Go to press releases from 2007 and earlier   

Mercer study supports positive link between responsible investment and financial performance

17 November 2009

Specific environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors can have a positive impact on portfolio returns, according to a growing body of academic research. In its new report, Shedding Light on Responsible Investment: Approaches, Returns and Impacts, Mercer summarizes and comments on sixteen academic studies— the majority of which (ten) show a positive relationship between ESG factors and companies’ financial performance, four of which show a neutral relationship and two which show a neutral to negative relationship (see Table 1).

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Responsible Investment not losing steam in financial crisis

16 July 2009

A significant number of mainstream investors have "turned a corner" on how they put responsible investment into practice according to new data from the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) Initiative.  Mercer was engaged to support the PRI reporting and assessment process for the third year in a row.

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Research identifies large scope to improve carbon footprint of investment portfolios

5 July 2009

Mercer, Trucost and WWF release report on carbon risks in UK equity funds.

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HRadio: Sustainable investment practices evolving in emerging markets

17 April 2009

Phenomenal growth in the past five years spurred depletion of natural resources in emerging markets around the world, but now sustainable investment practices - processes that integrate environmental, social and corporate factors - are evolving in these markets. Mercer's Danyelle Guyatt joins Richard Klein to discuss a new report from Mercer and the World Bank's International Finance Corporation that identifies leading investment managers pursuing sustainable investment in the emerging market region, their assets under management and their capacity for integrating ESG into investment processes.

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Duration: 12.25 sec

IIGCC second annual survey

7 April 2009

Mercer reports on the climate change activities of IIGCC’s signatories.

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IFC- Mercer Report shows sustainable investment is rising in emerging markets

31 March 2009

Fund managers in emerging markets are increasingly considering environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) factors in their investment decisions, according to new research conducted by the global consulting firm Mercer and commissioned by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group.

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6 March 2009

Mercer and the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) released a report today on how climate change and CDP data is being used by investors, and how the CDP can increase the uptake of climate change and CDP data into mainstream investment practices.

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Mercer receives award for most innovative ESG development  

14 November 2008

Mercer has won the award for the most innovative development at the annual ESG Leaders Awards. It received this accolade for its environmental, social and governance (ESG) manager research process. 

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Sustainable Investing - The art of long term performance
November 2008

Mercer contributes, along with other renowned industry leaders, to a new book that goes some way toward defining and setting a future direction for Sustainable Investing. Mercer's chapter on Clean Energy Opportunities utilizes our extensive manager research to outline opportunities in the developing areas of clean energy, clean technology and climate change."

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Mercer offers 'carbon footprint' analysis of client portfolios  

November 2008

Through Style Research Portfolio Analyzer (SRPA) Mercer now has the capability to provide clients with the ‘carbon footprint’ of their portfolio/s, and compare these with the carbon footprint of a chosen benchmark, such as the FTSE All-Share, S&P 500 or Russell 1000.

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Mercer manager research developed to consider environmental, social and governance factors

Mercer has further evolved its manager research process to evaluate the extent to which fund managers pro-actively integrate environmental, social and governance factors (ESG) into their mainstream investment process.

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Mercer and IFC to deliver first ‘sustainability rating’ for emerging market investment

For the first time fund managers in emerging markets will be rated based on their capacity to incorporate environmental, social and governance factors (ESG) into their investment decisions as part of a major new research initiative commissioned by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector branch of the World Bank Group.

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Responsible investment trends 

April 2008 

Mercer completes an annual review of developments in RI around the globe, including key players, products, services, industry trends and research.

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Mercer adds six experts to responsible investment unit

January 2008

 Americas

Jordan Berger joins the team in Toronto as Head of Responsible Investment for Canada. Jordan has spent the last 10 years working with the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) where he worked as Supervisor of Strategic Planning, Policy Development, and Benefits. He also served on the OPSEU Pension Trust Board of Trustees from 2000-2007, where he was Chair of the Board and of the Administration Committee, and previously Vice-Chair of the Board and Chair of the Investment Committee.  Jordan holds an Honors Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Carleton University in Ottawa, and a Masters of Arts in Political Science from York University in Toronto.

Kelly Gauthier joins the Responsible Investment team in Toronto as an Associate. She will work on global marketing and communications, as well as support client work across the Americas. Kelly spent four years as a management consultant and worked for CARE Enterprise Partners in social venture capital. She recently completed her Masters of Business Administration at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and holds a Bachelor of Engineering from Queens University in Kingston.

 Asia Pacific

Dr Xinting Jia joins the Responsible Investment team in Asia Pacific as an Associate, based in Melbourne. She recently completed a PhD in governance and corporate responsibility at Victoria University, where her thesis focused on a comparative analysis of corporate governance in the resources sector in China and Australia. She has worked as a management consultant and in ESG research in the private sector.

Megumi Terayama joins the Responsible Investment team as a Senior Consultant in Tokyo. Previously, Megumi worked in the corporate risk management consultancy services at KPMG Business Assurance, focused on internal control and corporate governance issues. She also worked for the Tokyo-Mitsubishi Bank, (currently, Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Bank) as treasurer, sales officer for structured products and foreign bonds and leader of derivative sales team.

 Europe, Middle East & Africa

Susanna Jacobson joins Mercer as a responsible investment analyst based in London. She has four years’ experience in sustainable research, having previously worked with Innovest and SustainAbility, firms that both have a focus on company performance in relation to environmental, social and governance issues.