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In our modern era of globalization, capital can freely flow frommarket to market in search of higher returns. For those investorsthat also wish to temper their investment choices by doing what isright for humanity and the planet we inhabit, support has grown fordirecting investments specifically to socially responsible andsustainable enterprises. While both socially responsible investing( SRI ) and sustainable business operations have our bestinterests at heart, each movement has had a life of its own for thepast few decades, occasionally facing off as to which initiativehas real permanent value. A variety of standards have been adopted across the globe to putproverbial lines in the sand . For example, here are twodefinitions that have gained support in two major markets: In Australia, there is a standard for Corporate SocialResponsibility that establishes a baseline for socialresponsibility — A mechanism for entities to voluntarilyintegrate social and environmental concerns into their operationsand their interaction with their stakeholders, which are over andabove the entity's legal responsibilities. In Great Britain, there is a Standard for SustainableDevelopment that proposes that a sustainable development is, Anenduring, balanced approach to economic activity, environmentalresponsibility and social progress. The former definition may resemble more a philosophy, while thelatter offers more of a measurable process, often encapsulated inthe catchphrase of Triple Bottom Line Profits, People, andthe Planet . While the social good may be the impliedobjective for all corporate policies and procedures in an SRI context, sustainability has more to do with meeting current needswithout putting in jeopardy any future considerations for economic,environmental, and social issues. Is one term more inclusive thanthe other or more preferred? Many entities have ignored the debateand combined both terms to describe their initiatives in bothareas. Investment managers have been driven by popular demand to catch the SRI wave, so to speak, and have embraced related principles asmomentum has grown. Depending on your market of focus, pension fundassets under management in Europe and the United States haverallied to SRI concepts to the tune of $5 trillion, or nearly oneout of every six to eight dollars of their total portfolios.Critics complain that funds have buckled under to public pressurerather than economic concerns, but the theory that Only Mr.Market knows best has been redefined by adding within limits . Fund managers will typically apply screening tools to selectcompanies that are proactive with regards to the social needs ofsociety, take a leadership position in new green and cleantechnologies, take pride in treating their employees well, and goout of their way to preserve human rights in all that they doacross the globe. At the same time, they exclude any companies thatproduce products that could be deemed harmful to individuals,communities, or the environment. Promoting a sustainability agenda, however, involves much more thanfollowing straightforward selection criteria. Sustainability isabout conserving future resources, but the challenges fall into twoprimary key areas. First, an appropriate balance must be reachedbetween two conflicting issues environmental concerns andeconomic development. Secondly, resources must be preserved in somefashion for future generations. The focal point becomes resourceutility and the related rules that develop as a result, which havetended to be complex in design. In practice, lists of indicatorshave had to suffice, the TBL or triple-bottom-line concept. For the socially conscious investor, the ongoing battle betweenthese two factions is irrelevant. Each can deliver the primary goal— peace of mind. Tom Cleveland is a market analyst at ForexTraders.com . The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Double Twist Buncher , Wire Payoff Machinery Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit Wire Taping Machine today!
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