Ethical Funds in Canada key activities in 2008 has been to encourage the banking sector to adopt and disclose procedures for evaluating climate change-related credit risk in their commercial lending policies. In its 2008 Sustainable Investing Program Annual Report, the organization stated, “Canada’s major banks may not be large direct emitters of greenhouse gases, but because they provide capital to heavy industry they can play a vital role in combating climate change by encouraging their clients to tackle the issue.”

In 2008, Ethical Funds submitted resolutions to the Bank of Nova Scotia and the Bank of Montreal requesting green disclosure, and both banks agreed to comply. The company also advised Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of Montreal, CIBC, Toronto-Dominion Bank and Royal Bank of Canada on their climate change policies, as well as lending and other issues relating to their environmental policy.

Ethical Funds also encouraged more Canadian companies to participate in the Carbon Disclosure Project in 2008. The organization also helped to raise awareness of the risks related to Alberta’s oil sands, and encouraged companies to eliminate sweatshop-related supply chain risks.

The report encourages investors to foster change across entire sectors and within regulatory agencies, particularly as capital market integrity has become a key concern.

The Ethical Funds report also incorporated a compliance index based on the UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). The UN-backed PRI is a global coalition of investment institutions worldwide. The PRI aims to help investors integrate consideration of environment, social and governance issues into investment decision-making.

Ethical Funds plans to focus on investor risk in Canada’s oil sands, corporate impacts on human rights and communities, and restoring integrity to capital markets in 2009.