Responsible Investing and Public Universities

Friday, January 19th, 2006

Moot Court Room,
University of Toronto Faculty of Law

The conference will focus on practical workshops for student and civil society groups from across the country interested in making a positive impact on investment policies and practices at Canadian universities. The day will begin with with Prof. Cythnia Williams, one of the leading writers on Corporate Social Reponsibility, as our keynote speaker. Following this talk, there will be four workshops addressing the following critical topics:

  1. the law of responsible investing in Canada and worldwide;
  2. the finances and business of responsible investing in Canada and worlwide;
  3. organizing a working group on campus, raising funds, reaching out to other student groups and the media, etc.; and
  4. researching and presenting a responsible investing proposal tailored to a specific university's investment practices and concerns. This will include discussion on both the content of a proposal - what ideas and policies may work best at any particular institution - as well as how to move that proposal forward through the university's governance structure.

Some of our speakers and panelists include:

  • Keynote speaker: Prof Cynthia Williams, Illinois University, College of Law. Prof. Williams is a leader writer in the area of the law of Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Francois Rebello, CEO, Groupe Investissement Responsible
  • Amanda Wilson and Hayley Watson, United Students Against Sweatshops
  • Jenni Myllynen, Mercer Consulting
  • Murray Gold, partner, Koskie Minsky - pensions practice group
  • David Vincent, senior partner, Ogilvy Renault - pensions practice group
  • Ran Goel and Travis Allan, Responsible Investing Working Group
  • Prof. Jay Handelman, Queen's School of Business. Director, Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility.

If you have any questions about this conference, contact conference@socialinvestment.ca.

Also, please visit us at www.socialinvestment.ca.