Do Values-based Companies have a Competitive Edge?

Giles Chitty with Emma Howard Boyd

The workshop will consider this question in the light of

1. Whether the ethical, social and environmental values of a business are core values or driven by compliance and/or public relations considerations;
2. The regulatory, legislative and cultural environment, role of NGOs etc.
3. ’Factor X’: the quality and dynamic of the relevant personal networks, charisma, communication.

Giles Chitty started in multinational financial management in 1966 with Allied Chemical and then Warner Lambert. 1973-75 he was part of the Harvard Advisory Group to advise the Indonesian Minister of Finance on public enterprise development.

After two years’ boat building in Cornwall he moved to Scotland to raise his family. He and his wife Clare worked at the Findhorn Foundation, Giles becoming a Trustee and Chair of the Executive Committee.

1984 saw Giles launch his career in SRI by founding The Financial Initiative Ltd. Five years later he moved on to being a founding partner of Barchester Green Investment. In 1997 he became an Adviser at Holden Meehan Ltd. From 2000-2004 he was also a Director of Pennine Downing Ethical Venture Capital Trust.

Emma Howard Boyd has been actively involved in socially responsible investment (SRI) since joining Jupiter Asset Management in 1994. As Head of SRI and Governance, Emma has overall responsibility for the management and future development of Jupiter's Socially Responsible Investment business. She is also responsible for building up Jupiter's corporate governance and engagement services for institutional clients and Jupiter's UK retail funds.

Emma is Chair of the UK Social Investment Forum, the UK's membership network for socially responsible investment and was founding chair of Eurosif, the European Sustainable and Responsible Investment Forum, from its launch until the end of 2002. She is a director of the Triodos Renewable Energy Fund and a member of the Advisory Committees for Good Corporation and FTSE4Good.

Prior to working at Jupiter, Emma specialised in corporate finance at Hill Samuel and Banque Nationale de Paris. She has also worked as a researcher and campaigner for various Non-Governmental Organisations.