International Working Group: Past Event

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.

2008 Fall Symposium

“Supply Chain Management—New Perspectives”

This pre-conference event to the 19th Annual SRI in the Rockies conference was held at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler, British Columbia in late October. Speakers and panel discussions highlighted the progress and setbacks seen within supply chains over the past several years, with a more in-depth understanding of how new sectors are addressing supply chain issues.

Podcasts and PowerPoint Presentations are available throughout the agenda found below.

Saturday October 25th

Supply Chains – Overview and Update

Podcast

Jacob Park, Green Mountain College
Presentation - Sustainability & Supply Chain Management

How have companies adapted their supply chain management strategies in recent years? Several business sectors have been working to address and prevent problems in their supply chains, but what new areas have experienced pressure for more stringent oversight? In addition to these questions, an expert opinion will discuss recent progress and setbacks observed by business associations, human rights organizations, and other stakeholders.

Supplier Code of Conduct for the Property Service Sector

Podcast          

Ashley Hamilton, SHARE

Vancouver-based SHARE, which provides investors with active ownership services, will present its recent work developing a Canadian supplier code of conduct for the commercial property sector. Based on collaboration with several stakeholder initiatives, the code establishes guidelines for responsible employment practices and labor contracting policies.

CSR Performance in Emerging Markets

Podcast

Sonia Wildash, EIRIS
Presentation - CSR Performance in Emerging Markets

A joint UNCTAD/EIRIS paper looks at the corporate responsibility practices for the largest 40 emerging markets companies. Each company was assessed against key indicators such as board practice, bribery, human rights, labor standards in the supply chain, health and safety, environment, climate change and biodiversity. The results provide a snapshot of the current state of CSR among the largest emerging market companies.

Asian Perspectives on Supply Chain Issues

Podcast 

Melissa Brown, ASrIA
           
As the region continues to strengthen in a global setting, Asian companies continue to question the merits of changing a successful business model. Melissa Brown, Executive Director of ASrIA, will give a briefing on supply chain management from an Asian standpoint given the range of ESG engagement efforts encountered in the extractive resources and manufacturing industries.

Sunday October 26th

A Conversation with Global SIFs

Podcast

Andrika Boshyk, Social Investment Organization
Melissa Brown, Association for Social & Responsible Investment in Asia
Matt Christensen, Eurosif
YK Park, Korean SIF representative

Regional SIF leaders will come together in a roundtable setting to discuss current issues affecting the state of play in their portion of the world relating to sustainability and ESG issues. This will include exploring the very language that is used to describe sustainability and the different corporate engagement styles. Attendees will also have the opportunity to hear how global initiatives have promoted greater trans-national collaboration between practitioners.

Fair Trade Through the Supply Chain

Podcast

          Daniel Stokes, Transfair USA
          Lindsey Bolger, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
          Brian Durkee, Numi Organic Tea
          Cindy Hoots, Starbucks

Panelists will discuss Fair Trade certification, a market-based program that is benefiting farmers in the developing world by giving them access to major retailers. Investors will gain a better understanding the challenges corporations face when integrating Fair Trade goods. Are alternative routes and/or proprietary certification schemes required and effective? How can lessons learned be applied to other sectors?

Greening Supply Chains

Podcast

Tod Arbogast, Dell, Inc.
Presentation - Going Green in the Connected Age
Miranda Anderson, Wal-Mart
Presentation - Wal-Mart's Commitment to the Future


Once a trend, incorporating “green strategies” into one’s core business is becoming increasingly widespread. Requiring suppliers and vendors to also meet those environmental standards adds another layer of complexity that many businesses are working to address. Panelists will discuss approaches to establishing standards and incentivizing performance among suppliers with respect to environmental practices, sharing examples of new initiatives and collaborative arrangements.

Agricultural Supply Chains – Do Best Practices Exist?

Podcast

Richard Liroff, Investor Environmental Health Network
Heather White, New Standard
Presentation - Agricultural Supply Chains and Risks in the Global Economy
Conrad MacKerron, As You Sow Foundation
Presentation - Strategies to Combat Child Labor in the Uzbek Cotton Industry

The agricultural industry faces the scrutiny of investors and consumers toemploy best practices.Increasingly global and complex supply chains provide challenges for companiesas they try tomanage costs of production,environmental impacts and relations with workers.Panelists will discuss a range of issues and potential solutions related to these challenges.