Money

September 27, 2003

 

Teachers' Mutual-Aid Association Uses Pension Funds for Socially Responsible Investment

Keywords: Eco-business / Social Venture Local government Money Policy / Systems 

The Teachers' Mutual-Aid Association of Tokyo has disclosed that, starting in 2003, it is allocating part of its pension funds for Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) in companies that meet Corporate Social Responsibility ¡ÊCSR¡Ëstandards. The Association has set up its own SRI fund, which evaluates corporations in terms of their social and environmental contributions and initiatives, and manages approximately two billion yen (US$ 1.67 million) out of the Association¡Çs total pension reserve of approximately 84 billion yen (US$ 70 million).

The fund's set of screening criteria for corporate environmental activities includes environmental management, measures to reduce environmental impacts throughout the entire manufacturing processes and environment-oriented products and services. The criteria for CSR includes community service, volunteer activities, working conditions, in-house training programs and internship opportunities.

Socially responsible investing (SRI) - the act of making investment decisions to achieve social as well as a financial goals- is receiving more attention in Japan, but this is the first case of SRI involving a pension fund. The Good Bankers Co., Ltd., which advises the Association, has experience in investment consulting for Japan's first SRI product, the "Eco-fund," since 1999. A spokesperson of The Good Bankers says that the decision of this Association, which has 112,000 members, to start using SRI as a financial tool for planning and developing its pension fund will be an important step toward promoting SRI.




Posted: 2003/09/27 11:51:50 AM
Japanese version

 

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