IMMEDIATE OPPORTUNITY
Full-time 3 month internship position with Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, Richmond Hill, Ontario

Research Analyst, Internship:
Reporting to both senior analysts and the Director of Research, interns analyze the policies public corporations have in place to reduce the risk of infringing international social, environmental, and governance standards. Analysis is also conducted to assess corporations’ track records in these areas. Using a wide-range of tools, the analyst will analyze corporations drawn from a broad global investment universe under the guidance of senior analysts using Innovest’s proprietary methodology. The analyst will prepare company profiles and assist with a variety of consulting projects, as needed.

If you are interested in being considered for this position, please send your resume to Nick Brown, at nbrown@innovestgroup.com.

About Innovest:

Innovest Strategic Value Advisors is an international investment research and advisory firm specializing in the analysis of ‘non-traditional’ drivers of risk and shareholder value.

A new report from NRCAN indicates that the massive number of tree deaths in western Canada resulting from mountain pine beetle outbreaks, is driving carbon emissions on a huge scale. Many people blithely assume that our Canadian managed forests will be a great help in sequestering carbon (and reducing greenhouse gases) but this is not always the case. NRCAN researchers estimate that the amount of carbon dioxide that will not be sequestered: (1) because trees aren’t growing, and (2) because decaying trees eventually produce CO2, will be similar to that resulting from Canada’s annual forest fires. They recommend that this should be accounted for in future climate models. The beetle is spreading due to warmer winters (the bugs die in cold winters). This is an example of how a warmer climate is triggering outbreaks of pests and pathogens, which in turn are causing tree death and increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

There are 3 excellent articles by Andrew Nikiforuk, John Lorinc, and Eric Reguly, plus a book review of Dry Spring by Chris Wood, in this morning’s business mag. They all discuss how demands for water in Canada (and the world) are impacting the environment, business and ordinary people. It’s well worth the price of today’s newspaper (And, no, I am not being paid by the Globe to promote their paper!). The first, Liquid Asset, by Andrew Nikiforuk, is a great follow-up to the recent doc about the Tar Sands, aired on CBC. If you haven’t yet read Vandana Shiva, Maude Barlow and Marq de Villiers, these articles will get you up to speed on the issues, fast.

When we began collaborating with colleagues from the National University of Mongolia, I was really struck by how little water Prof. Sonya Nergui used when she washed her hands in the sink at my house!