This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

Under Dodd/Frank,  " six federal financial regulatory agencies – the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency –" must, by law, develop standards and an approach to assessing the diversity policies and practices of entities they regulate. This means looking at diversity at all banks, investment firms, and credit unions. All of them. Each of these agencies will develop a way to determine if the policies of the entities they regulate are fair, or at least, inclusive. They are asking for comments on this. I suggest you comment, and have even drafted proposed comment text for you at:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_dVF9yIbI5SU_QkiwuNFg3sOkImTdXnUk5J6-pEm0ZM/edit?usp=sharing Comments are due by Feb. 7, 2014. Submit them via email by going to: Co

Performance of the Diversity Fund , 4/19/11 to 1/12/14 Related articles Views on Diversity Diversity - not just a Business Case Difference Between Diversity and Inclusion Importance of inclusivity and diversity Residents of more ethnically diverse neighbourhoods actually reported higher levels of social cohesion Top 10 Reasons Diversity Is Good For The Boardroom

Yesterday, I testified on the Sustainable DC Omnibus Act of 2013 (Bill number: B20-573). According to the Mayor, the Bill will: "1. Require electric and gas utilities to provide aggregated whole building (energy consumption and environmental performance) data to building owners and managers electronically to facilitate their ease of reporting required benchmarking data..on a monthly basis 2. Require sellers to transfer all benchmarking data at time of building sale. This will eliminate a 10% fluctuation in buildings reporting data. 3. Create a broad public engagement venue that will allow District residents and engaged stakeholders to participate in an open process each quarter that allows for information sharing and program examination… 4. Prohibit..polystyrene containers for food services. 5. Provide support for an Environmental Literacy Program. 6. Establish a Radon Contractor database. 7. Require the Mayor create a responsive Apiculture regulatory environment. 8. Re