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News Archives
16
June
2008 The project started in 2002 and an interim report was issue in 2005. It included interaction, consultation and meetings with workers and factory owners, some non-governmental organizations, two universities and Chinese officials. The Missionary Oblates and the General Board of Pensions and Health Benefits for the United Methodist Church were directly involved in this project and worked in collaboration with the other participants and members of the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility. Project Kaleidoscope Working Group released its final report on a multi-year collaborative project designed to promote sustained compliance with labor standards in supplier factories. The report and press release are posted on the websites of the Missionary Oblates and the General Board: www.omiusajpic.org and http://www.gbophb.org/. The project was piloted at 10 factories in southern China that produce goods for McDonald’s and Disney licensees. The project developed and successfully tested an alternative systems-based approach. Key outcomes include:
The report highlights the importance of getting all stakeholders involved in improving working conditions— workers, managers, agencies, brands, investors and community-based organizations. ICCR members will encourage other companies to apply the learnings from this project to their supply chains. The Project Kaleidoscope Working Group consisted of As You Sow Foundation; the Center for Reflection, Education and Action (CREA); the Connecticut State Treasurer's Office (fiduciary for the Connecticut Retirement Plans and Trust Funds); Domini Social Investments LLC, the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of the United Methodist Church; and the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, ICCR, The Walt Disney Company and McDonald’s Corporation. Read Project Kaleidoscope Report (PDF file) 30
November 2007 While the two sectors share common interests in social and ethical investments, these key groups often are not well connected or well known to each other. The goal of 3iG’s November workshops was to “foster a multi-faith and multi-sector dialogue on the implication of FCIs for sustainability-related investments,” according to Joost Douma, 3iG General Secretary. Key questions explored by the workshops include:
The workshops were facilitated by major international figures in the FCI fund and religious investment communities. 3iG invited all those interested in sustainability-related investments to join in this unique opportunity to network and consider the nature of FCI and its potential for investments in sustainable development - religious authorities, investors, professional fund managers, and NGO representatives - to stimulate this cross-sector, multi-faith dialogue. For more detailed information, a downloadable version of the workshop brochure(Updated 10 Oct. 2007 3.3 MB PDF) is available. For additional questions, please contact Joost Douma at 3iG, +31 6 4620 6604 or info@3iGnet.org. 9 August 2007 The $100m GSFF portfolio is focused on sub-Saharan Africa and currently has five established investments in Mozambique and Angola, carrying out reforestation on degraded lands and responsibly managing natural forests. ABP said: "Investing in timberland is attractive for pension funds as it provides stable and potentially high returns. The return on these forest investments in Mozambique are attained in a sustainable manner. All projects will be FSC-certified and GSFF has committed itself to the ten universal principles of the Global Compact." It added that GSFF's investments would reforest and restore about 1.1m acres of forests. Thijs Steger, a spokesman for ABP, said the organisation planned more invest in timberland in the future. Steger said: "Our ambition is to expand these kinds of investments and it will depend on the opportunities." 25-26 April
2007 This gathering represents the first of 3iG's planned annual seminars followed by roundtables to afford members both the opportunity to identify potential investments and a forum for the forging of concrete commitments to selected projects. To accommodate members' schedules, registration is for either one day or both days. The seminar(s) on 25 April will focus on Faith Consistent Investing (FCI). Topics will include: FCI educational products and services; value assessment; FCI product market combinations; and shareholders activism. Feedback from participants on their organizations' guiding principles for FCI policies will also form part of the day's programming. A morning roundtable on 26 April will provide updates on the Global Solidarity Forest Fund, current projects and policies of the United Methodists and presentations by major financial institutions introducing their micro-finance services. The second seminar that afternoon will look at opportunities in the area of health, transport and sustainable business development. The goal of this day is to prepare a number of new investment opportunities for a new 3iG roundtable, which should take place during the 3iG annual conference in November 2007 in Paris. For member registration or for information on how to become a 3iG member, please contact 3iG in Amsterdam at 31 6 4620 6604 or at info@3iGnet.org. 19 December 2006 For more information on ECLOF, please view www.eclof.org 9-10 November 2006 The two-day program featured the following workshops and speakers: 1. Faith
Consistent Investment (FCI) (moderator: Michiel Hardon)
2. New
investments for the Faiths (moderator: Father Seamus Finn)
3. Real
estate: asset or liability? (moderator: Giulio Franzinetti)
4. Faith
Consistent Investments: best practices
24 October 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 30 March 2006 Common ground Members of the World Congress of Imams and Rabbis for Peace, Rabbi Daniel Sperber of Jerusalem and Shaykh Abd al-Wahid Pallavicini from Milan, together with Washington based Father Seamus Finn, OMI of the Roman Catholic church shared the recommendation to go “beyond the common ground and above the mainstream” in the search for investments in accord with each faith’s values and beliefs. Secretary General Joost Douma said:“3iG is showing how faith groups of all creeds can work together toward responsible social investment and in the process do good based on our shared concerns for the planet and all its peoples.” The next gathering will be in Paris in November when progress will be reviewed on exciting initiatives being taken by the Executive Committee of 3iG and its Assembly of Members.
