World Book Day - A Guide for Ethical Investors

23 Apr

Written By Tania

As we celebrate World Book Day on 23rd April, the connection between literature and ethical investing may not be immediately apparent. Yet, for ethical investors, this celebration represents an opportunity to reflect on the power of books to shape our understanding of ethical philosophy and practices in investment and business. Books on ethics, ethical investment and ethical business practices can help investors deepen their understanding and make more informed decisions that align with their values.

The Significance of World Book Day

World Book Day is a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) initiative that promotes reading, publishing, and copyright. First celebrated in 1995, it has grown to become a global event observed in over 100 countries. 23rd April is chosen as it is the anniversary of the deaths of William Shakespeare, Miguel de Cervantes, and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, all of whom died on the same date in 1616. In Catalonia, Spain, World Book Day is celebrated with an ancient ritual where people exchange books and roses to symbolise love and appreciation for literature.

The day celebrates books and authors and underscores literature's fundamental role in education and the development of critical thinking skills. Books have the unique capacity to educate and inspire on multiple levels, from individual growth to global awareness. They can introduce readers to new ideas, diverse cultures, and different perspectives on complex issues within ethics and sustainability. For ethical investors whose decisions are guided by the impact of their investments on society and the environment, literature provides a rich source of knowledge and insight.

Case Study: Businesses supporting Duffy Books in Homes

Money Matters celebrates Mainfreight and other companies supporting Duffy Books in Homes. Mainfreight’s Chairman and Founder, Bruce Plested, helped establish the Duffy Books in Homes programme, along with writer Alan Duff and philanthropist Christine Fernyhough. Plested is on the board of Duffy Books in Homes and the company is a ‘Major Partner.’ The philosophy behind the programme is simple – to break the cycle of ‘booklessness.’ The Mainfreight website states:

Literacy is one of the most important foundations for success in school and later in life. The Duffy Books in Homes programme assists crucial early literacy engagement and the development of reading skills and habits needed for lifelong success.

Our community sponsorship of Books in Homes is something we have taken to the world as we have grown. We are happy to support so many schools worldwide and our relationship has been strong in New Zealand since the programme’s inception.

Books in Homes targets schools from remote or low socio-economic circumstances and provides six books of their choice to the children three times a year. These books are for the children to take home to build their own libraries.

Since the official launch in 1994, Books in Homes have supplied over 14 million books to over 750 schools and to more than 100,000 students. The Books in Homes programme has inspired offshoot programmes in Australia and the USA.

We believe our time is as important as our money. Our team members are often present at the book giving assemblies and are involved in a mentoring programme, which allows our team to promote and encourage the enjoyment of learning by reading the books to the students.

Duffy Books in Homes states : Our funding partners make it possible to give tens of thousands of children a chance that they would not otherwise have; the chance to own their own books. Duffy funding partners come from all walks of life, large international corporations, local businesses and even families, individuals and other schools. What joins them is the desire to make a real difference in the lives of children who would otherwise not have the opportunity to own their own books and experience the joy of reading for pleasure.

Case Study: Businesses investing in Adult Literacy

In my roles promoting ethical and socially responsible business, I’ve been a long-time advocate of business supporting workplace literacy.

Around half of New Zealand's 2.2 million employed adults have literacy, numeracy and language gaps. The problem is often hidden because most adult New Zealanders can read, write and use numbers to some degree. However, many have literacy and/or numeracy gaps that affect their ability to undertake everyday job tasks, cope with change or variation, understand on-the-job training or complete study for qualifications.

In response to these challenges and recognising that New Zealand’s low levels of literacy and numeracy contribute to our relatively low productivity, the Skills Highway workplace literacy and numeracy programme offers support for businesses. Funded by the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC), it is based on the belief that “Improving literacy and numeracy can unlock productivity, kick-start educational success, and deliver far-reaching benefits for workplaces, workers, and their families.”

