Sponsors

ClearBridge Investments is a leading global equity manager with $177.0 billion in assets under management (as of December 31, 2020). We are committed to delivering long-term results through authentic active management and offer investment solutions that emphasize differentiated, bottom-up stock selection to move our clients forward.  Owned by Franklin Resources, ClearBridge operates with investment independence from headquarters in New York and offices in Baltimore, London, San Francisco, Sydney and Wilmington. 

We believe authentic active management and high-conviction portfolios provide clients the best opportunities to earn superior investment results over the long term. Our active approach combines the market knowledge of long-tenured portfolio managers with the original research of a specialized group of sector and portfolio analysts and the deep diligence of a dedicated risk management team. The firm offers global strategies focused on three primary client objectives in our areas of proven expertise: high active share, income solutions and low volatility. We integrate ESG considerations into our fundamental research process across all strategies. As part of this integration, we assign ESG ratings to companies across our coverage universe and utilize those ratings to drive company engagement.

Calvert Research and Management (Calvert) is a global leader in Responsible Investing. Calvert sponsors one of the largest and most diversified families of responsibly invested mutual funds, encompassing active and passively managed equity, income, alternative and multi-asset strategies. With roots in Responsible Investing back to 1982, the firm seeks to generate favorable investment returns for clients by allocating capital consistent with environmental, social and governance best practices and through structured engagement with portfolio companies. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Calvert manages assets on behalf of funds, individual and institutional separate account clients, and their advisors. For more information, visit calvert.com.

Rooted in the Jewish tradition of social justice, the Nathan Cummings Foundation focuses on finding solutions to the two biggest problems of our time – the climate crisis and growing inequality—and aims to transform the systems and mindsets that hinder progress toward a more sustainable and equitable future for all people, particularly women and people of color. To do so, the Foundation invests in four focus areas: Inclusive Clean Economy; Racial and Economic Justice; Corporate and Political Accountability; and Voice, Creativity and Culture. The Foundation also uses its standing as an investor in publicly traded companies to push for changes that both further our mission and enhance long-term shareholder value. For more information, visit www.nathancummings.org.

Natixis Investment Managers applies Active Thinking® to deliver proactive solutions that help clients pursue better outcomes in all markets. We offer a broad range of funds for defined contribution plans, including the Natixis Sustainable Future Funds®, the first ESG-driven target date family. Now with a 3-year track record, the funds are designed for plan participants who want to generate sustainable long-term results, and are intended to be suitable as a QDIA. For more information, please visit www.im.natixis.com/ESGTargetDateFunds.

Nia Impact Capital is a women led impact investment and asset management firm based in Oakland, California. Nia is Swahili for intention and purpose and we build public market portfolios with purpose. The firm was founded in 2017 with the specific mission of empowering investors, bringing impact investing into the public markets, and growing and nurturing the next fair, just, inclusive and sustainable economy. We apply both a gender-lens and a commitment to racial equity across our investment decision-making process and live our values as a women-led team of activist investors.

The Singing Field Foundation is a small family foundation, which began active grantmaking in 2004. Grants are initiated by the foundation’s directors and typically provide general support for environmental, animal welfare, health-related organizations, and other charities of interest to family members. The foundation’s interest in mission-related investing and “active ownership” of the companies in which the foundation is invested reflects our desire to maximize our impact as a small foundation, by deploying “the other 95 percent” of our assets, and our personal values, which dictate that the foundation’s investments should be aligned with the foundation’s mission. The Singing Field Foundation’s support for As You Sow flows directly from this interest and complements the foundation’s other grantmaking.

Harrington Investments, Inc. (HII) is a leader in Socially Responsible Investing and Shareholder Advocacy.  Dedicated to managing portfolios for individuals, foundations, non-profits, organized labor and family trusts to maximize financial, social, and environmental performance, we actively engage in shareholder campaigns and other strategies to promote greater corporate responsibility and social justice.  We believe the process of shareholder advocacy influences corporate behavior and educates the public about the practices and values of publicly traded corporations.  Our advocacy program includes filing shareholder resolutions on corporate governance, sustainability practices and human and indigenous peoples’ rights. In our current socio-political climate, a time of uncertainty and unrest, we continue to call on corporate directors to confront their moral and ethical obligations of fiduciary responsibility.  

Parnassus Investments is a responsible investing pioneer and a leading provider of socially responsible equity and fixed income strategies today. We have worked to build wealth responsibly since 1984 based on the insight that successful outcomes begin with the goal of investing for Principles and Performance®.

We seek attractive risk-adjusted returns for our clients over the long term while investing sustainably for the future using an investment process that fully integrates fundamental financial analysis with environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria. 

We identify businesses that we believe have increasingly relevant products or services, persistent competitive advantages and quality management teams for our high conviction portfolios. Every investment we make must meet rigorous ESG criteria.

The Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment envisions a future where nature is protected, people’s rights are ensured, and environmental justice is advanced. Everyone has the right to clean air and water, a stable climate, and access to healthy natural areas. We have a particular moral obligation to ensure these rights are protected for those communities whose rights have historically been ignored. In addition, the natural world has intrinsic value independent of its usefulness to humans. Since nature can’t speak for itself, we have an obligation to speak up for nature. We support grassroots initiatives that help build a world in which individuals, organizations, and communities are empowered to promote stewardship of nature, inspire people to take action, and hold government and corporations accountable.

The Sustainability Group of Loring, Wolcott & Coolidge, founded by industry pioneer Amy Domini in 1987, seeks to deliver superior, long-term returns while investing for social and environmental progress. We offer trustee services and individually tailor portfolios to help clients profitably invest their assets in a manner that both aligns with their own values and can make a positive difference in the lives of people and our planet. 

Many firms are just discovering socially responsible investing, but we have been integrating ESG into our investment process for over 30 years. We give clients the opportunity to invest today for a better tomorrow through active integration of sustainability into our investment strategy, direct corporate engagement, and meaningful community development and impact investments.

Arjuna Capital empowers our clients to sustainably align their investments for profitability and impact.  Arjuna is a one-stop shop for creating a high-impact investment portfolio across markets and asset classes— from public to private, domestic to foreign, equity to debt.  Our philosophy is rooted in the concept of sustainability: that economic vitality, environmental responsibility and social equity are mutually supportive measures of a society’s health.  With decades of experience considering the financial impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk and opportunity factors, our team is uniquely situated to mine insights from this approach to investment analysis.  We strive to offer the most diverse, sustainable, profitable and high-impact investments available, build and preserve our clients' wealth, and influence sustainable change through enlightened engagement in the capital markets.

Carillon Tower Advisers, a subsidiary of Raymond James Financial, comprises five boutique asset management firms: Eagle Asset Management, Scout Investments, Reams Asset Management, ClariVest Asset Management, and Cougar Global Investments. While each affiliate is unique in its investment approach, they all share a commitment to investing for the long-term. Incorporating environmental, social, and governance considerations in investment decisions, consistent with each firm’s philosophy and process, is at the heart of the Carillon approach to responsible investing. With strategies that cross asset classes and investment processes that include ESG integration, norm-based screening, exclusionary screening or a combination, Carillon offers many investment options to meet the financial needs of investors.

Please visit us at www.carillontower.com/esg.

Fiduciary Trust International is a wealth management firm founded in 1931. The firm’s impact investing practice aligns our clients’ values with their long-term risk/return objectives. We have nearly two decades of experience working with clients across a variety of thematic areas from aligning with faith-based values to advancing the transition to a lower carbon future to creating more opportunity for gender and racial equity. Our organization has a deep commitment to customization; grounds impact investing in an investment-centric culture; and offers expertise across all asset classes represented in a comprehensive, diversified portfolio, including private alternative investments. We integrate values- and mission-based investing across the firm in order to give clients access to the firm’s robust investment research, portfolio construction, and risk management processes.

GPW is the premier source of inside information about key governance developments worldwide. It’s an indispensable resource for leading shareowner activists and experts in every advanced market. Now in its 25th year, GPW keeps subscribers abreast of shareowner activism across borders, the powerful industry of governance advisors, and initiatives by companies, governments and stock exchanges to reform, turbo-charge or block corporate governance. GPW is the place the market turns to for information on who is moving to new posts and for job openings in the governance field. Subscribers include leading pension funds and other activist institutional investors, custodian banks, stock exchanges, corporations, professional trade bodies, management consulting companies, trade unions, investor relations firms, accounting firms, academic institutions, law firms and international governmental organizations.

Staff names
Aaron Bernstein Co-editor 

Stephen Davis Co-editor and Associate Director and Senior Fellow, Harvard Law School Programs on Corporate Governance and Institutional Investors

Green America’s mission is to harness economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society. We work for a world where all people have enough, where all communities are healthy and safe, and where the bounty of the Earth is preserved for all the generations to come.  We work on issues of social justice and environmental responsibility.  We see these issues as completely linked in the quest for a sustainable world.  It’s what we mean when we say “green.”  

Miller/Howard Investments, Inc. is a 100% employee-owned, independent, SEC-registered investment boutique that began managing equity portfolios for institutions and individuals in dividend-focused strategies in 1991. The firm invests in quality stocks with strong balance sheets, governance and fundamentals, and the ability to grow dividends.  We integrate ESG analysis with financial analysis in our pursuit of companies with strong commitments to high operational standards, the environment, social responsibility, and good governance; we believe doing so provides a framework for achieving suitable risk profiles and long-term investment returns while building sustainable global economies and markets. As part of our Shareholder Advocacy and risk mitigation efforts, we actively engage companies on material ESG issues to help them seek a more sustainable future and long-term profitability.  Visit us at www.mhinvest.com/esg.

