Back in the late 70s and early 80s, social and environmental investing was just getting started.  By 1982, there were about five social and environmental mutual funds to choose from, compared to the hundreds today.  Our firm was one of the nation’s first investment managers specializing in the field.

Over the past three decades, the catalyst of growth for the social and environmental investing industry has been centered on specific themes based on current events.  In the 1980s, the South Africa divestment movement showed investors worldwide that it is possible to “vote with your dollars” and affect corporate behavior.  In 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil spill was a wake-up call to corporations and investors about environmental liability.  Since the 1990s, the environment has been the top issue for investors.  Of course, the main catalyst for growth has been competitive financial performance.

At first, environmental issues were applied to the investment process primarily as avoidance screens. Investors were looking to avoid companies with poor environmental performance.  In 1998, Portfolio 21 Investments developed one of the first approaches to positive environmental screening.  Today we have become best known for our expertise in environmental investing.

I’m very fortunate to have found a vocation with passion starting in 1982 (at an early age).  It is a gift to be surrounded by colleagues and clients who care deeply about the environment and demonstrate their concern through their actions.  It is a privilege to be celebrating my thirtieth year at Portfolio 21 Investments.

Carsten is Portfolio 21 Investments' founder and Chairman. He has 30 years of experience in socially and environmentally responsible investing.

My first SRI conference was in San Francisco in 1984. Over the past 28 years I have lost count of the SRI conferences that I’ve attended. Back in the 80s, attendance was usually about one hundred or fewer. Now these events attract several hundred from many countries. Increased interest in applying social, environmental, and governance criteria to the investment process is, in part, due to consumers and investors becoming more aware of both the risks and business opportunities of ecological limits, including climate change.

This year’s high-profile speakers include environmental leader Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., journalist David Brancaccio, author Dr. Deepak Chopra, and Nobel Laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus. I first met Muhammad Yunus in the early 80s when he was just starting Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. He was visiting Oregon and I gave him a tour of an organic farm outside of Eugene. At the time I was a director of a community loan fund to assist organic farmers. Dr. Yunus went on to become known as the father of microcredit and he has founded more than 50 companies in Bangladesh.  Just this year, Fortune Magazine named him as "one of 12 greatest entrepreneurs of our time."  Dr. Yunus will be delivering the opening keynote session and is one of 16 plenary speakers. There will be 30 sessions offered including “Think Local Food: Real Prosperity Starts Here” and “America's Low Carbon Energy Breakthrough Opportunity.”

The SRI Conference is the largest annual gathering of responsible investors and investment professionals in North America.  If you are interested in learning more, please visit http://www.SRIconference.com. Portfolio 21 Investments is a sponsor every year and I’ll be there hosting our booth.

Carsten is Portfolio 21 Investments' founder and Chairman. He has more than 25 years of experience in socially and environmentally responsible investing.

Bioneers is a non-profit educational organization with a focus on restoration of people and planet. The theme of the conferences is based in part on the UN Millennium Ecosystem Assessment that concluded: “Human activity is putting such strain on the natural functions of Earth that the ability of the planet’s ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted.” This year, some of my favorite speakers include Dr. Gretchen Daily (Stanford University), Paul Hawken, and Bill McKibben (350.org). The long list of presenters for the three-day event is always impressive. Kenny Ausubel and Nina Simons founded Bioneers in 1990 with the understanding that, “Taking care of nature means taking care of people - and taking care of people means taking care of nature.”

If you decide to attend, hotel rooms near the venue are not easy to find and public transportation is challenging. That said, the Marin Center is the perfect location with its lake and walking trails. If you can’t make it, live broadcasts of many presentations are online and a DVD set is available each year. You can find me at the Portfolio 21 booth. Hope to see you there.

Carsten is Portfolio 21 Investments' founder and Chief Executive Officer. He has more than 25 years of experience in socially and environmentally responsible investing.

After nearly 17 years, Leslie Christian has transitioned to explore some new projects. She will be continuing her work as Chair of Upstream 21 Corporation and following her deep commitment to investing in regional economies. She will also be continuing her work on rethinking modern portfolio theory and asset allocation.

When I reflect back on Leslie’s contribution, my first thoughts are of enormous gratitude and the greatest respect for what she brought to Portfolio 21 Investments.  In 1998, Leslie and I came up with the concept to launch an investment strategy using The Natural Step principles as a foundation for our investment selection process.  At the time, sustainability was a relatively new and undefined term. While many SRI investment strategies had environmental screens, these screens were primarily used to screen out companies with poor environmental performance. We developed a comprehensive positive screening approach to selecting environmental leaders, which brings us to where we are today.

All of us at Portfolio 21 Investments are thankful for Leslie’s contribution to our success over the years and we wish her the very best in her future work.

The other big news is that John Streur has joined the Board of Directors of Portfolio 21 Investments as non-executive Chairman. John brings 25 years of investment industry and mutual fund management experience to the role, most recently as President and Trustee of The Managers Funds and CEO of Managers Investment Group, LLC. We first met John about four years ago while he was doing research on environmental investing. We were honored that he had identified us as one of the leaders in the field. When we met earlier this year it became clear that John's unique combination of depth of experience with global investment processes, along with his commitment to environmental investment principles, would make him a strong addition to our Board. We are very fortunate to welcome John to Portfolio 21 Investments.

Carsten is Portfolio 21 Investments' founder and Chief Executive Officer. He has more than 25 years of experience in socially and environmentally responsible investing.