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The rapid growth of SRI in recent years is the best evidence that sustainable and responsible investing yields competitive returns.

Over the past 20 years, the total dollars invested in SRI has grown exponentially, as has the number of institutional, professional, and individual investors involved in the field.

The bottom line is that more and more investors adopt and use SRI strategies not only because such investments allow a focus beyond the bottom line, but also because returns are comparable to those of more conventional investments.

Big Data is the vast (and ever-growing) stockpile of information too large for companies to store in-house--let alone analyze.

"For so long, we've focused on human-powered businesses, and now we're transforming into data-driven organizations that are bringing a level of customer centricity that we've never seen before,"

enture capital firms invested $2.47 billion in fields around big data in 2011, nearly 10 percent of all money distributed.

FTSE Group, NAREIT, and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recently announced a jointly developed green property index for both institutional and retail investors. This first of a kind index was a collaborative effort bringing together global market leaders in US real estate indexing, REIT market expertise, and environmental building standards.

The indexes, currently in the final stages of implementation, will give investors a structured and disciplined way to measure and model the risk and reward profile of green property, using the first codified, transparent definition of listed green property. In addition, the indexes will also provide investors with new ways to incorporate principles of sustainability into their property selections and portfolios, and access this investment theme through index-linked financial products

owners include many of the largest green portfolios, measured as the estimated share of total portfolio value that has either LEED or EnergyStar certification. Just a few of the representative green indexed REITs include Douglas Emmett (DEI), Government Properties Income Trust (GOV), Piedmont Office Realty Trust (PDM), Boston Properties (BXP), Franklin Street Properties (FSP), Brandywine Realty Trust (BDN), Vornado Realty Trust (VNO), SL Green Realty (SLG), Ashford Hospitality Trust (AHT), Kilroy Realty (KRC), Washington REIT (WRE), and Cousins Properties (CUZ).

“To date, no comparable benchmark has been available. We’ve already received expressions of interest from many large asset owners concerned about their exposure to a rapidly changing sector directly affected by the transition to the low carbon economy.”

The new indexes will be a milestone for real estate investment worldwide and will enable more real estate investors and managers to integrate sustainability factors into their strategies – both as benchmarks and as the basis for investment products.”  Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair, USGBC said, “Green building is a win-win, offering both environmental and economic opportunity. Greater building efficiency can meet 85% of future demand for energy in the United States and a commitment to green building has the potential to generate 2.5 million jobs. The sector has seen incredible growth and is projected to add $554 billion to the U.S. economy each year. This partnership creates significant investment opportunities for those ready to participate in this growing market.”

The WBCSD's Urban Infrastructure Initiative (UII) brings together a diverse group of companies: ACCIONA, AECOM, AGC, CEMEX, EDF, GDF SUEZ, Honda, Nissan, Philips, Siemens, TNT, Toyota and UTC. The UII Co-chairs are CEMEX, GDF SUEZ, Schneider Electric and Siemens; WBCSD is also actively involved as Co-chair. These companies from sectors including energy, buildings, materials, transport, engineering, water, equipment, and support services are collaborating to help urban authorities develop realistic, practical and cost-effective sustainability action plans. The project draws on the expertise of individual companies who already work with urban planners and engineers to provide services and solutions to sustainability challenges in cities.

For cities, the case for action is compelling: A sustainable city is more competitive and offers its citizens better lives. It uses resources more efficiently, thrives economically, and creates an inclusive community. For companies, the case for action is also compelling:  the urban market offers companies the opportunity to provide systems solutions, products and services in support of sustainable development in cities (buildings, energy, infrastructure, waste collection and recycling, etc.)

Each city faces different challenges. Tailor-made solutions are required, as challenges and opportunities vary from country to country and city to city. Some cities can capitalize on expanding populations. Others need to deal with aging and declining numbers. City governments must therefore find systemic solutions to address the interlinked social and environmental challenges and create the right framework conditions to make them competitive in order to attract investments.

“We cannot apply the same approach for both.”

As UTC’s Sisson put it, “When we see cities stepping up and making policies and strategies in support of energy efficiency, that is a clear signal to us.” He also pointed out that city visions can vary dramatically, so it’s important to understand their objectives.

As a rule of thumb, a couple of posts before noon and another couple of posts in the afternoon is a good place to start. If you only update your Facebook (or any social media status) every week or two, people will lose interest and nobody will follow you. Give your customers a reason to keep in touch with you by providing information that they will find interesting, will be helpful, or is fun.

Lendio online marketing via pay-per-click drives a lot more leads than this blog, our social media, or any of our content marketing, but it’s an important part of what we do everyday to share information and build relationships with our customers and future customers.