I spoke with Rachel J. Robasciotti, a leader in social-justice investing, about how private prisons are a matter of racial justice and human rights. Investors eager to address this issue can look beyond just the operators to the various companies that support this continued incarceration-for-profit.

All of us have values informed by the cultures we grow up in and the experiences that shape us. But challenges arise when we assume that our particular set of values is universal or objective. In sustainable investing, applying local values to a global portfolio can have unforeseen and even counterproductive impacts. In this Tuesdays with Travis, we explore the culture-bound assumptions embedded in sustainable investment decisions.

While energy production is, of course, essential to our modern, “always on” society, most primary sources (such as coal and oil) are simply unsustainable in the long term. The fuels that we’ve traditionally relied upon are associated with a plethora of environmental impacts, including climate change, pollution and deforestation (keep reading).

Given that it’s the Climate Summit here in NYC, we wanted to chat quickly about the ways we believe investors should think about climate risks. We break these risks into two categories: Physical Risks and Transformation Risks. Investors who understand what these are and how they differ can build a portfolio that takes climate change into account.

What does it mean for a company to promote health and wellness? At first blush, many investors may think it means maintaining physical health. But the question raises far more discussion about a company’s role in creating positive health outcomes for its customers, workforce, and society. In this Tuesdays with Travis, we dive into our “Health and Wellness” Cause to uncover just how expansive this topic can be.

Successful practice management is often a juggling act—there’s a long list of tasks financial advisors put in motion before they ever get to sit across from clients to talk about the issues they care about. So how do you spend that precious time with your customer? How are you building a cohesive team and a brand that stands out among competitors?

Clients having been asking us about deforestation and how they can take steps to prevent it. While this merits a much longer discussion, we hope this video helps people begin to understand how the food on our plates, the shampoo in our bathrooms, and the investments in our portfolios are connected to what's happening in the Amazon, and indeed, globally.

Aside from being blue chip mega-caps, their CEOs are all part of the Business Roundtable, a grouping of the most powerful CEOs on earth. Last week marked a monumental shift in how this elite group of leaders define corporate success, shunning the 'greed is good' mentality and accepting what we already know, that sustainability is good for long term business success.

This summer we absolutely lucked out. Thomas, a sophomore computer science major at Stanford, and Aleks, a grad student pursuing computer science at NYU, graced us with their coding wizardry, positivity, and impressive work ethic as engineering interns here at Ethic HQ. We wanted to get their feedback on the summer and insight into their interest in sustainability.

As consumers, investors, and workers increasingly seek out organizations attuned to environmental and social issues, it can be hard to know which companies have meaningful impact and which just have good marketing. How can we differentiate between those who do and don’t practice what they preach?