A leading ethical bank is trying to distinguish itself from the
socially responsible investment herd by eschewing the terms ‘SRI’ and
‘ethical investment’.
Triodos Bank says both have been ‘debased by over-use and extension’
and has declared that it will now characterize its own policy as
‘conscious investment’.
In a paper outlining its thoughts on the future of investment
ethics, the Netherlands-based bank says SRI and ethical investment have
come to refer to anything ‘from a sense of Victorian moral rectitude
through to any hint of a progressive approach’ and are therefore
‘outdated and redundant’. Instead it will use the term conscious
investment ‘to describe consumers being aware of how their money is
used’. However, the bank’s investment approach will remain the same.
The bank, which has offices in Belgium, Spain and the UK, hopes the new
term will distinguish it from the growing number of financial
institutions that it believes take an ‘ethics-light’ approach to
investment.
‘While we support banks concerning themselves with sustainability, we
are afraid they are taking an ethical stance merely as a symbolic
gesture, keen to make the most of the demand for all things ethical,’
it says. ‘We are concerned that current activity is still largely a
light green varnish.’
Stephen Hine, head of international relations at Ethical Investment
Research Services, said the debate on what terms to use in the SRI
field ‘will go on for some time’. He added: ‘the key matter for
consumers is that they can be clear what each organization means when
it employs a particular term.’