Skills Highway initiatives include:

Developing and promoting good practice strategies for introducing and maintaining literacy and numeracy programmes in the workplace
Acknowledging employers who have successfully introduced workplace literacy and numeracy training through Skills Highway Awards
Promoting the Workplace Literacy and Numeracy Fund to employers

The website profiles ‘Success Stories,’ including the listed company Steel & Tube, whose selected members completed a workplace literacy and numeracy course. Steel & Tube was looking to improve the capability of its team, so it worked with learning provider Edvance to plan bespoke workplace literacy and numeracy programmes that ran concurrently with general staff and team leaders.

World Book Day 2024: A Call to Action for Ethical Investors

World Book Day 2024 is an occasion for celebration and a call to action. It reminds ethical investors to continue educating themselves through literature to better understand the complex interplay between investing, ethics, and environmental and societal impact. Here are some ways ethical investors can engage with World Book Day:

Create a Reading Challenge: Challenge yourself to read a number of ethical investment-related books this month or year and challenge others to participate in a reading challenge with you. See my list below for examples.
Start a Book Club: World Book Day is an excellent opportunity to start an ethical investment book club. Gather a group of friends, colleagues, or family members who share a love of books and want to learn about ethical investing and start reading and discussing books together.
Share Knowledge: Use social media platforms to share impactful books that have influenced your investment strategies. This helps spread knowledge and also inspires others to consider ethical investing.
Gift Financial Books. This is particularly important for the young people in your life.
Continued Education: Commit to reading a set number of books each year that explore new developments in ethical investing and sustainability.
Donate a Book. You can donate to libraries, the Salvation Army and more.
Organise Book Drives and Reading Sessions: Encourage literacy and education by organising book drives or funding books for underprivileged schools. Promote reading sessions that focus on the themes of sustainability, ethics, and social responsibility.
Advocate to Your Fund Managers. Write to fund managers you invest with and ask them to support initiatives such as Duffy Books in Homes and workplace literacy in companies they invest with.
Donate to Duffy Books in Homes

Rodger’s Top Twenty Books for World Books Day 2024

I’ve chosen 20 books from my extensive library that have helped guide my ethical investment and business journey, some of which may interest you. These aren’t necessarily my top 20 of all time, and I’ve consciously held back on making it just books about conventional finance. I hope that there is some inspiration for you in this list.

This list is categorised into Ethical Foundations, The Importance of Courage and Consciousness, Ethical Investment, Conventional Investment, Ethical Business and Capitalism and Personal and Business Leadership.

Ethical Foundations

1. Ethics and Excellence – Robert Solomon

I was fortunate to be taught and mentored by renowned scholar Robert C. Solomon, whose insights and book “Ethics and Excellence” were essential to my PhD thesis. The Greek philosopher Aristotle, who wrote over two thousand years before Wall Street, called people who engaged in activities that did not contribute to society ‘parasites.’ In this book, renowned scholar Robert C. Solomon asserts that though capitalism may require capital, it does not require, much less should be defined by the parasites it inevitably attracts. The author's approach emphasises several core concepts: the search for excellence, the importance of integrity and sound judgment, and a more cooperative and humane vision of business. Solomon stresses the virtues of honesty, trust, fairness, and compassion in the competitive business world and confronts the problem of ‘moral mazes’ and what he posits as its solution - moral courage.

2. Ethical Ambition – Derrick Bell

From the New York Times bestselling author Derrick Bell, “Ethical Ambition” offers a profound meditation on achieving success with integrity. As one of the USA's most influential law professors, Derrick Bell spent a lifetime helping students struggling to maintain integrity in the face of overwhelming pressure to succeed at any price. Frequently asked how he managed to be so extraordinarily successful while never giving up the fight for justice and equality, Bell decided to spend his seventieth year writing a book of insight and guidance. The result, “Ethical Ambition,” is a profoundly affecting, uplifting, and brilliant series of meditations that not only challenges us to face some of the most difficult questions that life presents but dares to offer solutions. Using incidents from his own life, Bell also looks to literature, history, and other contemporary figures who have refused to compromise their beliefs. In chapters that explore passion, faith, courage, inspiration, humility, and relationships, “Ethical Ambition” addresses the most fundamental issues of life.

