In a letter to Tim Smith, President of the U.S.-based Social Investment Forum, Hawken noted that Eurosif deserves congratulations for its initiative as being a step in the right direction for socially responsible investment. He also cautioned, “It doesn't seem appropriate for the North American industry to say we don't need such guidelines when clearly the industry has none.” Hawken was referring to Smith’s comments in an article last week at SocialFunds.com (www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/article1572.html), in which the SIF President said, "I don't believe there's a huge vacuum on this side of the ocean just because such standards don't exist here…”.

The Natural Capital Institute’s October 2004 report, “Socially Responsible Investing: How the SRI Industry Has Failed to Respond to People Who Want to Invest With Conscience and What Can Be Done to Change It,” provides recommendations to help the SRI industry improve its transparency and social responsibility. The report presses for more complete transparency than presented in Eurosif’s guidelines, encouraging mutual funds to fully share with investors the findings of their social and environmental research on individual companies. The full report can be downloaded at www.responsibleinvesting.org.

About Paul Hawken
Paul Hawken is an environmentalist, entrepreneur, journalist, and best-selling author of The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability and co-author of Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution. At the age of 20, he became fascinated with the relationship between human and living systems. His concerns extended from health to farming, from commerce to social justice. He started several ecological businesses, writes and teaches about the impact of commerce upon the environment, and consults with governments and corporations on economic development, industrial ecology, and environmental policy. To read more, visit www.paulhawken.com.

About the Natural Capital Institute
The Natural Capital Institute (NCI) researches principles and practices leading to social justice and environmental restoration. NCI initiates projects relating to the relationship between human and living systems, with particular emphasis on ecological economics, green business, innovative design, and social justice. NCI believes the current downward spiral of environmental and social conditions can be arrested and that a just and restorative economy is possible. To read more, visit www.naturalcapital.org.

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