Creativity, convergence or confusion: what do socially responsible investment organisations contribute to the governance debate in Canada?

Abstract

The proliferation of governance measurements and ranking schemes has led to an intense debate about corporate governance standards and reform. In Canada, socially responsible investment (SRI) organisations have joined the debate by including governance in their screening processes and shareholder advocacy activities. In this paper, we describe and compare the governance positions taken by SRI organisations and the more mainstream financial community. We identify areas of convergence between the two groups, and suggest why collaboration between them would be productive for governance reform.