Although debate still rages about the merits of globalization, the fact remains that it is inevitable. But instead of people expending their energies on fighting the global economy, we may be much better off trying to shape it.
"Global Profit AND Global Justice" shows how you can use your money creatively to change the world for the better. It aims to empower people to leverage capital for progressive social and environmental change. Arguing that the marketplace is a viable forum for individuals to effect such change, it shows that consumers and investors already have many tools at their disposal to help ensure that the benefits of globalization are distributed equitably.
These tools include:
Social Investing and Shareholder Advocacy: investors are not only raising their voices against irresponsible corporate behavior, they are engaging corporations directly to force positive change;
Consumer Power: impacting corporate behavior through consumer choices;
Investing on the Sustainability Frontier: new directions in portfolio design;
Community-based Investing: the "Local" in "Think Globally . . .";
Becoming a Change Agent in your own company;
Influencing your Pension Plan: mobilizing retirement savings to create the world we want to live in when we retire;
Venture Philanthropy: initiatives that go far beyond basic charitable giving.
Packed with stories, ideas, models, examples and practices from around the world, "Global Profit AND Global Justice" also includes personal action items and buying tips. It will appeal as much to the individual Cultural Creative consumer as to investment advisors seeking strategies for their socially consciousinvestors.
Deb Abbey is CEO and president of Real Assets Investment Management, the first investment manage-ment firm in Canada to focus exclusively on social investing. An acknowledged leader in shareholder activism, she speaks and writes widely on the topic and lives in Vancouver,