Transform
Heartland provides institutional investors with tailored learning services to help transform their policies, practices, and cultures.
Heartland’s learning services are designed to assist investors in identifying and addressing interconnected human rights and material risks across their entire stewardship activities. Through supporting company engagement, conducting HRDD for portfolios, or developing human rights policies and screens, Heartland works with learning partners to better understand their institutional values, needs, and priorities and develop solutions that fulfill their evolving ethical and fiduciary responsibilities.
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“From Iraq to Investor Roundtables”
As geopolitical conflict and global fragility continue to intensify, investors are increasingly confronted with a complex landscape of human rights and material risks. For decades, Storebrand Asset Management (Storebrand AM) has employed an integrated approach to managing portfolio risks related to human rights, particularly in conflict-affected and high-risk areas (CAHRA). In this effort, Storebrand AM -
Shift in Reporting on Human Rights by Key Investment Advisors Raises Concerns
Leading U.S. advisory firms Morningstar Sustainalytics and MSCI play a crucial role in guiding investors by assessing the ethical and financial implications of their investments. A key responsibility of these firms is to flag companies involved in human rights violations. However, under pressure from lobbying groups, both firms have reportedly altered their approach and no -
Navigating Portfolio Exposure to Conflict-Affected & High-Risk Areas: Practical Guidance for Investor Engagement with Companies
In October 2023, Heartland Initiative, PeaceNexus Foundation, and the Investor Alliance for Human Rights launched the Investor Engagement on CAHRA Pilot Project (Pilot Project). This initiative supports a coalition of twenty two lead and support investors in jointly engaging renewable energy and technology companies on emerging policies, practices, and governance strategies related to operations in -
Investor Webinar | Navigating Portfolio Exposure to Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas: Practical Guidance for Investor Engagement with Companies
On Wednesday, April 30th, at 10am ET / 3pm UK / 4pm CET, Heartland Initiative, the Investor Alliance for Human Rights (IAHR), and PeaceNexus Foundation will host a webinar to launch their new investor resource: Navigating Portfolio Exposure to Conflict-Affected and High-Risk Areas: Practical Guidance for Investor Engagement Companies. As global conflicts and human rights -
Investor Joint Statement on European Commission’s ‘Omnibus Legislation’
Heartland has joined the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), the European Sustainable Investment Forum (Eurosif), and the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), alongside more than 200 investors and service providers to urge the European Commission to “preserve the integrity and ambition” of the EU’s sustainable finance framework. The move comes amid alarm that -
The Intersection of Human Rights and Financial Risks
The human and financial costs of geopolitical turbulence are rising sharply. The World Bank estimates that by 2030, two-thirds of the world’s poorest populations will live in countries affected by fragility, conflict, and violence, while the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) reports a 40% increase in conflict between 2023 and 2020. Further, the 2021 Economic Value of Peace report indicates -
Rights, Risks & Returns: Advancing Responsible and Effective Investments in Conflict-Affected Areas
On the sidelines of Building Bridges in Geneva, Heartland, in partnership with TrustWorks Global, de Pury Pictet Turrettini, and the One Earth Future Foundation, co-hosted a closed-door workshop titled “Rights, Risks, and Returns: Advancing Responsible and Effective Investments in Conflict-Affected Areas” for Swiss financial institutions. Amid rising instability, investors—including DFIs, commercial, institutional, and impact investors—are -
Sustainalytics to Stop Covering Human Rights Issues in ‘Contiguous Territorial Disputes’
Sustainalytics, an ESG research firm owned by Morningstar, will no longer assess human rights issues in the “Israeli-Palestinian conflict area” and parts of Ukraine. Morningstar informed clients last week that this decision stems from concerns about the reliability of information from these regions. The company stated that human rights information related to “contiguous territorial disputes” -
UN Forum on Business and Human Rights 2024 | Is the Arms Industry Exempt from Human Rights Due Diligence?
Heartland co-organized the session “Is the Arms Industry Exempt from Human Rights Due Diligence?” at the annual UN Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva. Given the increasing exemptions of the arms industry from mandatory human rights due diligence (HRDD), Susi Snyder (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Tulia Machado-Helland (Storebrand), James Ninrew Dong -
First Public Meeting of the Advisory Committee on Responsible Business Conduct
Today, the Advisory Committee on Responsible Business Conduct convened for its inaugural meeting. The Committee discussed initial recommendations aimed at advancing human rights and environmental considerations in business conduct, in alignment with the U.S. National Action Plan and the U.S. National Contact Point for Responsible Business Conduct. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, -
Engagement in Complex Contexts: Exchange on Lessons Learned
On December 11th, Heartland’s Sam Jones will participate in the “Engagement in Complex Contexts: Exchange on Lessons Learned” session at next week’s Building Bridges event in Geneva. Amid rising global conflicts, responsible business practices are imperative for companies and investors to navigate increasingly complex geopolitical landscapes. Growing stakeholder demands for corporate responsiveness on social issues -
Heartland Joins the Global Network Initiative
Heartland is pleased to announce our membership in the Global Network Initiative (GNI) as part of its investor constituency. GNI is the leading multistakeholder forum for accountability, shared learning, and collective advocacy on government and company policies and practices at the intersection of technology and human rights.
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