International Working Group: Events
The IWG annually hosts a Spring and a Fall Symposium for members to get together, discuss opportunities and developments in international socially responsible investing, and hear from invited speakers about up-and-coming issues of concern.
2009 Fall Symposium
Investing in a Healthy Planet:
Challenges & Opportunities
in Sustainable Food Production
This pre-conference event to the 20th Annual SRI in the Rockies conference was held on October 24th & 25th, 2009 at the JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort & Spa in Tucson, AZ. Speakers and panels focused on the role investors can play in the global food system.
Podcasts and PowerPoint Presentations are available throughout the agenda found below.
Saturday, October 24th
1:45 Registration
2:00 – 2:15 Welcome and Setting the Scene
Speaker:
- Dan Nielsen and Marc de Sousa-Shields, IWG Steering Committee Members
2:15 – 3:15 Energy, Climate Change, and Carbon Management
Panelists:
- Jacob Park, Associate Professor of Business Strategy and Sustainability, Green Mountain College
Presentation- Bruce Kahn, Director and Senior Investment Analyst, DB Climate Change Advisors
This panel will address the topics of energy, climate change and carbon management issues in the food and agricultural sector.
3:15 – 3:35 Case Study 1: Sustainable Supply Chain Management in the Food Sector: Experiences from Wal-Mart
Speaker:
- Richard Coyle, Senior Director for International Corporate Affairs, Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
PresentationThis case study will provide details on Wal-Mart Stores’ sustainable supply chain management experiences in its food retail operations.
3:35 – 4:00 Introductions and Member Update
4:00 – 5:00 Current Trends in Emerging Markets
Speakers:
- Brunno Maradei, Program Officer, Environment and Social Development Department - Sustainable Investing, International Finance Corporation (IFC)
Presentation
Sonia Kowal, Director of Socially Responsible Investing, Robert Brooke Zevin Associates, Inc.
Presentation
5:00 – 7:00 Networking Reception
Sunday, October 25th
8:00 – 8:15 Breakfast
8:15 – 8:30 Opening and Welcome
8:30 – 9:15 Sustainable Agriculture -- Corporate Involvement & Third-Party Certification
- Tensie Whelan, Executive Director, Rainforest Alliance
Presentation
9:15 – 10:15 Water Resources and Corporate Sustainability
Panelists:
- Mark Bytheway, CEO, Sustainable Investment Research Institute
Presentation- Bennett Freeman, Senior Vice President for Social Research and Policy, Calvert Investments
Presentation- Dan Nielsen, Director, Socially Responsible Investing, Christian Brothers Investment Services, Inc. (moderator)
How companies manage their water use is becoming an increasingly important issue for investors. This panel will discuss the relationship between water resources and corporate sustainability, and it will present examples of corporate engagement on water issues.
10:15 – 10:30 Break
10:30 – 11:00 The Health of Migrant Farmworkers and the Challenge of a Model of Social Responsibility in Agribusiness in Mexico
- Jill de Zapien, Associate Dean for Community Programs, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, The University of Arizona
Presentation
11:00 – 12:00 Labor Rights & Farm Workers
Panelists:
- Jonathan Jacoby, Senior Policy Advisor, Oxfam America
- Rev. Trina Zelle, Interfaith Worker Justice of Arizona
- Virginia Nesmith, Executive Director, National Farm Worker Ministry
- Simon Billenness, Strategist for Social Investment, Grassroots Lobbying, and Corporate Accountability Campaigns (moderator)
Farm workers sustain labor abuses such as poor working and living conditions, low wages, and injuries and. Given the precarious legal status of most farm workers, few have the capacity to combat labor abuses. This panel will outline the issue of labor rights and working conditions in the agricultural sector, suggest opportunities for investors to engage with companies on farm worker rights and discuss ‘lessons learned’ during their research or advocacy campaigns.
12:00 – 1:00 Lunch
1:00 – 1:20 Case Study 2: Uzbek Cotton Campaign
Speaker:
- Patricia Jurewicz, Associate Director of Corporate Social Responsibility, As You Sow
PresentationChild labor is widely used in Uzbekistan’s cotton harvesting industry, where it is state-sanctioned and takes children out of school for 2 months per year. This case study will outline the issue and describe the actions taken by a broad coalition of investors, companies and activists to try and bring an end to this practice.
1:20 – 2:00 Summary Panel
2:00 Close
Past Events:
Agendas, podcasts, and presentations from previous IWG symposiums.