Cage-free eggs have approached a lengthy way. Once considered niche issues, humane food-sourcing practices like cage-free egg selling and development crate bans have won headline-grabbing commitments from global companies such as McDonald's Corp, Wal-Mart Stores Inc and Nestle.
On Thursday, BlackRock Inc will host investment fund managers at its New York City head office for a "Humane Economy" affair focused on the financial blow of social issues on restaurants, retailers and other consumer-focused companies.
BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, MFS Investment Management, Coller Capital and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) are sponsoring the event, which is billed as a first of its type. It is anticipated to draw more than 50 attendees from firms on behalf of a combined $17 trillion in assets under management.
Sponsors say the triumph of companies such as burrito chain Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc and forte grocer Whole Foods Market Inc demonstrates the financial and social benefits of adopting humane sourcing policies.
The track records of those companies who have investors weighing the danger of not getting on the humane-sourcing bandwagon next to a tradition of avoiding social issues perceived to have little impact on share prices.
The issues also are grabbing attention from executive suites and boardrooms.
"Ten years ago, we were mostly engaging with quality assurance staff. Now we frequently engage at the CEO level, said Matthew Prescott, senior food policy director for HSUS, who is leading a conversation on industrial food production at the event.
HSUS has worked with dozens of food companies on humane sourcing practices, including McDonald's, which lately announced a North American switch to cage-free eggs by 2025.
With purchaser tastes shifting quickly, companies may be best served by preempting or anticipating changing attitude rather than waiting to be hurt by the shifting tide, said Edkins, who added that policy issues around antibiotic resistance and obesity also weigh on investors' minds but are not the topic of the meeting.
Carol Geremia, co-head of global distribution at MFS, said environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics have gained traction with the Boston firm's mainstream clients in recent years. "They want to know we're out there collecting information," said Geremia, who added that MFS tries to integrate ESG into many investment decisions.
