Social, environmental and ethical issues
A wide range of social, environmental and ethical issues can be incorporated into a Responsible Investment policy.
Responsible Investment involves aligning your investments with your charity’s mission and activities.
The issues to consider will depend upon the values and work of your charity. This decision may also be influenced by your areas of expertise and the views of donors, supporters or staff. The legal issues page explains why it is important to carefully consider which issues are most relevant and appropriate for your charity.
These issues can form the basis of positive screening, negative screening or engagement approaches – or a combination of these.
Faith-based charities are likely to have particular issues of concern, the majority of which are covered in the list below. More information about faith-based investing can be found in what’s right for your charity.
The most common issues considered by pooled investment funds include tobacco, environment, pornography, military involvement, gambling, nuclear power and human rights.
If your charity is approaching Responsible Investment from the perspective of social, environmental, ethical or governance risk management, you may wish to pay particular attention to issues such as environment, human rights or corporate behaviour. You may be especially concerned about companies which have a high exposure to such areas and seek to understand how these companies will manage and mitigate the resulting risks in order to better safeguard your longer term investments.
The following list provides a menu of issues that you may wish to consider. It is not an exhaustive list or a suggestion that you include all of the following in your investment decisions.
Animals
Animal testing
Fur
Intensive farming and meat saleCorporate ethics
Bribery and corruption
Codes of ethics
SEE Risk Management
Women on the boardDeveloping Countries
Commodity extraction
Debt
Breast milk substitutes
Access to medicines
Tobacco marketingEnvironment
Biodiversity
Chemicals of concern
Climate change and greenhouse gases
Environmental management, policy, reporting and performance
Mining and quarrying
Nuclear power
Pollution
Sustainable timber
Water pollutionPeople
Community Involvement
Equal Opportunities
Health and Safety
Relationships with customers and suppliers
Supply chains
Trade unions
Training and developmentPositive products and services
Other ethical issues
Alcohol
Contraception and abortion
Gambling
Pornography and adult entertainment services
Tobacco
