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Events

 

Sustainalytics webinar - The Bitter Taste of Cocoa: Supply Chain Risks and Opportunities

July 6, 2010, online event

Sustainalytics website (link to http://www.sustainalytics.com/sustainalytics-analyst-briefing-bitter-taste-cocoa-and-supply-chain-risks-and-opportunities )

 

The conference would not have been possible without the support and participation of our sponsors.

A heartfelt thank you!

Thank you also to our trade show participants and to everyone who attended the conference. We hope you will join us again in June 2011 in Victoria, British Columbia.

Please scroll down the page for 2010 conference presentations, articles and other

items of interest.

Full conference program

Monday, June 14

 

Ilse Treurnicht

CEO, MaRS Discovery District, Toronto

Opening Keynote: Innovation, investment and the future

The head of one of Canada's leading innovation institutes talked about Canada's economic and social challenges and the future role for SRI and conventional investment.

Moderated by: Doug McGee, Alterna Savings

Ilse Treurnicht presentation slides, Monday, June 14, 2010

Sponsored by

Nicholas Parker

Executive Chairman, Cleantech Venture Network

Innovations in Cleantech Investing

One of the global experts on cleantech shared his thoughts on new opportunities in public market investment and venture capital in the cleantech sector.

Nicholas Parker presentation slides, Monday, June 14, 2010

Moderator Martin Grosskopf, Director, Sustainability Research and Portfolio Manager for Acuity, then led a conversation on the topic with Nicholas and the audience.

Read Laura Tozer's conference blog (June 14): Innovations in cleantech investing

Sponsored by

Todd Hirsch, Senior Economist, ATB Financial, Calgary

Michelle de Cordova, Manager, Sustainability Research, Northwest & Ethical Investments LP, Vancouver

Karina Litvack, Head of Governance & Sustainable Investment Team, F&C Investments, London, England

Engaging with the Oilsands Sector

A panel of experts talked about the prospects for the Alberta oilsands, and how investors are sharing concerns and raising awareness on one of Canada's most serious environmental problems.

Moderated by: Eugene Ellmen, SIO

Read Michelle de Cordova's pre-conference blog (June 3rd): SRI in the oil sands: a contradiction in terms, or a challenge we can meet?

Read Sucheta Rajagopal's conference blog (June 17): Engaging with the oil sands sector

Sponsored by

Tuesday, June 15

 

Chris Coulter

Senior Vice President, Strategy and Collaboration, GlobeScan Inc.

&

Benjamin Commerie

Lead advisor in marketing research, Specialized Savings Products Division,

Desjardins Group

The Public and Investor Mind-Set

Chris Coulter, who last presented to the SIO conference in 2005, provided an update on public and investor attitudes on corporate sustainability and responsibility in a time of economic turmoil.

Benjamin Commerie provided the results of new research of Desjardins members on their attitudes toward SRI.

Moderated by: Dermot Foley, Vancity Investments

Chris Coulter presentation slides, Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Benjamin Commerie presentation slides, Tuesday, June 15, 2010

version française

Read Benjamin Commerie's pre-conference blogs (June 11): Les attitudes du public et des investisseurs envers l'investissement socialement responsable / Attitudes towards socially responsible investment

Read Doug Watt's conference blog (June 18): Advisors key to SRI sales strategy

Sponsored by

  

&

Steve Schueth, President and Chief Marketing Officer, First Affirmative Financial, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Cara MacMillan, commentator on SRI and financial advisor, BMO Nesbitt Burns, Ottawa

Beth Jones, long-time SRI investor and Associate Director, Green Communities Canada

Elements of Success for the SRI Advisor: Tips from the Experts

Moderated by: Don Wilson, Freedom 55 Financial

The panel had a conversation about how advisors should talk to their clients on SRI issues. How to turn an interested prospect into an SRI client. Are clients changing? Are they different now than from the 1990s? And what are the lessons from this?

Read Valentina Bellicova's pre-conference blog (June 11): Elements of success for the SRI advisor

Read Doug Watt's conference blog (June 15): Tips from the experts

Read Doug Watt's article (June 18): SRI Advisors: Be true to yourself

 

Janice Gross Stein

Director, Munk Centre for International Studies, University of Toronto

The G20 and Financial Re-Regulation

Janice Stein presentation slides, Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Janice Stein is a renowned commentator on international affairs. She spoke to the conference on the outlook for the G20 meeting in Toronto in June 2010.

