Socially Responsible Investing

SRI  =  Socially Responsible Investing

What is it?

A way to incorporate environmental, social and corporate governance issues into financial decisions.

SRI is not a new idea in the 1800s British aristocracy had adopted some practices to make sure that their investments weren't tainted by cigarette or alcohol revenues.  However it was not until 1987 that then Prime Minister of Norway, Gro Harlem Brundtland brought SRI into focus when she defined "sustainability "as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs"

The easiest way to participate is to invest in a mutual fund with a SRI strategy.

 www.socialinvestment.ca/mutualfunds.htm has a list of such funds.

To be included in a SRI fund a company not only has to have strong financials it should also have high standards in a number of areas including

• Promote sound environment practices
• Good employment conditions
• Have outstanding health and safety standards
• Offer community and social development programs
• Demonstrate open and effective corporate governance
• Respect for the rights of indigenous people

To view companies in Canada that meet the criteria visit http://www.jantzisocialindex.com/  and have a look under JSI companies. To check out companies south of our border go to http://www.domini.com/ under portfolios.

SRI can make a difference it allows individuals to align their investments with their values. It allows foundations, religious orders and non-governmental organizations to support their mission and it can influence corporate behaviour.

Shelly Vold CFP REBC

You can contact me with any comments or questions at vold.financial.group@londonlife.com  please use connectmoms in the subject line

Mom Goes Green In the Office

Saving on cost and energy is easy to do at home.  I have a colleague whose eight year-old is on light patrol.  Every time a light is left on and she turns it off she collects one sticker (two if she catches Dad!).  The eleven year old is in charge of making sure that no one uses too much water or leaves the taps running too long.  At the end of the week who ever has the most stickers gets to chose the Saturday afternoon activity. 

While this concept works for the family some might deem it inappropriate for the office.

Now the question is how can I make easy ‘green' decisions, much like the ones at home, at work?  The epiphany came to me on a Tuesday morning while walking to the office.  It was just that; I was walking to the office!  My better half and I had made the decision to have only one car as a scheme to save money (parking, gas, insurance not to mention the sanity that comes with 25 minutes all to myself), but what a great gesture to the environment as well!

Now I am not naïve enough to think that everyone is as lucky as me to get to walk to work so let us make the environmental gesture even easier.  What if one day a week you made the decision to take public transit or to car pool?  It could be deemed Transit Tuesdays.  What if the concept was taken one step further by getting the entire office to participate?  A company could offer to reimburse the fair. Maybe at the end of the month or quarter, the person who has taken the bus or car-pooled the most would win a coffee card.  There is also another option I've noticed in the city.  The concept of shared automobiles.  Zipcars.com and Cooperativeautonetwork.com are two companies that essentially do a car-share (think timeshare but not as exotic).

So that puts a check mark in the "before you get to the office category".  What else?  In the spirit of coming across great ideas with out trying, I decided to go through the rest of my regular Tuesday observing what I already did for the environment in addition to any small and easy things I could incorporate.

Before getting to my office I put my lunch in the fridge…wait a minute!  I used Tupperware for my lunch; I am better at this than I thought.  Once at my desk I checked my messages while placing my wallet, keys and mobile into my messy drawer.  Frustrated with the state, I decided that this was the day to clean out my desk.  In the small drawer I found three unused sticky pads and a box of pens.  After that I looked around my whole office looking for how else I could de-clutter.  I ended up discovering a stapler, file folders and other miscellaneous items that I definitely did not need.  What if everyone cleaned out his or her desks and we returned everything that was extra or not used to the supply room.  This would definitely cut down on cost and waste not to mention fresh looking office. 

Feeling very proud of myself (at least three stickers worth), I decided to open the subject to my colleagues who had some other great ideas.  One suggested a recycling program.  She even offered to get everyone a blue box from a local department store for his or her desk.  Just having it under our desks promoted paper to be recycled instead of tossed in the regular garbage.  Easy. 

Save a tree and make double sided copies when you can.  Many people don't even know that the duplex function exists on many printers and photocopiers these days.  The technologies have improved immensely.  Not to mention that ‘draft' printing saves toner – I mean, who cares if you have high quality printing for your e-mails!  So easy!

Turn off the lights on a sunny day.  Lighting also creates heat; it takes triple the energy to cool a space one degree than to heat the same space one degree.

On that note why not open the windows or keep the air conditioner set a degree or two lower than usual? 

