Effective Two-Way Engagement: A New Gold Standard for SRI Investing
By Marta Maretich @maximpactdotcom At its most effective, communication is a two-way process. Developments in engagement practices between companies and social, responsible and impact (SRI) investors are showing us that this idea is now more applicable than ever. New expectations and standards are growing up around investor/investee engagement in the SRI investing sector. These are driven by a num...[Read More]
Woman Honored as Pesticide Workers’ Champion
A woman sprays pesticides over a field. (Photo by International Food Policy Research Institute) Creative commons license via Flickr By Sunny Lewis GENEVA, Switzerland, May 4, 2017 (Maximpact.com News) – “The millions of rural women on the ground that are in the frontlines of the struggle against highly hazardous pesticides in their daily lives as farmers, workers, and consumers,” are the inspirati...[Read More]
The Evolving Meaning of Sustainability
By Marta Maretich @maximpactdotcom Sustainability is a key concept for our times. For impact investors who want to put their capital behind better ways of doing business, it’s an important indicator of investability. But what exactly do we mean when we say “sustainability” or “sustainable”? The dictionary sheds a little light. Sustainability: 1. Conserving an ecological balance by avoiding deplet...[Read More]
Ushering in a new era of corporate accountability
PRESS RELEASE: DAVOS, SWITZERLAND, January 22, 2016 – Ushering in a new era of corporate accountability, a group of leading corporations and health organizations is calling for the voluntary public reporting of workforce health metrics. The initiative of the Vitality Institute is led by a working group of representatives from more than a dozen organizations, including IBM, Johnson & Johnson, M...[Read More]
Cornelius Pietzner Interview
Maximpact special advisor Cornelius Pietzner has been engaged in the fields of philanthropy, social finance and investment in the US and Europe for the last 25 years. As Maximpact’s work gathers momentum, we asked him some questions about impact investing, Maximpact and the future he sees for the sector. You have a long and varied career of involvement with very diverse charitable, philanthropic a...[Read More]
World Shaken By ‘Terrifying’ Climate Science Report
No fossil fuels needed, the Cerro Dominador solar power plant is directly connected to Chile’s National Electric System. The plant is located in the Atacama Desert, the driest desert in the world with the highest levels of direct solar radiation on the planet. The sun’s energy is beamed by 10,600 mirrors to the top of the 250-meter-high tower, where liquid salts are heated to generate steam, which...[Read More]
Maximpact Offers Language Help for Refugees
Syrian boys in Raqqa, June 2013 (Photo by Beshr Abdulhadi) Creative Commons license via Flickr By Sunny Lewis BRUSSELS, Belgium, April 26, 2018 (Maximpact.com News – “I want to help” is “Ana bady asa’ed” in Arabic, the language of much of Syria. This simple translation illustrates the steep learning curve Syrian refugees face trying to re-start their lives in an English-speaking country, such as ...[Read More]
EU Project Teams Treat Waste Heat and Cold as Treasures
Metal casting factories like this one in the United Kingdom give off enough excess heat to warm dozens of dwellings. 2020 (Photo courtesy EMB3Rs) Posted for media use BRUSSELS, Belgium, April 14, 2021 (Maximpact.com News) – Five European project teams revolutionizing waste heat and cold recovery and industrial energy cooperation have joined forces to create an Alliance for Energy Cooperation in Eu...[Read More]
Civil Society Pressures G20 to Decarbonize
The Solarturm Jülich about 60 km west of Cologne, Germany is a test facility for commercial solar tower power plants. (Photo courtesy German Aerospace Center, DLR) Posted for media use. By Sunny Lewis HAMBURG, Germany, July 7, 2017 (Maximpact.com News) – The German Presidency of the G20 meeting in Hamburg this week has put energy and climate high on the agenda as civil society groups call for 100 ...[Read More]
Making Deals in Impact Investing
By Pallavi Shah, International sustainable/impact investing consultant; photographer Global Investing, May 20, 2016 (Maximpact.com News) – Impact investing is gaining traction among both large and small investors and entrepreneurs. Angels, private equity firms, and banks are expanding beyond their traditional markets and exploring deals that could generate financial returns, while also having a p...[Read More]
Never Turn Your Back on the Ocean
Road sign warns of flooding in Wachapreague, Virginia on Tuesday, July 10, 2018. (Photo by Aileen Devlin / Virginia Sea Grant) Creative Commons license via Flickr By Sunny Lewis ISPRA, Italy, August 14, 2018 (Maximpact.com News) – Famous Hawaiian swimmer and surfer Duke Kahanamoku always warned, “Never turn your back on the ocean.” He wanted people to watch out for the physical dangers of being h...[Read More]
Sustainability Takes Flight
Airplanes on the tarmac at Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport, June 30, 2016 (Photo by Caribb) Creative Commons license via Flickr By Sunny Lewis MONTREAL, Quebec, Canada, August 16, 2016 (Maximpact.com) – Every day around the world, more than 100,000 civil aviation flights take off and land – safely for the most part. Now, the global agency responsible for overseeing civil aviation is working to improve ...[Read More]