A British lobbyist for socially responsible investing has received accolades for his work from Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Ben Watson was named London Social Justice Campaigner 2008 in a ceremony at 10 Downing St. on July 22. Mr. Watson is a campaigns assistant at FairPensions, which lobbies institutional investors to adopt socially responsible investing practices.
By presenting the business case for responsible investment to important institutional investors, FairPensions is helping to risk-manage the pensions of people in the U.K., whilst also ensuring that transnational corporations are not worsening climate change or abusing human rights in the developing world, Mr. Watson said in a news release.
The award shows an increasing recognition of the potential of investors to be a positive force in improving companies' financial performance and corporate responsibility, according to a FairPensions news release. Drew Carter