Clean Energy Finance Takes Center Stage At 25th Annual SRI Conference

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Oct. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Next month, The SRI Conference will welcome two leading experts on clean energy to discuss the latest in clean energy financing. The 25th annual SRI Conference on Sustainable, Responsible, Impact Investing (http://www.SRIconference.com) will be held November 9-11, 2014 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Conference organizers announced today that Amory B. Lovins of Rocky Mountain Institute and Bloomberg New Energy Finance Founder, Michael Liebreich, will be major speakers.

In a separate panel, "Utility Death Spiral? The Future of Public Power," experts examine the increasingly complex set of pressures facing public utilities, including distributed generation (e.g. solar roof systems), new regulations, and competition from new entrants into the power services business. The panel will explore these dynamics and discuss the range of responses that traditional utilities are exploring and the implications for investors.

Michael Liebreich, chairman of the advisory board and founder of Bloomberg New Energy Finance, created one of the world's leading providers of information on clean energy to investors, energy companies and governments. Liebreich founded New Energy Finance in 2004 and sold it to Bloomberg in 2009 after growing it to 150 people. He serves on the UN Secretary General's High-Level Group on Sustainable Energy for All and on the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council for the New Energy Architecture, and he is a Visiting Professor at Imperial College London.

Amory B. Lovins is a physicist and 1993 MacArthur Fellow. He is widely considered among the world's leading authorities on energy—especially its efficient use and sustainable supply—and a fertile innovator in integrative design and in superefficient buildings, factories, and vehicles. In 1982, Lovins co-founded the Rocky Mountain Institute (www.rmi.org), an independent, entrepreneurial, nonprofit think-and-do tank.

First Affirmative President Steve Schueth, producer of The SRI Conference, said: "We are pleased to announce that both Michael Liebreich and Amory Lovins have confirmed participation in The 2014 SRI Conference. Our focus on clean energy, fossil fuel divestment, and impact investing in the clean energy space has been a recurring theme for several years. The SRI Conference attracts investment advisors, asset managers, institutional investors, and representatives of investment companies, community development financial institutions (CDFIs), social research/proxy voting organizations, and others. Virtually all of our attendees are interested in learning more about clean energy finance to inform their investment strategies."

Presenters in "Utility Death Spiral" panel will include: Ron Binz, former Colorado Public Utilities Commission, Obama nominee for FERC chair; Herve Touati, managing director, Rocky Mountain Institute; Ryan Preclaw, director, Credit Strategies, Barclay's; and panel moderator, Doug Arent, executive director, Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis, The National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

The full SRI Conference agenda is available online at: http://www.sriconference.com/agenda/2014-conference-agenda/.

ABOUT THE SRI CONFERENCE

The 25th annual SRI Conference (http://www.SRIconference.com) is the leading North American forum for investors and investment professionals involved in SRI investing. For more information about the conference or about supporting the conference as a sponsor, please contact Krystala Kalil, at 888-774-2663 or [email protected].

Conference participation is open to all SRI industry practitioners, investment professionals, institutional investors, and related organizations and individuals. The conference experience features an outstanding series of educational sessions and a focused opportunity to network with hundreds of like-minded individuals, organizations, and industry leaders.

ABOUT FIRST AFFIRMATIVE FINANCIAL NETWORK

First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC (http://www.firstaffirmative.com) is an independent Registered Investment Advisor (SEC File #801-56587) offering investment consulting and asset management services through a nationwide network of investment professionals who specialize in serving socially conscious investors. First Affirmative produces The SRI Conference (http://www.SRIconference.com).

SOURCE The SRI Conference, Colorado Springs