LIQUID ASSETS DRAWING INVESTORS TO WATER: DISCLOSURES BY 10 PUBLIC, PRIVATE WATER UTILITIES AROUND GLOBE GRADED BY INTERFAITH CENTER ON CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY

As Mutual Funds, ETFs and Other Investment Opportunities in Water Surge, Faith-Based Investor Group Asks "How 'Green' Are These Investments?"; U.S., Australian, UK, Spanish, Philippine and Transnational Utilities Evaluated.

NEW YORK CITY///NEWS ADVISORY///Investing in water is hot for investors today, but what do we really know about how well the world's leading water and sanitation utilities are managing environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks? What are they disclosing to investors and other stakeholders, and how do the disclosures of private water utilities around the world stack up with those from public utilities in the U.S. and Australia?

On July 22, 2009, the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) will hold a phone-based international news conference to release a new report examining public water utilities in New York City and New South Wales, Australia, and 10 private water service companies and divisions: Agbar (Spain); Manila Water (Philippines); American Water and United Water (USA); Severn Trent, Southern Water, and Thames Water (UK); Suez Environment and Veolia (transnational, including US).

Water, the world's third largest industry after oil and electric power, is the most capital intensive of all utilities and the most essential. As the dimensions of the water crisis and the vast need for capital in water services become apparent, private investment in the water industry has surged. Growing freshwater scarcity and increasing demand are giving rise to investment strategies based on water as an increasingly scarce commodity not unlike oil, with the prospect of "peak water" summoning visions of peak profits from what is already being called "blue gold."

The new report, "Liquid Assets: Responsible Investment in Water Services," scores the public and private utilities on 21 key disclosure issues, including: planning for water scarcity and climate disruptions; governance and anti-corruption policies; equitable access; environmental fines; and quality of service. Among other issues, the ICCR report traces the rise of recent investor interest in water through such platforms as mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs) and looks at how those funds have performed in the recent market upheavals. The report also highlights the critical data gaps in current reporting by water utilities and calls for creation of a "data commons" for drinking water and sanitation utilities, whether investor-owned or government-owned.

News event speakers will be:

* Laura Berry, executive director, ICCR; and

* Leslie Lowe, director, Energy and the Environment program, ICCR.

* Patricia Jones, manager, Environmental Justice Program, Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC). Prior to joining the UUSC, she worked with the International Water Law Research Institute, University of Dundee. She received her PhD from the University of Dundee Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science.

TO PARTICIPATE: Join this live, phone-based news conference (with full, two-way Q&A) at 1:30 p.m. EDT/6:30 p.m. GMT on Wednesday, July 22, 2009, in the U.S. by dialling 1 (800) 860-2442. Media in and around London should dial 0800-028-0531. All other reporters outside of the U.S. and the London area should dial 001-412-858-4600, which is not a toll-free line. All callers should ask for the "Water Investing and Disclosure Report" news event.

CAN'T PARTICIPATE?: A streaming audio replay of the news event will be available on the Web at http://www.iccr.org as of 6 p.m. ET/11 p.m. GMT on July 22, 2009.

CONTACT: Patrick Mitchell, (703) 276-3266 or pmitchellhastingsgroup.com.

The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (http://www.iccr.org) is a coalition of nearly 300 faith-based institutional investors representing over $100 billion in invested capital. ICCR members bridge the divide between morality and markets by envisioning a civic economy that integrates ethical, environmental and social values. Inspired by faith, committed to action, ICCR members work to build a just and sustainable global community.