3. How Are We To Live? – Peter Singer

Peter Singer is sometimes called "the world’s most influential living philosopher," although he thinks that if that is true, it doesn't say much for all the other living philosophers today. In this book, Singer, who is now a Professor at Princeton, suggests that people who take an ethical approach to life often avoid the trap of meaninglessness, finding a deeper satisfaction in what they are doing than those people whose goals are narrower and more self-centred. He spells out what he means by an ethical approach to life and shows that it can bring significant and far-reaching changes to one's life. “How Are We to Live?” explores how standard contemporary assumptions about human nature and self-interest have led to a world fraught with social and environmental problems. Singer asks whether selfishness is in our genes and concludes that we do not have to accept the bleak view of human nature, which is sometimes believed to be inevitable, given our evolutionary origins.

The Importance of Courage and Consciousness

4. Courage is Calling – Ryan Holiday

This is the first book in Stoicism scholar Ryan Holiday's series looking at the four key virtues of Stoicism. Drawing on ancient Stoic wisdom and examples across history and around the world, Holiday shows why courage is so necessary and how to cultivate it in our own lives. Courage is not simply physical bravery but also doing the right thing and standing up for what you believe; it's creativity, generosity and perseverance. And it is the only way to live an extraordinary, fulfilled and effective life. In “Courage Is Calling,” Holiday breaks down the elements of fear, an expression of cowardice, the elements of courage, an expression of bravery, and lastly, the elements of heroism, an expression of valour. Through engaging stories about historic and contemporary leaders, including Charles De Gaulle, Florence Nightingale, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Holiday shows you how to conquer fear and practice courage in your daily life.

5. The Courage Way - Shelly Francis

“The Courage Way,” written by my friend Shelly Francis, is a guide to leadership that shows how to access and draw upon courage in all that you do. It has its roots in the work of Parker J. Palmer, who, in fifty years of teaching, speaking, and writing, has explored the human spirit - what he has called “the inner landscape” — and its role in life and leadership. Five key ingredients are needed to cultivate courage, the most fundamental being trust—in ourselves and in each other. “The Courage Way” describes how to build trust through the Center for Courage & Renewal’s Circle of Trust® approach, centred on 11 ‘touchstones,’ poetic and practical operating guidelines for holding the meaningful conversations vital to trust building. Each chapter features true stories of leaders overcoming challenges and strengthening their organisations through touchstones like “When the going gets rough, turn to wonder.”

6. The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz

With over 10 years on The New York Times bestseller list and nearly 7 million copies in print, “The Four Agreements” continues to top the bestseller lists. In “The Four Agreements”, Don Miguel Ruiz reveals the source of self-limiting beliefs that rob us of joy and create needless suffering. Ruiz highlights the teachings of the Toltecs, who ruled ancient central Mexico and offers four so-called agreements that could help people lead more fulfilled lives. The agreements are: “Be impeccable with your word,” “Don’t take anything personally,” “Don’t make assumptions” and “Always do your best.” Ruiz presents the teachings in a way that allows a personal examination of identity. This is a classic book that I’ve often referred to and several of my friends like to quote it. I’ve also seen it in a list of Best Books from a USA-based fund manager.

Ethical Investment

7. Investing for Good – Kinder, Lydenberg and Domini

Authored by my early USA-based ethical investment mentors Peter Kinder, Steven Lydenberg and Amy Domini, “Investing for Good” shows how making wise and profitable investments while still being socially conscious is possible. This book details how to build a profitable portfolio that consists solely of ethically aware companies. It provides complete instructions for selecting, researching and screening potential investment opportunities for a wide range of social concerns - whether or not a company is ‘green,’ what its employee policies and community relations are like, how its products or services tally with an investor's preferences and more.

