5th TBLI Award presented at the sixth TBLI Conference on 11 November 2004

(CSRwire) In name of Rainforest Action Network (RAN), Johan Frijns (Bank Track) accepted the annual TBLI Award, during the sixth TBLI Conference, in the Beurs van Berlage, Amsterdam. According to the jury, RAN did most to institutionalize sustainable investing by pressuring leading project financing banks to embrace sustainable criteria in their project financing for emerging markets. This ultimately led to the creation of the Equator Principles. This requires the signatories to adhere to social and environmental impact studies before providing project financing to a project in developing markets. The TBLI Conference is an event that covers the perspectives and methods of Sustainable Investing. The TBLI Award includes a Euros 5000 prize to the winning organization.

This years other finalists for the TBLI Award were: VBDO (Investor's Association for Sustainable Development, Netherlands), a foundation that works towards a sustainable society by focusing on the corporate world, in particular, the financial sector. They have been pushing SRI among institutional investors and have several large pension funds that are members. It is a network organization and also active in lobbying the government. And UKSIF (United Kingdom Social Investment Forum), which is the oldest and largest network organization dealing explicitly with promoting SRI on the institutional and retail level. They have also been active in lobbying UK government to further SRI.

Every year Brooklyn Bridge TBLI Group, the organizer of the annual TBLI conferences, awards an organization whose efforts further the cause of sustainable investment. Through the TBLI award, Brooklyn Bridge compliments and highlights organizations that have gained our respect for their exemplary and superior performance in the field of sustainable business activity. We particularly admire their honesty, transparency, perseverance, commitment, humanity, and value added (profitability) to society. This Euro 5.000 award is presented at each TBLI conference, as an alternative to a conference premium, with the intention of changing certain manners or habits into new and inspirational ones.

Members of the jury are: Tessa Tennant , chairperson of ASRIA (Asian Social Responsible Investment Association), Ewoud Goudswaard, Director of ASN Bank and Fahra-Joyce Haboucha, director of Rockefeller & Co. and chairman Gert van Maanen (former director Oicocredit). Former winners were Amnesty International, Mama Cash, ICCA and Transparency International.

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