7.22.2008 - 09:23am ET

(CSRwire) NEW YORK, NY.- July 22, 2008 - The U.S. Conference of Mayors adopted a Resolution of Support for the Sustainable Investment Initiative of the Capital Markets Partnership at the June 2008, 76th annual meeting. It was sponsored by Gavin Newsom, Mayor of San Francisco, Richard Daley, Mayor of Chicago; Chuck Reed, Mayor of San Jose; Manuel A. Diaz, Mayor of Miami and President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

"I'm very pleased to work with all Mayors to accelerate green building and sustainable product investment," said San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, a Capital Markets Partnership leader and Officer. "Like San Francisco, many other cities that have adopted LEED are extending it to the private sector. Wall Street's Sustainable Investment Initiative makes private sector LEED requirements even better for business, and I know San Francisco's business leaders are enthusiastic about Wall Street's investment support."

The Initiative's Sustainable Investment Underwriting Standards will be made public at the July 22 meeting at Wachovia's Park Avenue Office in New York City. They provide a CMP Green Value Score(C) for buildings, homes and portfolios.

"These are international consensus Standards for financial institution and investor adoption," says Mike Italiano, CEO, Capital Markets Partnership, the non-profit behind the underwriting standards. "This is a clear signal that investors and cities want to shift to sustainable investment to improve the economy, the environment, the impact of climate change and energy security while fulfilling their fiduciary duty."

The Sustainable Investment Initiative is facilitating both equity and debt investment opportunities in certified green buildings and sustainable products through these Underwriting Standards. Based on successful precedent and quantified benefits, investment actions taken by the capital markets are expected to stimulate the economy, combat climate change, and counter long term rising conventional energy costs. The Initiative's consensus made, Underwriting Standards cover buildings and products across the global supply chain. It affects building construction and related products, one of the world's largest industries.

These Underwriting Standards are based on the Capital Markets Partnership's completed due diligence with investment banks , rating agencies and the investor community, which concluded that green buildings and certified sustainable products are more valuable than conventional. This provides the basis for investment products with higher value collateral, reduced risk, while increasing investor confidence and liquidity.

Jeff Perlowitz, Citi Head of Global Securitized Markets says, "We were pleased to facilitate the due diligence process by providing Standard and Poor's and the market with documented evidence that investments in green buildings reflect less risk and provide added value. A nonprofit charity like the Partnership consisting of investment banks, investors and government, is an excellent way to transparently disclose value and increase investor confidence in the due diligence through an accredited and audited consensus process."

According to Mario Silvestri, Vice President, Wachovia, and Officer, CMP National Underwriting Committee, "Wachovia looks forward to collaborating with US Mayors through the Capital Markets Partnership to further green building investment, increase jobs, and stimulate local economies. This provides a viable tool from which to gauge the added market value for green buildings through the Underwriting Standards, greatly facilitates this process. We're proud to have helped initiate the Partnership's due diligence activities in 2004 and taken a leading role in the 2005 Green Building Finance Summit, which along with the Green Building Value Rating System(C), provide a foundation for the Underwriting Standards."

Capital Markets Partnership members Wachovia, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs committed over $12 billion in reducing their environmental footprint and operating expenses by greening / certifying their buildings.

ABOUT The Capital Markets Partnership
CMP is a nonprofit coalition of investors, investment banks, insurers, city, state and federal government, countries, and NGOs. Key members include: The US Conference of Mayors, JPMorgan Chase, Citi, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Wachovia, Allianz, Fireman's Fund, Goldman Sachs, EPA, U.S. Treasury, Federal Home Loan Bank, United Kingdom, Fannie Mae, USGBC, States of California, New Jersey and New York, Destiny USA and Market Transformation to Sustainability (MTS).

To learn more about the Capital Markets Partnership: http://www.sustainableproductsblog.com/mts/files/partnership_brochure_32308_v2.pdf

For more information on the Conference of Mayors Resolution, go to: http://www.sustainableproductsblog.com/mts/2008/06/us-conference-of-mayors-support-sustainable-investment-initiative.html

For more Information on MTS or the SMaRT Sustainable Product Standard goto: http://mts.sustainableproducts.com
http://www.sustainableproductsblog.com
http://sustainableproducts.blip.tv

For more information please contact:

Commitment to Transparency: This organization is committed to transparency and stakeholder dialogue and encourages your comments and feedback.

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