8. Ethical Investment - Ross Knowles

Edited by Ross Knowles, with four chapters from myself, this book has been described as an essential guide for ethical investors in Australia and New Zealand. For investors who would prefer to invest in companies with an environmental and social conscience, “Ethical Investment” is about giving you the tools needed to make an informed choice. The chapters include outlines of the options and criteria that can be considered when looking at ethical issues, how to analyse companies' social and environmental performance, and detailed ratings of selected ethical investment funds.

9. Investing with Your Values – Brill, Brill and Feigenbaum

This American book “Investing with Your Values” by Hal Brill, Jack Brill and Cliff Feigenbaum, who I met when they were working on this book, shows how you can aim to make money and make a difference at the same time. It offers a step-by-step guide to link your money with your values. It includes: The philosophy and fascinating history that built SRI (socially responsible investing); Shareholder activism and community investing; Detailed information on socially responsible stocks, mutual funds, and bonds; Stories, lists of funds and companies, worksheets, and scores of resources.

Conventional Investment

10. Fortune Strategy - Abey and Higgins

My favourite conventional investment book is “Fortune Strategy” by Arun Abey and Ian Higgins. Arun was the Chairman of IPAC Securities the investment research and management firm that was instrumental in shaping the investment scene in New Zealand and Australia. I managed the IPAC business in New Zealand for five years from the late 80’s and this book articulates the IPAC investment philosophy. It doesn’t promise to make you rich overnight (and so it hasn’t sold as well as those books that offer that illusory promise). Instead, it gives you the information you need to take control of your financial future. It takes advanced investment theory and explains how to profit from it.

11. The Essential Guide to Financial Planning in NZ – Rodger Spiller!

Of course, I ought to mention my own contribution, “The Essential Guide to Financial Planning in New Zealand,” published by the Commerce Clearing House (CCH). This comprehensive publication provides an A to Z of personal investment advice. It includes key points, detailed guidance notes, a sample of investment and financial plans, and a data form. It reflects the approach advocated in “Fortune Strategy” and my many years of providing investment and financial planning seminars. It is written for the general public. However, it has also been widely used for training advisers, with some advisers going as far as describing it as their “investment advice bible.”

12. The Richest Man in Babylon - George Classon

An oldie but a goodie is George Classon’s parable “The Richest Man in Babylon.” This story has been described as the greatest of all inspirational books on personal wealth. The five laws provide a synopsis of much of what I have addressed in my media columns. My favourites are:

Gold clingeth to the protection of the cautious owner who invests it under the advice of someone wise in its handling.
Gold slippeth away from the person who invests it in businesses or purposes with which they are not familiar or which they are not approved by those skilled in its keep.

Ethical Business and Capitalism

13. Business as Unusual - Anita Roddick

“Business as Unusual” charts the progress of Anita Roddick and her company, The Body Shop through the last decade. It also looks at the parallel growth of vigilante consumerism and predicts how businesses can evolve in the new Millennium. Ranging from personal issues – such as self-esteem – to broader political issues like the human rights abuses associated with globalisation, Roddick offers her own vision for dealing with the demands of ethical business. Roddick argues that waves of public consciousness are steadily forcing corporations to re-evaluate their actions. By expanding the concept of the entrepreneur and the language of business and business ethics, we can encourage the corporate world to change.

14. The Ethical Capitalist – Julian Richer

Drawing on four decades of hands-on management experience, Julian Richer argues that ethically run businesses are invariably more efficient, motivated, and innovative than those that care only about the bottom line. He uncovers the simple tools the best leaders use to make their businesses fair, revealing how others can follow suit. He also delves into the big questions that modern capitalism has to answer if it is to survive and thrive. At heart, “The Ethical Capitalist” is a plea for a new sense of moral purpose in business. If that takes hold, Julian Richer believes, we might just save capitalism from itself.