Bottom line is that the team building, tree-planting trip may not be necessary to feel good about your office contributing to the health of the environment.  Taking small steps and doing things just a little bit differently is really good enough, and when more times than not the bi product is saving money for your office it really is a win-win situation.

Going Green Conveniently

Half of modern hustle is trying to fit 25 hours worth of activity into 24. The other half is rushing around to pick up the conveniences that help us get it all done. But in the meantime what are we doing to the environment with all the energy over usage? I'm not proposing that we all disengage and live on eco-friendly communes (although doesn't it sound relaxing?), but we can put on and pull up our hemp based vegetable dyed green socks and do our part with just a little rethinking.

Yes, you can go green. The convenience you need does not need to make you an environmental sell-out.  Put yourself on an energy consumption diet and reward yourself for good choices. Like any new effort, even small efforts count: consuming less, wasting less, diluting what you do use. But how to get to cutting back on consumption without incurring a large headache?

Some of being a green mom is just stepping back from the constant accumulation marketing tells us our parenting experience needs to be. Stimulating the kids, upping their nutrition, keeping them safe, and giving them fun does not need to involve packaging, but we are accustomed to wrapped solutions.

We can trade toys, educational resources, clothes, and baby gear with friends or a formal community of parents. Sharing saves energy. We can get a break and increase fun without more gadgets. Opt to pay for services and experiences over stuff. It still contributes to the economy with less pollution.

Even simple measures like trading in your film filled camera and catching up to the digital age uses less product over time. Reducing weekend travel time is easy if you entertain at home or hang out with families in the neighborhood. You may find the stay close to home tactic freeing up time and energy. Bump up your recycling efforts a little no matter what level of reuse you're at.

Environmentally sound convenience dinner does exist. To pick up dinner and dry cleaning and the like, group the errands to save time, energy, and gas money. Even better, if time allows; walk, bike, or bus to errands. Nix fast food take out packaging and have a ready made salad and pizza from the supermarket or do farmer's market takeout and hit a roadside corn stand if you are near one. When you do pick up bags of burger, recycle those paper products.

Car pool for more than school and work. It works even better sometimes when you don't get tied down by a standing arrangement. Do what works day to day. Every time you take turns with someone nearby to run two kids to a birthday party or take pictures of the fieldtrip or dance class for them is one less person driving.

Do some of what grandma did. Your day might hold no time for using something like a clothesline, but if you do have one accessible you can stand outside and breathe a bit of cool air and hang a few thing out at night (even in the dark) and let nature work for you all the next day. If you like the idea, but don't have access to a line, use the patio for a few things. If you can't let go of your dryer, use it less: designate a towel per person for a few days and hang them to dry on the rack or tub between uses.

Even rethinking kids' art to make it functional saves a few trees. Get them to recycle paper in papermaking. Turn their school art into cards and gifts. Encourage them to build Lego creations and scrap wood forts. It is creativity that is redo able while still saved (take a picture for posterity). They can make funky art for the house out of recyclables: pick up fallen branches to paint lime green for centerpieces. Rock art for the flowerbeds is also popular with the kiddie artist and watch them beam when you frame paintings for the living room wall.  

Second hand shopping like neighborhood garage sales can double as family time and toy shopping. Examine new purchases for motive. New book or what it represents? How about sitting down with a big stack of books you pick up from their scattered places all over the house and reading them one by one to your child?

Sign up your family for selective deprivation. Adding to the playroom and the kids' wardrobes is fun, but don't accumulate for its own sake – have a theme. Add another character to the dollhouse, another playdoh cutter to the set, a few more cars to the mini garage and watch the kids continue to play with the same toy long after you thought they would. The same goes for clothing – accessories go a long way on the new and fresh factor.

Grab a new idea or two or scale back just a little everywhere and you will soon be operating effortlessly environmental.  

Travelling with Wee Ones? Renting Gear is the Way to Go

You're taking your little one on her first trip to grandma's house. It's just the girls traveling this time – aka you and the baby. That means there are 2 hands and 10 fingers to carry a baby, a car seat, a stroller, 2 suitcases, a pack n' play, carry-on luggage, and a booster seat.  And what are you going to do without that swing and bouncy chair for a week?

The thought of traveling is stressful enough. The thought of spending a week without the two hours of daily bliss you get when baby falls asleep in the swing is all the birth control you need for the next little while.

Before you book an appointment with your therapist/energy healer/yogi to help you on this particular journey, you may want to think about renting gear from a baby equipment rental agency in your area.

