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Keynote Address: Recipient of the 2005 Botwinick Prize
in Business Ethics
Joan Bavaria, Founding President and CEO of Trillium Asset Management
The Benjamin Botwinick Prize in Business Ethics is presented annually
to an individual or representative of a business organization exemplifying
the highest standard of professional and ethical conduct. The award
was founded by the late Benjamin Botwinick, BS ’26. We are honored
to present this year's award to Joan Bavaria.
Joan
Bavaria has served as Founding President and CEO of Trillium
Asset Management since its incorporation in 1982. An employee-owned
investment advisor with thirty three employees and approximately $800
million under management, Trillium Asset Management services clients
with a concern for the social and environmental impacts of their investments.
The company has published research on social issues and investments
since 1982, works with clients and companies on their social and environmental
management issues, contributes significant resources to social activism
and community work, and donates 5% of its before-tax profits to charitable
causes.
Ms. Bavaria is Founding Chair of CERES and served as Chair from 1989
to 2001. In 1989, the Coalition released the ten principles for environmental
management now known as the CERES Principles. With CERES, Joan works
with companies who have endorsed the Principles or who are interested
in CERES around environmental reporting, community outreach and various
environmental justice issues. The list of CERES endorsing companies
includes local Timberland and Ben & Jerry's; but also General Motors,
BankAmerica, IT&T Industries, and Sunoco, the first Fortune 500
firm.
In 1981, Joan co-founded the Social Investment Forum, an organization
of research, advisory, banking and community loan fund organizations
engaged in socially responsible investing. She served as President of
the Forum for four years and served on the Board for eight years.
Ms. Bavaria is currently on the Dean's Committee for International Development
at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government. She sits
on the Boards of CERES, Earth Justice Legal Defense Fund and Earthday
Network. She is on the Advisory Boards of Union of Concerned Scientists
and Greening of Industry Network. She was a Board member and Secretary
of Green Seal from 1991 - 1999, and served as Chair of the National
Advisory Committee for Policy & Technology's subcommittee, Community
Based Environmental Policy, which advises the EPA. Joan has also served
on the Boards of Directors of LightHawk for fifteen years, The Council
on Economic Priorities for twelve years, the Industrial Cooperative
Association Loan Fund for ten years and several other Advisory boards.
Ms. Bavaria has received numerous awards. In October of 2004, Joan was
awarded the City of Göteborg International Environment Prize 2004,
split with Tessa Tennant. In May of 2004 she was named one of the 25
most influential people in the planning profession by Investment Advisor
magazine. In December of 2002 she was named by Scientific American magazine
as one of the “Scientific American 50.” In October of 2000
she was honored by Global Green USA and Green Cross International President
Mikhail Gorbachev with the Millennium Award for Corporate Environmental
Leadership. In November of 1999 Ms. Bavaria was lauded as "Hero
for the Planet" by Time.com. Other awards include the New England
Women Business Owners (NEWBO) Woman of the Year award in 1994, and two
regional awards from Working Women Magazine and their Entrepreneurial
Excellence Awards in March of 1999. For the past 20 years, Ms. Bavaria
has been widely published and has done extensive public speaking and
media work. She served as an Investment Officer of the Bank of Boston
from 1969 to 1975. Her education included Massachusetts College of Art,
University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and the Chartered Financial Analyst
program.
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