What should an institutional definition of “social responsibility” be?
As noted earlier, social investing is a set of techniques that enable institutions to use their investments to advance their mission in non-financial arenas. Rather than defining “social responsibility,” the investment committee should focus on what social investment techniques might further particular aspects of the institution’s mission. “Mission,” not “social responsibility,” is the touchstone here. Over time, an appropriate definition of “social responsibility” may well emerge through the interplay of the institution’s work and its mission-based investment policy. No institution should set out to define it in the abstract. Top of Page What should be on the investment committee agenda? The investment committee should have before it a resolution recommending that the board adopt a specific mission-based investment policy. The resolution should delegate to the investment committee the task of preparing implementation guidelines which could then be adopted by the board. The proposal sh
