Thirst for change.

The article focuses on the Responsible Investment Initiative introduced by the United Nations Environment Programme. In the southwest Indian state of Kerala, PepsiCo Inc. and Coca-Cola Co. were ordered by local authorities to shut down bottling plants earlier this year, due to drought-induced water shortages. Pepsi responded by working with locals to build a well for municipal use and reopened its plant after only a month. Coca-Cola's plant is still idle five months on, costing the company millions. It's at times like these when investors need to ask: Is the company I'm about to invest in equipped to deal with social, environmental and governance issues that can impact the bottom line? UNEP will work with major institutional investors and pension funds to develop a set of globally recognized principles for socially responsible investing by September 2005. The goal is to get large investors thinking about how to integrate environmental, social and governance concerns into financial decision-making--a goal that is supported by the results of a 14-month study conducted by Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, UBS and others. Traditionally, investors have largely ignored these kinds of issues, arguing their main concern is fulfilling fiduciary duty.