Thank you to all who participated in the Canadian Responsible Investment Conference!

The Social Investment Organization hosted the nation's 2009 conference on socially responsible investment (SRI) in Winnipeg from June 7-9.

In the past two years, assets invested according to socially responsible guidelines have increased by 21%, from $503.6 billion to $609.2 billion, when markets generally experienced great difficulty. Socially responsible investors have maintained their confidence in SRI, and there is growing interest in finding solutions to global social and environmental issues through investment.

SRI is well poised to survive the current economic turmoil and come out of it ready for strong growth. The conference provided insight and hope for how SRI can point a way forward.

Conference Program

Plenary Presentations (not all presentations included slides):

Sunday, June 7
Mark Jaccard	Climate Change in Economic Uncertainty Future Climate Policy and Socially Responsible Investment
Green, lean and real: Opportunities and best practices in green real estate Derek Billsman: Corporate Sustainability & Responsibility (CSR) at Morguard Ashley Hamilton: slide presentation to follow David Ogden: ISG: Income Sustainability Growth Ben Spruzen: Responsible Property Investment (RPI)
Energy - Cleaning up our carbon footprint: Sustainable options in renewable and non-renewable energy VIEW THE PRESENTATION PODCAST, sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers Duncan Birnie: Opportunities for Carbon Reporting & Disclosure Matthew Kiernan: Energy, Carbon Footprint, and Financial Out-Performance Robert Hornung: Sustainable Energy Options for Canada: Wind Energy
Monday, June 8
Nancy McHarg	What's the public thinking? Canadians' attitudes on sustainability in 2009 Canadians and Sustainability
Ed Waitzer	Financial re-regulation in Canada and around the world Financial Re-regulation
Access to water: poverty and investment issues David Henderson: Making a Difference in Water
The Honourable Lloyd Axworthy	Community investment and revitalization: community renewal at home and abroad During his presentation to the conference, Dr. Axworthy presented the following video explaining the work of the University of Winnipeg's Ecokids program: A Tap on the Shoulder
David Martin	Investing in the Aboriginal Future Written speech
Tuesday, June 9
Building our base of intellectual capital: A look at academic research and SRI in Canada Tessa Hebb: Carleton Centre for Community Innovation - Responsible Investing Initiative M'Zali Bouchra: Ecole des sciences de la gestion, UQAM - Social Responsible Investment Research program
The microfinance breakthrough: Bringing microcredit to the mainstream Jean-Pierre Klumpp: Microfinance Breakthrough: Bringing microcredit to the mainstream Edgar Hielema: Oikocredit