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Summary by Fran Teplitz - Highlights from ASRIA conference by Fran Teplitz 2002/11/12 Greetings, I wanted to update you on my recent trip to Tokyo, October 24 - 31, for the ASRIA (Association for Sustainable and Responsible Investing in Asia) conference at the United Nations University and the first-ever meeting of the "SIFs" from several countries expressly to discuss greater coordination. I'll continue to keep IWG updated on any developments via email and Mark Regier will also be involved in follow-up discussions. Approximately 200 people attended the conference, including investment practitioners from Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, and elsewhere. While I couldn't read the Japanese newspapers, I could see Tessa Tenannt's picture in the paper -- so there was definitely some coverage! (For those who don't know Tessa, she's the founder and current chair of ASRIA.) The Conference While the conference addressed pan-Asian issues, and speakers came from different countries, the focus was primarily on the development of SRI in Japan (although break-out sessions were diverse). If you were not aware, Japan has the most developed SRI market in Asia after Australia, with 11 funds totalling approximately US$0.7 billion. (Let me know if you'd like a copy of ASRIA's six-page paper on SRI in Japan.) Conference topics included:
Given both cultural norms and time constraints, there was not alot of Q&A. The more heated questions, however, concerned the difference in eastern and western values and the need for Asian conuntries to define SRI for themselves while also understanding how others define and act on it. For example, some Asians noted that screening out tobacco would not be their dominant concern, if a concern at all. Some expressed interest in how to respond to companies that lay-off workers while CEOs receive pay increases. In turn, "risk management" for doing business in Burma was a question asked by western participants of the Japanese, which again highlighted different views. So while dialogue was limited, it did uncover key areas for continued discussion. As announced at the conclusion of the event -- the next ASRIA conference will take place in the spring of 2004 -- expressly so as not to conflict with SRI in the Rockies and the Triple Bottom Line Investing conference. I urge you to attend! Think about your schedule and budget in advance to make your participation a real option -- I believe you will find it very useful in terms of both information sharing and networking. Meeting of the Social Investment Forum Representatives from Asia (Tessa Tennant, Louis Mitchell) , Australia (Louise O'Halloran), Europe (Emma Howard Boyd/board member), the UK (Helen Wildsmith) and US (Fran Teplitz) held a separate meeting to discuss ongoing collaboration among our fora. Everyone would like to see this happen and we had an enthusiastic discussion. In a nutshell, we'll be following-up on consideration of reciprocal memberships, collaboration on research, a potential joint conference at some point down the line, and more widely-used transparency guidelines. Clearly our colleagues in other parts of the world are making significant advances -- particularly in public policy and regulatory areas where there is no traction here. Through ongoing dialogue we'll be better able to see what role we can play, how we can use these developments to build the US movement, and what US gains can serve as a model for others. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you,
Fran Teplitz
202-872-5308 (phone)
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