Socially responsible investing has been a trend that gained its foothold in the Aparthied days of South Africa. The concept behind it is to invest only in companies that support your world view politically. Now these same folks, who are typically liberal and carry a long list of agenda items, are looking to invest into real estate and are working on developing the criteria for socially responsible investments in real estate.

Calpers, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, has been a leader in this field, with their initial goal of reducing energy usuage in the 5 billion dollars of buildings they own by 20 percent.

In the past year, a handful of conferences, academic papers and groups have sprouted, as advocates of this form of investing look for socially responsible ways to profit from real estate. The latest effort was last week in London, where landlords, academics and real-estate investors met to discuss standards that investors and companies could adopt.
Among the activities likely to be endorsed as socially responsible: energy-efficient buildings and development that doesn’t contribute to sprawl.
Until now, “socially responsible investors who want to invest in real estate really don’t have a way to do it,” says Steve Schueth, president of First Affirmative Financial Network LLC, an advisory firm based in Colorado Springs, Colo., that helps clients with socially responsible investments. via WSJ.com

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