Social

New Forests releases 2013 sustainability report

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 11 APR 2014  |  NEWS
Forestry and environmental markets fund manager New Forests has completed investing and closing in three funds in Australia and New Zealand and Asia and engaged in conservation and community engagement activities across its assets, the company reported ...

ASX reports on progress towards gender diversity targets

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 11 APR 2014  |  NEWS
Nearly all ASX-listed companies have adopted gender diversity policies or explained why not, but there is still a wide difference in performance when it comes to setting measurable objectives and disclosure of the proportion of women in organisations ...

ESG integration into quantitative investment management

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 28 MAR 2014  |  NEWS
There is a growing use of environmental and social factors as part of quantitative investment techniques in equity portfolios, with fund managers integrating ESG data to either screen out undesired stocks, or to create customised benchmarks that tilt ...

Teachers Mutual Bank, NAB, Westpac top "most ethical" list

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  WEDNESDAY, 26 MAR 2014  |  NEWS
Teachers Mutual Bank, NAB and Westpac have been named to the Ethisphere Institute's list of 2014 World's Most Ethical Companies.

Social Ventures Australia funds Melbourne LEGO club

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  WEDNESDAY, 12 MAR 2014  |  NEWS
Social Ventures Australia (SVA) has provided start-up funding to a Melbourne-based social enterprise that provides LEGO activities to children who struggle with "more traditional club activities, including children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)."

South Australia government to support Good Money store

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 7 MAR 2014  |  NEWS
The South Australian government will support a Good Shepherd Microfinance retail site in Adelaide to provide access to microfinance products, financial counselling and other services to financially excluded people.

NAB outlines goals in 2014 Reconciliation Action Plan

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 28 FEB 2014  |  NEWS
National Australia Bank has increased the number of Indigenous trainees offered jobs by 74%, has increased the overall number of Indigenous employees by 13% and reports that their Indigenous Money Mentor program has created $4.20 in social value per ...

Stewardship: the costs of developing social enterprises

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 14 FEB 2014  |  NEWS
The Australian social enterprise and impact investment sectors are growing, but the process of building a pipeline of sustainable social enterprises that are developed enough to attract debt and equity financing is still painstaking. There is still a ...

BCCM forms task force to examine public service delivery

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 7 FEB 2014  |  NEWS
The Business Council of Co-Operatives and Mutuals (BCCM) has assembled a national task force that will prepare a green paper examining the "viability and roles for co-operatives and mutuals in delivering key public services."

Interest spurs new developments in social enterprise funding

RACHEL ALEMBAKIS  |  FRIDAY, 24 JAN 2014  |  NEWS
The increased interest in using debt and equity instruments to fund social enterprises in Australia is leading financiers, investors and government bodies to consider various vehicles for financing businesses from within the community, including a category ...