Kevin Ranney, Global Director, Responsible Investment Services,

Jantzi-Sustainalytics

Paul Hannon, Executive Director, Mines Action Canada

Responsible Investment and Cluster Munitions

Kevin Ranney and Paul Hannon discussed their responses to cluster munitions.

Moderated by: Eugene Ellmen, SIO

Sponsored by

Lisa Hayles, Senior Client Relationship Manager, EIRIS, London, England

Cindy Rose, Head of SRI Research, Aberdeen Asset Managment Inc., Edinburgh, Scotland

Kees Gootjes, Project Manager Responsible Investments, VBDO (Culemborg, Netherlands), association member of the European Sustainable Investment Forum (Eurosif)

SRI: The View from Europe

Europe is often hailed as a model for ESG research and asset management. Is the reputation warranted? A research provider, asset manager and asset owner presented their perspectives.

Moderated by: Eugene Ellmen, SIO

Read Lisa Hayles' pre-conference blog (June 10): The view from Europe

Sponsored by

&

 

The Award provides us with an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the leading lights in the Canadian SRI industry. As well, we will build a narrative of the growth of socially responsible investing in Canada around the accomplishments and contributions of our Award finalists and recipients.

Eugene Ellmen, SIO Executive Director

 

The SIO thanks the SRI Award Committee:

Don Wilson, Chair

Gary Hawton

Doug McGee

Sarah Smith

 

Dinner & Canadian SRI Lifetime Achievement Award

On June 15, 2010, the conference featured the presentation of the inaugural Canadian SRI Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of an outstanding contribution to the Canadian socially responsible investment industry.

Congratulations to Michael Jantzi, CEO, Sustainalytics, voted by professional peers as recipient of the 2010 Canadian SRI Lifetime Achievement Award!

Read Doug Watt's conference blog (June 15): Michael Jantzi wins lifetime achievement award

Michael (right) shares this photo with nominee finalists Bill Davis (left) and Moira Hutchinson (centre). Peter Chapman, also an Award nominee finalist, is not shown in the photo.

Photo courtesy of Jantzi-Sustainalytics

Read about our four nominee finalists here.

Wednesday, June 16

David Berge, Senior Vice-President, Social Finance, Vancity

Alex Kjorven, Development Manager, Access Community Capital Fund

Betsy Martin, Senior Advisor, Community Foundations of Canada

Impact Investing: Innovations for Social Finance in Canada

Moderated by: Tom Haubenreisser, Sarona Asset Management

Experts discussed innovations and collaboration on investment in community economic development and social enterprise.

Read Alex's Kjorven's pre-conference blog (June 7): Impact Investing: Problem solving while profit seeking

Read Karim Harji's conference blog (June 17): Impact Investing: Innovations for social finance in Canada

Sponsored by:

Gerhard Pries, President, Sarona Asset Management, Waterloo, Ontario

Mamdouh Foad, Executive Director, Egyptian Association for Community Initiatives and Development (EACID), Aswan, Egypt

Joan Trant, Executive Director, International Association of Microfinance Investors, New York City, USA

International Microfinance: Making Microfinance Institutions a New Asset Class

Moderated by: Alan Harman, Scotia McLeod

Read Joan Trant's pre-conference blog (June 10): Microfinance Investing: Doing well by doing good

Sponsored by:

Charles Black, Chair, Pension Board, United Church of Canada

Stephen Brown, Director of Corporate Governance and Associate General Counsel, TIAA-CREF, New York City, USA

Frank Coleman, Executive Vice President, Christian Brothers Investment Services, New York

Michael Jantzi, CEO, Sustainalytics

Luncheon: Divestment and Engagement: Are there limits to corporate engagement?

Moderated by: Gary Hawton, Meritas Mutual Funds

The closing luncheon featured a conversation on the long-standing debate in the SRI industry on the merits of divestment vs. engagement.

Read Farnam Bidgoli's conference blog (June 18): Divestment and engagement

Sponsored by:

 

 

Past Conferences

Canadian Responsible Investment Conference, Winnipeg, June 2009 presentations are available here.