Michael Jantzi, CEO, Sustainalytics was awarded the Canadian SRI Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2010 Canadian Responsible Investment Conference on June 15, 2010.

He is the first recipient of this award, which was created to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the Canadian socially responsible investing (SRI) market through leadership, initiative, collaboration and innovation. The other nominees recognized for their achievements were Bill Davis and Moira Hutchinson, both of the Task Force on Churches and Corporate Responsibility and Paul Chapman, the executive director of Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE).

In his acceptance speech Jantzi acknowledged the other nominees for their hard work in laying the groundwork for SRI and shareholder engagement in Canada. “I am grateful to receive this honour, which also recognizes the work of others who have long understood that integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into investment decisions can lead to better financial and social outcomes.”

Jantzi’s career in the Canadian SRI market began in 1990. Two years later he formed Jantzi Research, which monitored and evaluated the ESG performance of global securities. The company expanded as responsible investing became increasingly mainstream and institutional investors incorporated ESG issues into their portfolio management. In September 2009, the company expanded globally when it merged with Sustainalytics. The company operates internationally as Sustainalytics and in North America as Jantzi-Sustainalytics.