15. Conscious Capitalism - Mackey and Sisodia

A bold defence and reimagining of capitalism and a blueprint for a new system for doing business, “Conscious Capitalism” is for anyone hoping to build a more cooperative, humane, and positive future. John Mackey, Whole Foods Market cofounder, and Raj Sisodia, professor and Conscious Capitalism, Inc. cofounder, argue that both business and capitalism can be forces for good. They explain how four specific tenets—higher purpose, stakeholder integration, conscious leadership, and conscious culture and management—can help build strong businesses, move capitalism closer to its highest potential, and foster a more positive environment for all of us.

Personal and Business Leadership

16. Wayfinding Leadership – Spiller, Barclay-Kerr and Panoho

This book, written by Chellie Spiler with Hoturoa Barclay-Kerr and John Panoho, presents a new way of leading by looking to traditional waka navigators or wayfinders for the skills and behaviours needed in modern leaders. It takes readers on a journey into wayfinding and leading, discussing principles of wayfinding philosophy, and giving examples of how these have been applied in businesses and communities. It also provides action points for readers to practise and reflect on the skills they are learning.

17. The Catalyst’s Way – Chellie Spiller

After a rewarding experience as 2022 Leader in Residence at the Atlantic Institute, Chellie launched at Oxford University “The Catalyst’s Way – A Handbook for People Who Want to Change the World” and as a companion guide “The Catalyst’s Way – Foundational Storytellers.” The purpose of this book is to ignite and support catalytic efforts around the world. That means you - for whatever lights you up. “The Catalyst’s Way,” designed as an embodied process, seeks to empower changemakers by providing them with tools to be more effective and to support their life-long transformational journey. In going through the exercises and reading the stories of the folks in the trenches, you will emerge feeling motivated and encouraged to transform your world, too.

18. Immunity to Change - Kegan and Lahey

In “Immunity to Change,” authors Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey show how our individual beliefs - along with the collective mindsets in our organisations - combine to create a natural but powerful immunity to change. By revealing how this mechanism holds us back, Kegan and Lahey give us the keys to unlock our potential and finally move forward. By pinpointing and uprooting our own immunities to change, we can bring our organisations forward with us. This persuasive and practical book, filled with hands-on diagnostics and compelling case studies, delivers the tools you need to overcome the forces of inertia and transform your life and your work.

19. A Hidden Wholeness – Parker Parker

“A Hidden Wholeness” speaks to our yearning to live undivided lives―lives that are congruent with our inner truth―in a world filled with the forces of fragmentation. Mapping an inner journey that we take in solitude and in the company of others, Palmer describes a form of community that fits the limits of our active lives. Defining a “circle of trust” as “a space between us that honours the soul,” he shows how people in settings ranging from friendship to organisational life can support each other on the journey toward living “divided no more.” Palmer weaves together four themes that he has pursued for forty years: the shape of an integral life, the meaning of community, teaching and learning for transformation, and nonviolent social change.

20. Keys to the Enneagram – A.H. Almass

More than just a tool to diagnose your personality type, the Enneagram was initially developed to help people find the ultimate freedom of consciousness and achieve spiritual liberation. A. H. Almaas brings us back to this original mission as he shares the essential keys that will help readers break free from the limitations and distortions of each type's fixation and to express their true spiritual nature in everyday life. Almaas focuses on understanding and working with your fixation to open the doorways offered by the enneagram into the deeper dimensions of your true nature. “Keys to the Enneagram” is, in a sense, part of an owner's manual with precise information on how to get "under the hood" of your specific model.

Conclusion

On World Book Day 2024, ethical investors are reminded of the profound impact that books can have on their investment choices. By fostering a deeper understanding of ethics, ethical investment and ethical business practices, books help equip investors with the tools necessary to aim to make decisions that are more ethical and financially sound that benefit society and the environment. World Book Day highlights reading as a powerful tool for enlightened investing and a better world.

Tania