Zevin Asset Management proudly publishes our fourth comprehensive review of the positive impact we have contributed to creating on behalf of, and thanks to, our clients during the reporting period (the 2022-2023 proxy seasons). We invite you to download Impact Report 2024 to learn about Zevin Asset Management’s authentic approach to impact, how we have helped advance urgent issue areas — such as climate change, racial equity, and corporate lobbying alignment — and much more.
Download Impact Report 2024.
A Note on Zevin Asset Management’s
Impact Report 2024
Sonia Kowal
President
In our 27 years of contributing to social and environmental change, we have seen our movement undermined as a naïve, money-losing undertaking, co-opted by some asset managers as a marketing gimmick, and now the target of political backlash against “wokeness.” Despite this, we keep to our convictions, supported by ample evidence suggesting authentic sustainable investing is not naïve, but rather a dynamic way of understanding the fundamentals of companies more fully through unique insights.
As we publish our fourth biennial impact report, the world is increasingly aware of the profound impact of human activity on our planet. We believe that what we practice on a small scale reverberates on a larger scale. A representation of how we view the role we play within society as investors, the images of fractals in nature displayed in this report show miniscule components that are essential to the larger whole.
The hypocritical, anti-ESG hysteria emanating from many red states is trying to end the practice of sustainable investing through regulation. Well-funded by conservative dark money networks who equate ESG with the spread of “liberal values,” red states are not backing down despite strong pushback. As a result, some asset managers have run away from their previous paltry commitments around urgent social and environmental issues.
Investors cannot afford to be complacent with the myriad of risks facing us, such as increasingly violent geopolitics, existential risks from AI, climate change related upheavals, or the upcoming U.S. presidential election. As we see it, aligning values to investing and becoming the change we wish to see are a part of our responsibility to our clients.
Effective active ownership enables us to push for progress on behalf of our clients. The sum of numerous collaborative efforts with stakeholders, our approach helps us achieve our dual objective of creating returns while promoting positive change. And as we raise awareness, listen, and advocate, we advance the visions and missions of those who boldly push for civil, environmental, and human rights.
I hope the following pages give you a sense of the impact we create on behalf of our clients and how we approach this valuable work.
“All that you touch you change.
All that you change changes you.
The only lasting truth is change.”