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ROUNDTABLE ROUND-UP: July 2008:
"HIP Your Trip" = Eco-Travel and Hospitality

• Samara Diapoulos of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts shared the company's history of pioneering green hotel management practices (and their green guide for hotels, used by Cornell's Hospitality School), as well as the cost savings realized through increased energy efficiency and waste reduction at their properties.

• Damien Keller explained how Orchard Garden Hotel built their property to LEED new-construction certification standards which has benefited the health of their staff and guests.

• Kirsten Mecklenburg of Deloitte described the consulting giant's efforts to reduce the impact of its client-driven travel (e.g. using Cisco's TelePresence systems; refusing turn-down service at hotels to save energy) with its "Travel Less, Travel Green" program, which has increasing participation firmwide.

Entrepreneurs, industry experts, and MBA students joined institutional, accredited and everyday investors, who all networked socially and professionally - and asked probing questions of the innovators.

The discussion also hosted innovative entrepreneurs:

• Miss Green Jeans, a green hospitality and meeting consultancy, who discovered that a fleet of Priuses is both cheaper and more eco-friendly than a typical group bus.
  
• Exquisite Safaris, philanthropic travel organizers and advisors, who regularly bundle philanthropy visits and donations to on-site non-profits during international client vacations.

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PROVING HIP APPROACHES WORK:
Wharton Professor Uncovers Link between
Employee Satisfaction and Shareholder Value

Dr. Alex Edmans, an assistant professor at the Wharton School at the Univ. of Pennsylvania, just released a new analysis demonstrating that companies with high employee satisfaction and recognized by Fortune magazine's "Best Companies to Work For" list, tend to have higher long-term shareholder value.  In addition, these "intangibles" appear not to be priced into the short-term valuations of equities (along with other environmental, social and governance issues).  This gives investors applying a HIP framework an advantage to buy in at a discount and later benefit if they hold for the longer term.

This study reinforces the tenets of the HIP methodology and approach - that focusing on Human Impact leads to Profit and shareholder value.  Since employees are the core engine of a company, the developers of its intellectual capital, the face to the customer, and the managers of its assets, the focus of keeping them satisfied (like Southwest Airlines - NYSE: LUV) will typically result in investor benefits over the long term.

Read the insightful abstract and download the full fascinating paper here.

HIP Sustainability Solutions for Your Company and Your Portfolio

HIP Investor serves a spectrum of investors, from accredited individuals and family foundations, to institutional investors and endowments - plus everyday investors.  HIP provides you and your investment portfolio a range of services, including:

• Strategic goal setting - how to integrate your values, human impact goals and financial stability into your portfolio.
• Analyzing your portfolio - how HIP are your stocks, bonds, real estate and other investments? HIP helps you quantify them - and how they drive profit.
• Screening new investments - how to conduct HIP due diligence on management practices, quantifiable impacts, and how they drive profit.

(Coming soon!) HIP portfolios and HIP funds - want to start investing HIP?  Launching later this year, HIP Portfolios will enable you to do good and make money.

HIP Investor also advises and consults to public and private companies, who are seeking benefits through:

• Sustainability strategy - how to create competitive advantage, profit growth and empowered employees by focusing on and increasing Human Impact.
• Supplier scorecards - how to encourage sustainability from suppliers, and keep them accountable to HIP criteria
• Screening capital spending and new projects - how to ensure the highest ROI from your new products and other initiatives by applying the HIP Scorecard.