Date: May 2004There has been a general consensus that socially responsible investing (SRI) leads to inferior, rather than superior, performance. Using Innovest’s corporate ecoefficiency scores, the authors of this report provided evidence to the contrary. They composed two equity portfolios of different "eco-efficiency" ratings and found that over the period 1995-2003 the high-ranked portfolio gave substantially higher average returns than the low-ranked one. They showed that this difference could not be explained by differences in market sensitivity, investment style, or several other factors, and so concluded that the incremental benefits of SRI can be "substantial".

When it comes to engaging with host communities, even the best intentions can go awry without a robust process. Anglo American's award winning Socio-Economic Assessment Toolbox (SEAT) provides a structured way to work with their neighbours to improve their well-being. The attached pdf document (which can be downloaded by clicking on the 'download' link) describes: the objectives of the SEAT process the key stages and the process flow who the process is designed for the time commitment the supporting tools for each stage how the SEAT process fits within the context of a detailed socio-economic context key performance indicatorsWith this level of detail, it is clearly a good example of how to be a force for good company. You can also read an overview summary of their overall approach here.