April 12, 2004—Calvert Group, Ltd., and KLD Research & Analytics, Inc., are the latest companies to announce they will use membership in EPA’s National Environmental Performance Track (PT) program as a criterion in developing their investment ratings, showing the bottom-line value of a company’s environmental track record. Ratings are used by investors to help make informed investment decisions; positive results can be crucial for publicly traded companies by increasing investor confidence, strengthening brand awareness and recognition, and boosting stock indexes and company competitiveness.
EPA says the decision to use Performance Track membership as a screening criterion is symbolic of a growing trend toward socially responsible investing. Socially responsible investing incorporates economic, environmental and social data to provide a more complete understanding of overall corporate performance. In 2003, Innovest Strategic Value Advisors became the first investment firm to use Performance Track membership as a criterion in its ratings.
Calvert now monitors Performance Track membership to identify potential companies to include in its socially responsible mutual funds. KLD uses Performance Track data to assess how well companies prevent pollution and eliminate wasteful byproducts.
Performance Track facilities voluntarily exceed regulatory requirements, implement environmental management systems (EMS), work closely with their communities, and make three-year goals to protect the environment.
