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Investing Responsibly

Socially Responsible Investments

Tides’ financial assets, including those of our donor-advised charitable giving funds and endowments, are managed under socially responsible investment (SRI) policies.

Since our start-up in December 2000, we have only engaged investment managers who practice SRI. They invest in organizations whose policies and practices are consistent with our mission to build a more just and sustainable world.

We strive to ensure that our investments do not contravene the work of our grant recipients, charity and non-profit partners, and donors.

Goals and Screens

Goals – invest in companies that demonstrate these characteristics:	Screens – avoid investing in companies that demonstrate these characteristics:
Their products and services contribute to basic human needs, including consumer health and safety.	Their products and services are unsafe in normal use (such as tobacco and gambling),
They exhibit superior performance in the protection of basic human rights, and the hiring, training and promotion of minorities and women.	They are weapons systems contractors or derive more than 10% of their gross revenues from defence contracting or subcontracting,
They exhibit innovation with respect to products, which protect or enhance the environment, and/or which evidence superior performance relative to waste utilization and pollution control.	They do not practice responsible corporate governance.
When operating internationally, they meet the local standards of host countries for all of the above social and environmental dimensions.	They broadly violate fair labour practices.
	They have a record of failure to abide by federal, provincial, and local environmental regulation and/or who are participating in nuclear power plant technology. (This screen could be re-evaluated if nuclear technology evolves.)
	They are responsible for systematic human rights violations or contribute to repressive governmental practices. These screens will also be applied to government debt where appropriate.