Ethics and Socially Responsible Investment

A Philosophical Approach

William Ransome, Charles Sampford

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781138255678
• eBook ISBN: 9781317141242
• Topic: Betriebswirtschaft
• Subtopic: Wirtschaftssethik

This volume breaks new ground by approaching Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) as an explicitly ethical practice in financial markets. The work explains the philosophical and practical shortcomings of 'long term shareholder value' and the origins and conceptual structure of SRI, and links its pursuit to both its deeper philosophical foundations and the broader, multi-dimensional global movement towards greater social responsibility in global markets. Interviews with fund managers in the Australian SRI sector generate recommendations for better integrating ethics into SRI practice via ethically informed engagement with invested companies, and an in-depth discussion of the central practical SRI issue of fiduciary responsibility strengthens the case in favour of SRI. The practical and ethical theoretical perspectives are then brought together to sketch out an achievable ideal for SRI worldwide, in which those who are involved in investment and business decisions become part of an 'ethical chain' of decision makers linking the ultimate owners of capital with the business executives who frame, advocate and implement business strategies. In between there are investment advisors, fund managers, business analysts and boards. The problem lies in the fact that the ultimate owners are discouraged from considering their own values, or even their own long term interests, whilst the others often look only to short term interests. The solution lies in the latter recognising themselves as links in the ethical chain.

Law, Ethics and Governance Series

Series Editor: Charles Sampford, Director, Key Centre for Ethics, Law, Justice and Governance, Griffith University, Australia

Recent history has emphasised the potentially devastating effects of governance failures in governments, government agencies, corporations and the institutions of civil society. ‘Good governance’ is seen as necessary, if not crucial, for economic success and human development. Although the disciplines of law, ethics, politics, economics and management theory can provide insights into the governance of organisations, governance issues can only be dealt with by interdisciplinary studies, combining several (and sometimes all) of those disciplines. This series aims to provide such interdisciplinary studies for students, researchers and relevant practitioners.

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Ethics and Socially Responsible Investment

A Philosophical Approach

William Ransome

Research Fellow, IEGL, The Institute for Ethics, Governance and Law
(a joint initiative of the UN University, Griffith University and QUT in association with the ANU)

Charles Sampford

Director, IEGL, The Institute for Ethics, Governance and Law
(a joint initiative of the UN University, Griffith University and QUT in association with the ANU)

First published 2010 by Ashgate Publishing

Published 2016 by Routledge

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Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

Copyright © William Ransome and Charles Sampford 2010

William Ransome and Charles Sampford have asserted their right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the authors of this work.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Notice:

Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Ransome, William, 1976–

Ethics and socially responsible investment : a philosophical approach. – (Law, ethics and governance series)

1. Investments – Moral and ethical aspects. 2. Investments – Moral and ethical aspects – Australia.

I. Title II. Series III. Sampford, C. J. G. (Charles J. G.)

332.6’042–dc22

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Ethics and socially responsible investment : a philosophical approach / by William Ransome and Charles Sampford.

p. cm. – (Law, ethics and governance)

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-7546-7581-5 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Investments – Moral and ethical aspects. I. Ransome, William, 1976– II. Sampford, C. J. G. (Charles J. G.)

HG4515.13.E84 2010

174’.4–dc22

2010048574

ISBN: 978-0-7546-7581-5 (hbk)

ISBN: 978-1-3155-8036-4 (ebk-PDF)

ISBN: 978-1-3171-4124-2 (ebk-ePUB)

DOI: 10.4324/9781315580364

Contents

• Acknowledgements
• Introduction Ethics and Socially Responsible Investment
• 1 Socially Responsible Investment: A Nascent Global Movement
• 2 Non-Financial Values: From Oxymoron to Tautology
• 3 The Meaning of Ethics and Criticism of SRI
• 4 A Philosophical Foundation for SRI
• 5 SRI in Australia
• 6 Engaging SRI: Improving Australian SRI Engagement
• 7 Fiduciary Responsibility and the Global Growth of SRI
• 8 Global SRI: First Link in an Ethical Chain
• Appendix A
• Appendix B
• References
• Index

Acknowledgements

This book emerged from a pair of successive ‘linkage projects’ funded by the Australian Research Council and relevant NGOs. The first project was a linkage with the Total Environment Centre, the second a linkage with Tiri.

The authors wish to acknowledge the contribution made by other researchers during the project. These include:

• Dr Doug Magendanz who made initial contact with David West at the Total Environment Centre and made major contributions to the drafting of the grant application
• Dr Virginia Berry, first as a research assistant and secondly as a Research Fellow with major responsibility for the day to day work on the grant and, in particular, the stakeholder interviews
• Carmel Connors, the publications manager at IEGL, who assisted at every stage of the process.

At the Total Environment Centre, we appreciate the support and input from Dave West and, later, Geoff Angell, the Director and the key stakeholders to whom t...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Frontmatter 1
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction Ethics and Socially Responsible Investment
• 1 Socially Responsible Investment: A Nascent Global Movement
• 2 Non-Financial Values: From Oxymoron to Tautology
• 3 The Meaning of Ethics and Criticism of SRI
• 4 A Philosophical Foundation for SRI
• 5 SRI in Australia
• 6 Engaging SRI: Improving Australian SRI Engagement
• 7 Fiduciary Responsibility and the Global Growth of SRI
• 8 Global SRI: First Link in an Ethical Chain
• Appendix A
• Appendix B
• References
• Index