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.