The Greening of Retirement: Report to Show Major Gains in Socially Responsible Investment Choices in U.S. Workplace Retirement Plans

WASHINGTON, June 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A major new Mercer Investment Consulting research report prepared for the nonprofit Social Investment Forum will show that a substantial number of Americans already have a socially responsible investment (SRI) option in their defined contribution (DC) plans at work. The report to be released at a live, phone-based national news conference at 1:30 p.m. EDT on June 5, 2007 also will project that the percentage of retirement plans with SRI choices is headed to even higher levels in the next three years.

Also to be released at the news event: a resource guide for DC plan sponsors illustrating how to add SRI options to their retirement plan in six steps.

News event speakers will be: -- Social Investment Forum CEO Lisa Woll; -- Mercer Investment Consulting US consultant Craig Metrick; -- Paul A. Hilton, interim director of Social Investment Strategy, Calvert; and -- Dave Stangis, director of corporate responsibility, Intel.

The Mercer research for the Social Investment Forum was undertaken with the support of project partners AltruShare Securities, Calvert, FTSE Group, Neuberger Berman, Northern Trust and TIAA-CREF.

TO PARTICIPATE: You can join this live, phone-based news conference (with full, two-way Q&A) at 1:30 p.m. EDT on June 5, 2007 by dialing 1 (800) 860- 2442. Ask for the "SRI retirement plans" news event.

CAN'T PARTICIPATE?: A streaming audio recording of the news event will be available on the Web as of 7 p.m. EDT on June 5, 2007 at http://www.socialinvest.org/.

CONTACT: Patrick Mitchell, (703) 276-3266 or pmitchell@hastingsgroup.com.

The Social Investment Forum (http://www.socialinvest.org/) is the national association for the social investment industry. It is dedicated to the concept, practice, and growth of socially responsible investing. The Forum's more than 600 members include financial planners, banks, mutual fund companies, research companies, foundations, and community investing institutions.

Mercer Investment Consulting is a leading global provider of investment consulting services and offers customized guidance at every stage of the investment decision, risk management, and investment monitoring process. Mercer Investment Consulting's Responsible Investment business helps investment fiduciaries integrate environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) considerations into investment decision-making and ownership practices. Mercer Investment Consulting is a unit of Mercer Human Resource Consulting, an operating company of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (MMC). MMC lists its stock on the New York, Chicago and London stock exchanges.