1 January 2006 His professional career has been characterized by broad international experience in project and enterprise development from conceptualization to execution in diverse fields: social, cultural, economic and scientific. He has worked in Mexico, Turkey, Germany, USA and Ireland, and has lectured worldwide on vocational training, lifelong learning, business development and public understanding of science and technology. Joost Douma conceived, founded and developed with the Italian architect Renzo Piano, the first national science center for the Netherlands, Nemo. He also helped establish ECSITE, a European collaborative of 150 science centers and museums. Before becoming Secretary General of 3iG, Joost Douma was project manager for an EU program for regional business development. He created new product market combinations with small- and medium-sized enterprises with a focus on innovation and clean tech; and initiated the development of a residential economy as part of an integrated eco-system approach in the delta region (Zeeland) of the Netherlands. 16 November 2006 Roderick
Munsters, CIO of ABP, has joins the Advisory Board
The members of 3iG share with pension funds and foundations a long-term perspective on investments. We are, therefore, committed to developing close relationships with large pension funds and greatly welcome Roderick's participation on the Advisory Board of 3iG.
Roderick Munsters is an internationally renowned financial expert, who will assist the Board of Directors of 3iG and its Secretary General in their efforts to forge new global alliances and develop new products and services. 21 December 2005 "Faith and economy can never be separated from each other. Transparency is an expression of trust, honesty, responsibility and accountability," said Christoph Stückelberger, Director Institute for Theology and Ethics, Zürich, Switzerland. "If pension funds disclose their policies, should one not expect churches to do it?" asked Ben Simmes, Oikocredit Director Membership and Investments. In a press release from Oikocredit it was concluded that changes should be implemented via existing networks like ICCR and 3iG instead of establishing new structures. Oikocredit is one of the founding members of 3iG. 30 December 2005 19 December 2005 7 October 2005 The Triple Bottom Line Investing (TBLI) conference is offering 3iG's Faith and Foundation members enrolment for half the usual price - ie 647.50 Euros for the three days instead of E1295, or E297.50 instead of E595 for one day. For the full programme, including a workshop on the subjects of faith and investing on November 3, go to the TBLI website. To book online go to http://www.tbli.org/buynow.html. And for your 3iG discount contact Robert Rubinstein on +31 2 042 86752 email: robert@tbli.org 19 April 2005 24 June 2004 This builds from a meeting in Istanbul in October 2003 hosted by His All Holiness Bartholomeos, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, when faith representatives put the finishing touches to plans for launching 3iG. The Interim Steering Group includes representatives of Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and Zoroastrian investment and development funds as well as observers from the World Bank, Citigroup, Rabobank and several major foundations from the US and Europe. It has held regular meetings over the past three years to prepare the groundwork for the launch of 3iG. Details of the event will be circulated soon. 19 June 2004 The Church of Sweden is launching a major new forestry investment project in Mozambique. The Diocese of Västerås has already committed US$1.3 million to the commercial ventures of the innovative Global Solidarity Fund (GSF) in Mozambique. Over the next 20 years (GSF) plans to reforest and responsibly manage 46,000 hectares in the Niassa province in Northern Mozambique – as well as a further 45,000 hectares, which will be set up as a conservation area. The project is a joint venture between the Diocese of Västerås (Church of Sweden) and its twin Diocese of Niassa (Church of the Province of South Africa) in Mozambique, supported by the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC), the Government of Mozambique, the Swedish International Development Agency SIDA, and the Ford Foundation. An estimated US $32 million is required
in investment capital for the first ten years. A five per cent
annual return
will be expected
after year five, expanding to 20 per cent after year
18, when mature teak and eucalyptus wood will begin
to be available.
The Ecumenical Patriarch urges us all to use all our resources as forces for good... and that includes our money: "After all we are stewards too, of our financial resources." Full story>> 17 October 2003 25 November 2002 |
Mozambique government representative Dr Elias Sotomane
holds a box made of FSC certified wood from 5 continents
and containing
a fragment
of the Basilica. The box, blessed by the Pope, has
been used around
the world to symbolise of the alliance between religions
and conservation.
