Ways of doing SRI
There is a range of ways in which your charity can invest
responsibly. The main approaches are known as:
Positive screening
Negative screening
Engagement and voting
This section provides an explanation of what these terms mean and how they can be used. It will help you understand which strategy or strategies best fit with your overall financial and Responsible Investment objectives.
The roots of Responsible Investment lie in negative screening, and this is still the most popular and well-known form of SRI. It can be a good first step for charities wishing to safeguard against damage to their reputation.
It is also possible to use positive screening, engagement and the voting of shares to encourage and influence positive change. It is also possible to collaborate with other investors to pursue social, environmental or ethical objectives.
These strategies can be used individually or in combination - depending upon your objectives and the sophistication of your Responsible Investment policy.
Integration is another Responsible Investment strategy. It refers to the inclusion of potentially material social, environmental, ethical or corporate governance risks and opportunities into normal investment processes.
Mission-related investment and programme –related Investment are not the same as socially responsible investment. For further details of these terms see the hot topics section.
