poppedupinlate 2009 I leaptatit.Thecompanywas
stillfindingitsfeetatthetime.It wasfoundedin 1986
ata horticulturalconferenceasaninvestmentclub
andhasbeenthroughseveraliterationssincethen.
TodayI’mproudtosayAustralianEthicalisa thoroughly
professionalorganisationanda shiningexamplethat
yes,youcanhaveyourcakeandeatit—ethicalinvesting
doesnotmeansacrificingperformance.
Wehavefivecorebeliefsthatshapeourbusiness,but
thereisoneI alwayscomebackto:individualscanmake
a differencethroughtheirinvestingandpurchasing
decisions.Ourmanagedfundclientsandsuperannuation
membersareputtingtheirmoneywheretheirmouthsare
byaligningtheirethicswiththeirinvestments.It’sjustone
waypeoplecanmakea changetotheworldwelivein,
butit’s a really important one.
Another core belief is that a focus solely on profits places
our planet at great risk. The argument that corporations
are only about maximising shareholder profit is not
only immoral, it’s legally wrong. I believe companies
should consider the interests of all stakeholders,
whether they’re customers, shareholders or people
affected by business operations. That includes the
people whose health is damaged by logging, the
animals that are displaced or killed, and the activists
targeted in the process. To this day activists are still
fighting to preserve native Tasmanian forests from
logging. The victory of The Gunns 20 was an important
part of that fight but the battle is far from over. For me
personally, Gunns was a formative example of people
challenging the status quo and winning. I learned a
lot from the experience and it has shaped the way I
think about investment and social justice ever since.PhilVernonisthemanagingdirector and CEO
ofAustralian Ethical Investment.INSIGHTS FROM OUR PARTNERS 113