Socially Responsible Investment Firm Receives First Royal Award for Responsible Investment

(CSRwire) BETHESDA, Md. - Calvert (www.calvert.com) , the largest family of socially responsible mutual funds in the United States, has been awarded the Royal Award for Responsible Investment 2003.

The award is a joint endeavor by the Royal Awards for Sustainability (www.royalawards.org) and the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiatives (unepfi.net) (UNEP FI) who have jointly launched an award process to identify outstanding examples of corporate activity in the field of sustainability and socially responsible investment.

The award was presented to Calvert's President & CEO Barbara J. Krumsiek in Tokyo during the 2003 UNEP FI Global Roundtable. The objective of The UNEP FI 2003 Global Roundtable, "Sustaining Value," is to explore how financial institutions and capital markets can become powerful drivers for sustainability. There were three winners in total with one second tier special recognition award.

"Calvert thanks the Royal Award Jury for this Award," said Calvert CEO Barbara Krumsiek upon accepting the award. "It is Calvert's core belief that markets will reward companies and investors for integrating financial, social and environmental performance into more holistic, sustainable investment strategies. Such strategies must include enlightened financial analysis utilizing full cost accounting methods as well as a robust analysis of a corporation's governance structure, business practices, environmental and social policies and performance," she added.

Calvert was cited for its leadership efforts in socially responsible investing and commitment to sustainable development in several areas:

• Corporate Governance, Social and Environmental Investment Criteria -- which direct investments to companies meeting basic standards of corporate social responsibility.
• Special Programs -- Including Calvert's Special Equities(which invests in start-ups) and High Social Impact (which invests in communities) investment programs, which channel capital to underserved communities and innovative, sustainable businesses.
  
• Shareholder Engagement -- Calvert's shareholder advocacy programs, including proxy voting, corporate dialogues, filing shareholder resolutions and advocating regulatory reform, encourage companies to become more sustainable.
  
• Commitment to Diversity -- Calvert has long advocated that racial and gender diversity on corporate boards and in corporate management bring a diversity of perspectives and experience that better positions companies for sustainable, long-term growth.
  
• Participation in critical public policy debates, on topics from corporate governance to global warming.

In addition to Calvert receiving the Royal Award for responsible investment, Tessa Tennant, Founding Board Member of the Calvert World Values International Equity Fund, has won the Third SAM/SPG Sustainability Leadership Award. This annual award is sponsored by SAM Sustainable Asset Management and Sustainable Performance Group (SPG) and is given for extraordinary leadership by individuals working within or in cooperation with the private sector to make sustainability happen successfully in practice. Ms. Tennant is being honored for her pioneering role in social investing work in Asia, particularly her role in establishing ASrIA, a not for profit, membership association dedicated to promoting sustainable and responsible investment within the Asian capital markets.

Calvert is the largest family of socially responsible mutual funds in the United States with approximately $9 billion in assets under management, offering twenty-eight funds that allow individual and institutional investors to pursue a broad range of investment objectives within a single fund family. Calvert created the Calvert Social Index(TM), a benchmark for measuring the performance of large, U.S.-based socially responsible companies, and also offers an extensive lineup of tax-free and taxable fixed income investments. For more information on Calvert, click on www.calvert.com.

Calvert mutual funds are underwritten and distributed by Calvert Distributors Inc., member NASD, a subsidiary of Calvert Group.

What is RSS?