Stuart Palmer

Leading ethical fund manager, Australian Ethical, has announced it has joined the Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare, a global initiative designed to improve the welfare of farm animals in food production.

The move aligns with Australian Ethical’s investment charter, which focuses on animal welfare in two of 23 positive and negative screening elements.

The Business Benchmark on Farm Animal Welfare (the Benchmark) conducts an annual report that ranks global food companies according to their policies, governance, management processes and reporting on farm animal welfare. The next report will be released in 2016.

Australian Ethical, and the 17 other global investor partners of the Benchmark, will encourage companies who rank poorly on this list to improve their policies, practices and reporting while commending high-ranking companies for their performance.

Commenting on the partnership, Australian Ethical’s Head of Ethics, Dr Stuart Palmer, said, “Leading institutional investors from across the globe are partnering with the Benchmark to encourage global food companies to meet a certain standard of animal welfare. This is a powerful tool for change, and we are proud to be part of this initiative.

“As an ethical fund manager, we have always viewed animal welfare as a key concern when screening our investments. This has paid off both ethically and financially, as our returns continue to outperform the market.”

Australian Ethical says the broader investment industry is also beginning to see this as a risk management issue as well.

“Recent divestment campaigns around coal prove that the Australian public takes an interest in where their money goes, and if they consider it to be funding an unethical practice they will take action.

“Similarly, the move away from cage eggs and protests about the live export trade are two recent examples of food production practices generating public concern. They demonstrate that animal welfare is an important issue for food producers, food retailers and the investors who fund them,” Dr Palmer said.

The Australian Ethical Charter screens investments, and decides whether they are ethical based on 23 positive and negative elements. The food production industry is considered positive, as it is essential to the well-being and dignity of people, however this is weighed against the impacts of production. In circumstances where animals or the environment are unnecessarily harmed as a result of food production, Australian Ethical will avoid investment.

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