Council for Socially Responsible Investment
www.csri.org .nz
9th April 2008
NEWS RELEASE
Saving for our future: socially responsible investment is an economic, environmental and social imperative
Renowned academic and senior policy advisor to the United Nations Global Compact Professor Prakash Sethi told delegates
at a conference organised by the Council for Socially Responsible Investment that investing responsibly is not an option
but an imperative.
Dr Sethi, President of the International Center for Corporate Accountability at Baruch College, New York speaks from a
wealth of experience advising on societal issues as diverse as the Exxon Valdex oil spill; anti-apartheid in South
Africa and ethics and work practices in China and other parts of the world.
As New Zealand commences its Free Trade Agreement with China, Dr Sethi said that FTAs are good in that they create
aggregate wealth at a faster rate but that effectively cheap products mean cheap labour:
“China is the world’s leading manufacturer and so its manufacturing conditions affect everyone. Production is diverse
and without agreed safety standards. The problems include work conditions, wages and product safety and they will get
worse before they get better. At present there is no Plan B.”
Dr Robert Howell, CEO of the Council for Socially Responsible Investment, said that today’s conference challenges
business and government to ensure that working conditions and ethical behavior are a key consideration for investors:
“Yet, how can investors be assured about the type of investment they are making? How do we, so far from the rest of the
world, know whether the practices of the offshore organisations we're investing in are ethical and sustainable? What are
the validated measures that we can use to verify actions with promise? And are our on-shore organisations performing as
we think they should?
“How are we currently doing? Not very well! The amount of money under fund management in New Zealand is a little over
NZ$60 billion. Very little of that is under socially and environmentally responsible or SRI criteria. Government
investments of the Crown Financial Institutions of roughly around $25 billion, are no better. Kiwisaver will provide
individuals with some choice, but it may only bring a small increase to the amount of SRI funds.”
Today’s conference is aimed at opening up debate so that business and government translates generally held beliefs into
ethical investment practice.
ends