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CSR research pilot program: fostering sustainability through collaboration
OSGOODE SOCIETY FOR CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND OSGOODE
SUSTAINABILITY
COMMITTEE
Ter ms like corporate social responsibility
(“CSR”) and responsible investment are often used
as buzz words – positive and reassuring music to
our socially responsible ears. For those businessoriented but sustainability-minded law students,
exploring this interdisciplinary area is often inaccessible. Yes, we want to change how business is
practiced; yes, we want to learn more about this
burgeoning field; yes, we want to collaborate with
like-minded and diverse individuals dedicated to
making the world a better place.
But how do we get there? How do we translate
our vague ideas and notions into practice?
Moreover, as every Osgoode student knows,
there is a wealth of student clubs, initiatives and
opportunities within our thriving law school
community. All too often, however, great organizations are reluctant to collaborate.
It’s time to change all that.
The CSR Research Pilot Program is a partnered initiative of the University of Toronto’s
Responsible Investing Committee, the Osgoode
Society of Corporate Governance, and Osgoode
Sustainability Committee, a change-making
subset of Osgoode’s Environmental Law Society.
The Program aims to bring together a passionate
and interdisciplinary group of students.
The CSR Research Pilot Program was created
to study how organizations, from corporations
to university pension plans, can engage investors to consider environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) factors in addition to the usual
economic criteria. The purpose of the project is
to study how CSR is being managed within existing investments as stakeholders or collaboration
between shareholders to help mold new ESG
standards.
These are important questions because investing in companies that practice CSR can improve
the world we live in. They also tend to be more
profitable. For instance, Corporate Knights (an
organization known for its quarterly magazine
on clean capitalism) uses a sustainable equity
approach to investing, which consistently outperforms the S&P 500 index (see chart). Although
the causes are not entirely clear, socially and
environmentally responsible companies tend
to be more profitable as they avoid reputational
risks (think how the BP oil spill caused the stock
to plummet), save money by using resources efficiently and are generally better-managed companies.
The Obiter Dicta
The CSR Research Pilot Program looks at
various areas of “soft law” or voluntary regulations, such as the United Nations’ Principles of
Responsible Investment or the Carbon Disclosure Project. Students will be interviewing leading institutions from around the world to better
understand how these voluntary regulations are
put in place and the success rates thus far.
While the subject matter of the research is
fascinating, the collaborative structure makes
the initiative a model in inter-club and interuniversity collaboration. The idea to investigate
this partnership developed into the current
pilot project, allowing students to assist in primary research about the use of the Principles for
Responsible Investing at top institutions.
The CSR Research Pilot Program is currently
underway with a team of 20 determin ed Osgoode
students. The data collection phase will take
place over February and March 2014. Then the
Research will be made public.
Longer term and separate from the direct
research with UofT, the OSCG and the Sustainability Committee are interested in exploring the
Cha r t: c o u r tes y o f c o r p o r ate k ni g hts , 2 0 1 4 .
how to apply responsible investing to university
pension funds was first proposed here at Osgoode
by the Osgoode Sustainability Committee. However, it was difficult to operationalize this desire
to see York University use its investment dollars
for good without a more robust evaluation of the
types of voluntary regulations available.
This is where the Osgoode Society for Corporate Governance (OSCG) came in. A club
dedicated to education and outreach on fostering good governance practices (through partnerships with the Institute of Corporate Directors
and the International Finance Corporation), the
OSCG established connections with the University of Toronto’s Responsible Investing Committee to develop an additional research focus. With
the University of Toronto’s Responsible Investing
Committee having already laid the groundwork
for a RI-related committee in Canada, this collaboration is about to get underway. Under the
guidance of Research Director, Thomas Felix,
feasibility of using responsible investing practices here at York. In keeping with the trend of
other Canadian universities, such as Carleton’s
“Responsible Investing Initiative” and the University of Ottawa’s signing of the Principles for
Responsible Investing, York University’s Pension Plan could also consider ESG factors when
investing. At this advocacy stage, the Sustainability Committee will take an even more prominent
role, drawing on its past experience and success
in implementing green initiatives (such as spearheading the “Lug-A-Mug” campaign and bringing back fair trade coffee to the bistro to name
just a few!).
We invite students to keep apprised of the
CSR Research Pilot Program and related responsible investing activities as they evolve over the
coming year. We hope we can count on your support to make sure your tuition dollars are going
to make the world a better place.