 2001, and Blackmores has won the CEPA Trust-Ethical Investor Sustainable Small Company of the Year Award 2001.
Challenger International’s Socially Responsive Investment (SRI) Fund has been named the inaugural “Ethical Fund of the Year 2001.”
In announcing the awards in the latest edition of Ethical Investor the CEPA Trust-Ethical Investor Corporate Sustainability Awards are described as the only triple-bottom line awards (ie. taking in environmental, social and financial performance) for Australian business.
Ethical Investor’s web site says the awards were decided after the most rigorous assessment yet conducted in an exercise of this kind.
It says the winners were chosen from a list of companies nominated by Australia’s five leading ethical investment research and consulting firms. Each firm nominated three companies for the sustainable company award – one from each of the manufacturing, service, and raw material sectors – and one company for the sustainable small company award.
The web site newsletter says that from the resulting shortlist of twelve large and four small companies, the winners were chosen by consensus of a distinguished panel of judges including the Reverend Tim Costello, Narelle Kennedy, Charles Lane, Christine Milne and Chris Sidoti.
Ethical Investor says in the Ethical Fund of the Year Award, 13 ethical funds were rated on an aggregate of:
1. financial performance (30 per cent);
2. quantitative social, environmental and governance rating of companies in each portfolio (30 per cent);
3. qualitative analysis including fund manager strength, ethical disclosure and engagement policies, and
4. how true-to-label the fund is to its stated investment, social and environmental objectives (40 per cent).
It says the winner, Challenger International’s Socially Responsive Investment Fund was chosen by a heavyweight judging panel blending acknowledged investment and ethical expertise, comprising Rashmi Mehrotra, Caroline Saunders, Michael Walsh, Ross Knowles and Louise Edkins.
For more details on the awards and the hard copy Ethical Investor Magazine go to www.ethicalinvestor.com.au
In the US, the 13th Annual Social Investing and Corporate Responsibility Awards by Business Ethics has found its winning corporate citizen in the apparel and retail world.
The clothing group ‘Timberland’ received the award for community service partnerships and volunteerism that raise the benchmark on good corporate citizenship.
On September 11th 150 Timberland employees including its CEO were volunteering at a school in the Bronx despite advice to leave the city!
The company’s volunteering program “Path of Service” began more than ten years ago with a scheme that gives full time employees 40 hours paid time to contribute to the community during regular working hours.
For more information on Business Ethics and its awards go to www.business- ethics.com.
