Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16work that could work for any crop, anywhere. HAIG invests in a wide diversity of crops, from almonds in California to corn in Illinois to cotton in Georgia. Coming up with a single set of principles and practices that cover such a diverse crop portfolio is no small feat. But Andrew Whitman, Director of Manomet’s Sustainable Economies Program, knew it could be done. Whitman worked for over a decade on sustainable forestry before branching out to agriculture with the Cabot Cooperative in New England. Whitman said,“We’ve seen it done for forestry—a single sus- tainability system that covers very different forest types around the world.” “People assume that their farms are too different and unique for a single set of sustainability practices, but the basics are the same no matter what,” Whitman explained.“The health of the soil has to be sustained in every case. The water has to be kept clean in every case. Greenhouse gas emissions need to be minimized in every case.” Whitman’s framework makes sure that all the major aspects of sustainability are addressed by each farm. The farmer might have his or her own creative ways to address sustainability, but the framework remains the same. MILTON FRIEDMAN WOULD BE PROUD Back to Milton Friedman—why is HNRG, an investment manager for institutional investors, spending money to build a sustainability framework? I asked that question of former CEO and now Board Chairman for HNRG, Dan Christensen. Christensen didn’t hesitate—“because we’re going to improve returns and reduce risk for our investors.” Friedman would be good with that answer. Christensen said,“By investing in sustainable practices, the value of farm holdings goes up, expenses go down, and that translates into improved returns for our investors. But we also get increased production with less impact on the environment, which reduces the risks of the investment.” Christensen has his roots in forests and forestry, like Manomet. He worked in Maine’s Great North Woods early in his career, covering much of the same remote terrain of Manomet’s bird studies in the early 1990s. From his forestry background, Christensen knows that taking care of the land has positive financial implications for long-term investments. As a forester, he is driven by a stewardship ethic of taking care of the land that is perfect for the times. He’s board chairman of the world’s largest natural resource investment group that believes that good stewardship is good for the environment and good for investors. This summer and fall, Whitman will be field-testing his sustainability framework at a sample of HAIG’s farms around the country. Refinements will be made in the fall. Then, both HAIG and Manomet hope the new sustainability framework will be taken up by other institutional investors. Whether our new agriculture framework becomes a stan- dard for the broader sector or not, we’re showing that you can make more money by making the world a better, more sustain- able place. Many of us are driven by “the common good,” but until we can make it profitable to make the world a better place, we’re going to fall short of the transformational change that the world needs. That’s why when Manomet walks through the door of a new partner company we say,“We’re a nonprofit and we’re here to save you money. Would you like to know how?” The fact that they will be creating a more sustainable world by working with Manomet comes later in the conversation. By opening with financials, we get them at“hello.” 1 the stock of assets held by non-bank financial institutions, as estimated by the Financial Stability Board. Bank assets are excluded as these are largely managed by banks themselves. The value of the world’s stockmarkets is taken from the World Federation of Exchanges. 2 Friedman, M. 1962. Capitalism and Freedom. University of Chicago Press. Chicago, IL, USA. 3 The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits, by Milton Friedman, The New York Times Magazine, September 13, 1970. Copyright @ 1970 by The New York Times Company. 4 Friedman, M. 1962. Capitalism and Freedom. University of Chicago Press. Chicago, IL, USA. 5 Margolis, J., et. al. 2009. Does it pay to be good? And does it matter? A meta-analysis of the relationship between corporate social and financial performance. 6 Robert G. Eccles, Ioannis Ioannou, and George Serafeim. The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Processes and Performance. 7 http://www.ussif.org/content.asp?contentid=40 8 http://arjuna-capital.com/ 9 http://cdn.exxonmobil.com/~/media/global/files/energy-and- environment/report---energy-and-carbon---managing-the-risks. pdf#page=1&zoom=auto,-69,792 10 2015. The Cost of Inaction: Recognizing the value at risk from climate. http://www.economistinsights.com/financial-services/ analysis/cost-inaction 11 2014. “Down on the Farm / Wall Street: America’s New Farmer” Oakland Institute. 32 pp. www.oaklandinstitute.org 12 www.hnrg.com 13 SFI® Inc. is an independent, nonprofit organization that is solely responsible for maintaining, overseeing and improving the internationally recognized SFI program; www.sfiprogram.org/ about-us/sfi-governance/ REFERENCES Andrew Whitman, Director of Manomet's Sustainable Economies Program 10 | Manomet Partnerships for Sustainability • Spring / Summer 2016