Renting provides some definite advantages. First and foremost, it means you can still travel with just a suitcase, a carry-on, and a stroller. Secondly, it beats borrowing from friends, as you can never be sure if old or borrowed equipment has been recalled or meets today's safety standards. Finally, rental prices are very reasonable (even cheap) and the companies deliver right to your door.

Sisters Shana and Lesley Cherry, founders of Wee Travel Baby Equipment Rentals, the first full service rental agency in Canada, have made it their mission to make it easy for parents to travel lighter and safer. In business since 2004, their company provides a full range of the latest and greatest in baby gear so that parents can pack light and have everything their baby needs for an enjoyable trip.

"Parent are often worried that rental gear will be dirty, stained and old", says Shana. "But our equipment is in immaculate condition. Everything is safety inspected and sanitized prior to delivery, and we are absolutely meticulous about our cleaning. We upgrade our stock on a regular basis to ensure our customers get the latest gear in new condition – and we only carry the highest rated brands. We hear time and time again from our customers that our stuff looks brand new". 

Car seats are one of their biggest rental items. However, for parents that want to bring a car seat on the airplane, the sisters have found a way to make this easier too. For just $5/day or $25/week, they'll rent you a gogo Kidz^TM Travelmate. The Travelmate is a car seat attachment that allows the seat (and child) to be wheeled through the airport just as you'd wheel a suitcase. It can easily maneuver down the aisle of an airplane and can remain attached to the car seat without interfering with the seat or the safety belt.

"Infants and toddlers deserve the same protection that is provided to other airline passengers," says Lesley.  "We must fasten our seatbelts during takeoff, landing and turbulence.  However, airlines do not offer a way for infants and toddlers to be restrained. Many parents want to bring a car seat on the plane, but the sheer challenge of getting a car seat, a child and luggage through the airport deters many parents from doing so".

Wee Travel currently has offices in Toronto, Vancouver, and Victoria and is expanding to other Canadian cities. Baby equipment rental companies exist in many American cities, and some Canadian ones, too.  While the items and brands available for rent vary from company to company, most carry the essentials such as car seats, strollers, cribs, highchairs, booster seats, swings, and bouncers.

Not all rental agencies have the same high standards. To be sure the company you are considering has the standards and equipment that's right for you, here are some questions you might want to ask.

• Do the products meet Canadian safety standards? Although products sold in the US and Canada are similar, only products that meet Canadian standards are legal in Canada.
• Does the company monitor for safety recalls and safety inspect their equipment between uses?
• How is the equipment cleaned? All equipment should be sanitized between uses using anti-bacterial non-toxic fragrance free products.
• How old are the items that you are interested in renting? Look for a company that updates its products frequently so you can be sure the items you rent will be similar if not better that the items your kids have at home.
• How long has the company been in business? A company that's been around for a few years should have most of the kinks ironed out and you can feel comfortable that their equipment will be carefully selected and quality tested to meet the unique needs of travelers.
• If you're renting a car seat, look for a company that offers a variety of brands. Car seats, children and cars all come in different sizes, and one brand doesn't fit all. If you have a small car, make sure it can easily accommodate the seat you are renting. This is especially important if the car seat needs to be installed rear-facing. If you have a small child, look for seats with removable padding or a body pillow.
• Some car seats are difficult to clean and install. Ask the company what they look for in selecting a car seat. The most popular or expensive car seats are not necessarily the best ones to use for rental purposes. Ease of securing a child, ease of cleaning and ease of installation should all be factors that a company considers when making its selection. A company that's been operating for a few years will have tried out a number of seats and will have found seats that satisfy their needs as well as those of their customers.
• When it comes to renting a stroller, keep in mind that the stroller your child has at home may not be the one that's best to rent for their visit. If you're going to be out and about all day, shopping, or even in and out of the car, look for a stroller that is small, light, has parent and child trays and a large storage basket.
• If you need to rent a crib, look for a company that rents folding cribs. Folding cribs come assembled and don't need to be put together. Regular cribs aren't meant to be taken apart and put back together over and over and over again, and there's a chance that doing so could lessen their safety.

About the author: Lesley Cherry is co-founder of Wee Travel Inc. Baby Equipment Rentals, weetravel.ca, serving Toronto, Vancouver and Victoria. She can be reached in Toronto at lesley@weetravel.ca. For Vancouver and Victoria inquiries contact shana@weetravel.ca