Category Archives: responsible investment

Water: a human right?

Posted on September 24, 2016 by

Is there a human right to water? Nestle’s CEO once notoriously suggested that the idea is an extreme one put about by NGOs.[1] Just this week, the same corporation has sparked controversy in a municipality of Ontario by outbidding the … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change, ecological space, environment, environmental ethics, fair trade, global justice, health, human rights, political philosophy, responsible investment, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

To Divest or Not to Divest – Or Neither?

Posted on May 18, 2015 by

The University of Edinburgh has decided to resist the call from campaigners and some of its academics to divest decisively from fossil fuels. Does it matter? Nobody – on either side of the debate – can sincerely think that the … Continue reading →

Posted in environment, responsible investment, Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Investment in Reality

Posted on March 6, 2014 by

In my final blog of three on responsible investment I offer some reflections on how to think about realities of wealth without being distracted by the symbolic representation of it that money, so unreliably at times, conveys.  While doing so, … Continue reading →

Posted in ecological space, environment, fair trade, global justice, human rights, responsible investment | Leave a comment

University investments and economic growth

Posted on February 4, 2014 by

In the second of my reflections on the University of Edinburgh’s investment policy consultation, I raise some critical questions about why a university should affirm, as ours does, a commitment to promoting economic growth.  I suggest that there could be … Continue reading →

Posted in global justice, responsible investment, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Academic Freedom and Social Responsibility

Posted on January 21, 2014 by

The University of Edinburgh is currently consulting on its Responsible Investment policy. One of the issues that arises concerns potential tensions between core academic values and principles of social responsibility.  This is the focus for the first of a projected … Continue reading →

Posted in responsible investment | 1 Comment

On divestment, double-think, and the authority of received (un-)wisdom

Posted on November 15, 2013 by

Yale University is about to hold a referendum on whether to divest its endowment from fossil fuels.  Having recently blogged on that subject from here in Edinburgh, and coincidentally having also touched on it in an address at Yale a … Continue reading →

Posted in responsible investment, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Should universities divest from fossil fuels?

Posted on November 13, 2013 by

Divestment from fossil fuels is the focus of a campaign among students and other civil society groups that is gathering momentum – and faster, it seems, even than previous campaigns that targeted apartheid, tobacco and arms manufacturers.  Universities are among … Continue reading →

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