The Investor Resource Center: Controversial Weapons & the Arms Trade
Providing investor-relevant information and expertise on issues related to controversial weapons and the global arms trade: Forthcoming
Civil society expectations that investors actively address humanitarian concerns related to specific categories of weapons have gained broad acceptance among European institutional investors. In response to such expectations as well as in response to the explicit financing prohibitions introduced in some countries, investors are implementing investment and financing restrictions. At the same time, other issues related to armed conflict are gaining increasing attention among investors, in particular concerns related to the global arms trade.
Expertise
- Ethix has since the early 2000s played a leading role in the European debate regarding controversial weapons and the implications for investors of investment restrictions and prohibitions in this area.
- Ethix helped the Belgian Asset Managers Associations (BEAMA) as well as major individual institutional investors develop and implement a robust, criteria driven approach to controversial weapons screening.
- Ethix has recently completed a major pan-European consultation with institutional investors, experts and NGOs to develop a European-wide approach to controversial weapons screening and assessment.
- Ethix’s team includes internationally recognised experts in the areas of arms industry, armed conflict and military technology
The Investor Resource Center can be used to
- Learn about the debate regarding investment restrictions regarding controversial weapons
- Find centralized information about international restrictions and prohibitions of controversial weapons
- Find centralized information about the status of national financing restrictions and prohibitions regarding controversial weapons
- Learn about the emerging debate on responsible investments and the global arms trade
- Find information about ongoing initiatives and forthcoming events
- Find additional expert resources on controversial weapons and the global arms trade
The Investor Resource Center will be further developed to include a public- and a client-restricted area. Clients are able to access in-depth information about corporate involvment in controversial weapons and have access to the expert team of Ethix.
Welcome to contact our experts at research@ethix.se
Background
Controversial Weapons
Ethix SRI Advisors is internationally recognized research leader in the area of controversial weapons, and provides investors around the world with comprehensive research of corporate involvement in illegal and controversial weapons.
In 2010 Ethix SRI Advisors conducted a major consultation exercise with European institutional investors—in total some 40 investors were involved in the process—and other stakeholders, including leading civil society groups and policy makers. The aims were to (a) develop a common understanding of what constitutes corporate involvement in anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions, and (b) assess whether it is possible to develop a criteria-driven approach to identifying companies involved in controversial weapons.
Based on this consultation, Ethix prepared a report—Defining controversial weapons for European institutional investors—summarizing the key findings. The report presents criteria that could be used by investors to assess whether or not a company is involved in controversial weapons, and made a series of proposals on how investors could respond proactively and constructively to controversial weapons legislation in countries such as Belgium and Luxemburg.
The report was presented at an event in Brussels hosted by the Belgian Asset Managers Association (BEAMA) in May 2011. One of the central conclusions from the BEAMA event was the importance of European investors working together to develop a standardized approach across Europe to the assessment of corporate involvement in controversial weapons.
Ethix will take this research forward in three ways:
- Integrate the findings into its controversial weapons research, enabling clients to invest in line with the criteria developed.
- Engage with institutional investors and policy makers across Europe to encourage them to support the framework developed.
- Engage with companies in the arms sector to ensure that they are aware of the framework and that they understand investors’ concerns about this most important of issues.
The Global Arms Trade
In mid-2009 Ethix SRI Advisors hosted an investor workshop on the international arms trade in mid-2009 within the framework of Oxfam’s project Better Returns in a Better World: The role of investors in poverty reduction and development. The workshop both helped investors understand the human rights concerns raised by expert groups, including Oxfam, and gain insight into the current state of international and national regulations, and helped Oxfam understand the potential for investors for addressing such concerns.
Building on additional consultations among industry representatives, investors and representatives of expert NGOs as a follow-up on the findings of the Stockholm workshop, several investors have committed to submit a joint statement in support of an international Arms Trade Treaty —an action of significant symbolic value in recognition of the human rights issues raised and potential real impact through investor engagement with the industry.