The Murninghan Post is a platform for a simple concept and strategy: build a civic moral economy that strengthens equity culture and our political economy. How? By helping concerned citizens, nonprofit fiduciaries, policymakers, and lawmakers activate vast pools of portfolio assets managed by tax-exempt institutions, aka “civic fiduciaries”. At a time when taxes and charitable grants are not enough, we can make that money more productive and accountable to the public interest—particularly regarding human rights, climate, and infrastructure. A civic moral economy aligns investment policy and practice with tax-exempt principles and purpose. It relies upon multi-capital, multi-asset, multi-portfolio, and polycentric approaches. It promotes civic voice and agency by educating, empowering, and engaging ordinary people who remain disconnected from sustainable finance and believe organized politics has failed them.

Founded in 1990, NorthStar Asset Management, Inc. specializes exclusively in socially responsible investing for high net-worth clients and non-profit organizations. NorthStar’s mission is to provide integrative and effective portfolio management by connecting social concerns to security selection, asset allocation, and activism.

Synthesizing a broad market outlook and the individual needs of the client, NorthStar combines direct investments in global equities, investment grade bonds, community loan funds, alternative “outside” investments, and cash to create vibrant and well-balanced portfolios.

NorthStar’s activism includes engagement with portfolio companies to improve their behavior with regards to race and gender, wealth and income inequality, human rights, environmental justice, and corporate governance. The NorthStar approach, vision, and philosophy have evolved based on a core belief that we are here to make a difference.

Launched June 2007, Responsible Investor (RI) is the only dedicated news service reporting on responsible investment, ESG (environmental, social and governance) and sustainable finance issues for institutional investors globally, read by: pension funds, public and government funds, central banks, endowments, foundations, faith groups, family offices, corporations, investment consultants, asset managers, research and data providers, insurance companies, banks, associations, governments, regulators, NGOs, and other industry practitioners. RI also produces the industry-leading regional conferences: RI Asia Japan, RI Europe and RI Americas.  www.responsible-investor.com

Boston Trust Walden has been integrating ESG factors into investment decisions since 1975—one of the longest track records of any institutional investment manager. We encourage the companies in which we invest to strengthen ESG policies and practices, recognizing companies that effectively manage sustainability risks are better positioned for success. Our active ownership initiatives span a range of issues and tactics with an aim to enhance the long-term prosperity of investors, business, the economy, and society. Boston Trust Walden Company is an independent, employee-owned investment management firm with $11.6 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2020. For more information, visit www.bostontrustwalden.com.  

Boston Trust Walden has been at the forefront of countless shareholder engagement initiatives to encourage companies to improve sustainability policies, practices, and performance. We utilize active ownership strategies to encourage companies to:

• Set greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction targets based on widely accepted scientific research.

• Advocate for and support effective climate policy with lawmakers at the local, state, national, and international levels.

• Increase representation of women and people of color on boards of directors.

• Disclose workforce composition statistics.

• Adopt inclusive EEO policies and practices that explicitly protect employees from discrimination.

• Disclose comprehensive sustainability data, including actionable ESG metrics and goals.

• Enhance transparency regarding lobbying policies, oversight, and expenditures.

• Integrate ESG considerations into proxy voting and engagement (asset management firms only).

Domini Impact Investments LLC is a women-led SEC registered investment adviser specializing exclusively in impact investing. We serve individual and institutional investors who wish to create positive social and environmental outcomes while seeking competitive financial returns. We apply social, environmental, and governance standards to all our investments, believing they help identify opportunities to provide strong financial rewards while also helping to create a more just and sustainable economic system.

First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC, is an employee-owned investment advisory firm specializing in sustainable, responsible, impact (SRI) investing. We began conducting business in 1988 and we have had one mission since our founding – to improve investment performance, reduce risk, and create a better world by integrating sustainable, responsible, and impact (SRI) investing with environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) principles.   We vote client proxies in accordance with detailed voting guidelines and actively engage with selected portfolio companies with the goal of creating a truly sustainable future. www.firstaffirmative.com

Veris Wealth Partners is a leading impact wealth management firm. Founded in 2007, Veris serves individuals, families and foundations seeking market performance and social gain by aligning their wealth with their values. Veris delivers comprehensive wealth management, including investment management, trust, tax and philanthropic strategies, with an emphasis on impact and sustainable investing. 

Veris is a proud B Corp and Best for the World® Overall Honoree (2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013). 

Veris has offices in New York City, San Francisco, Portsmouth, NH, and Boulder, CO. For more information, please visit our website: www.veriswp.com.