For those who lost their homes, their businesses, their lives or the lives of loved ones, Sandy was tragic.  For me, reflecting back on my experience I am grateful.  I am grateful that my family is all safe, though not yet all with power, I am also grateful for the insight that this experience provided me.   As a research analyst that considers resource constraints and environmental risk, Sandy reaffirmed my personal perspective and insights that I bring to my work.

As we state in our Investment Philosophy, we believe that, “Human demand continues to exceed the earth's supply of renewable resources, which in turn creates stress on these systems and their ability to serve the economy through the 21st century.”

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has confirmed that an overwhelming majority of scientists now accept the fact that anthropogenic activity is the cause for climate change.  Climate scientists also agree that an increase in the frequency of extreme weather is the result of climate change.  According to a recent report by a leading global reinsurance company that tracks global trends in the insurance industry, “Nowhere in the world is the rising number of natural catastrophes more evident than in North America.”   The report also states that between 1980 and 2011 weather catastrophes created an overall loss burden of $1.06 trillion, an average of $34 billion a year, and took the lives of approximately 30,000 people.

It is imperative that companies in North America and around the world recognize the heightened volatility that climate change is bringing.  Companies must develop vulnerability assessments, set reduction goals to minimize resource use, and lobby for climate legislation that will create equal playing fields for all businesses.

The long-term cost of natural disasters will impact everyone across every industry sector from local municipalities to utility companies to food producers.  However, therein lays opportunity.  Once a company, independent of sector, recognizes its environmental risks and associated costs, investments to reduce that risk become economically viable.  At Portfolio 21 Investments, it is our belief that proactively managing environmental risks simultaneously builds financial resilience as well as resilience to deal with inevitable unforeseen events that will likely increase in an ecologically constrained future.

Beth is a Senior Research Analyst with Portfolio 21 Investments.  She has 10 years of environmental and social investing research experience. 

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.