US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment is a United States-based membership association located in Washington, DC that advances sustainable, responsible and impact investing across all asset classes. US SIF was formerly known as the Social Investment Forum. It changed its name on June 9, 2011.
Events
In 2010, US SIF held its first annual conference entitled "Responsible Investing: Impact & Innovation." The event was held June 8–10 in Washington, DC and featured Al Gore and Elizabeth Warren as speakers. In June 2019, US SIF held its most recent conference “New Challenges, New Opportunities” in Minneapolis, MN. The event attracted nearly 400 attendees. In 2020, the tenth annual conference will be held on June 8–10 in Arlington, VA. US SIF also organizes a number of gatherings around the country for members and non-members to network, learn about US SIF, and hear about the organization's latest research publications, public policy updates, and other developments in the SRI field.
Publications
US SIF's biennial study, The Report on US Sustainable, Responsible and Impact Investing Trends, also known as the Trends Report. According to the 2016 Trends Report, investors now consider environmental, social and governance factors across $8.72 trillion of professionally managed assets, a 33 percent increase since 2014.
The Impact of Sustainable and Responsible Investment
Investing to Curb Climate Change: A Guide for the Individual Investor
Expanding the Market for Community Investment in the United States
Options & Innovations in Community Investing
Sustainability Trends in US Alternative Investments
Opportunities for Sustainable and Responsible Investing in US Defined Contribution Plans
Resource Guide for Plan Sponsors
Creating a Sustainable World: A Guide to Responsible Stewardship of Tribal Assets
Investment Consultants and Responsible Investing: Current Practices and Outlook in the United States
Public policy
US SIF runs a public policy program that aims to support a public policy agenda. US SIF has worked on Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act through the rulemaking process at the SEC, as well as supported a number of other issues. US SIF has worked heavily around the Employee Retirement Income Security Act guidance. In October 2016, Secretary of Labor Tom Perez announced that the Department of Labor is rescinding its 2008 Bulletin on Economically Targeted Investments and reinstating the 1994 guidance on ETIs with a revised preamble that assures that “Fiduciaries need not treat commercially reasonable investments as inherently suspect or in need of special scrutiny merely because they take into consideration environmental, social or other factors.” US SIF and several of its members, along with other colleague organizations, have engaged in numerous meetings with Obama Administration officials in the White House and the Department of Labor beginning in 2009 to register concerns on the 2008 ETI bulletin and a companion 2008 bulletin, not addressed in October, on shareholder rights. US SIF organizes a Policy and Advocacy Training and Capitol Hill Day for attendees of its annual conference. Members learn of current and central public policies related to sustainable and impact investing, and have the opportunity to meet their Senators and members of the House of Representatives.
Global SIFs
US SIF is part of the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance. Other GSIA members include the European Sustainable Investment Forum - Eurosif, Responsible Investment Association Australasia - RIAA, the UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association - UKSIF, the Responsible Investment Association of Canada - RIA, and the Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development - VBDO. GSIA publishes a biannual global Sustainable Investment Review with regional data around the world. According to the 2016 report, the global sustainable investment market reached $22.89 trillion at the beginning of 2016, a 25 percent increase from 2014.
