12.13.2005 ET

(CSRwire) BERKELEY, Calif. - Today Sustainable Ventures announced that it will offer a $10,000 prize plus benefits to an individual or team of researchers for the study that measures the true costs of a loaf of bread. The winning study will provide an analytical framework that measures social, environmental and financial performance so people can make more informed choices in their selection and use of products and services. Registration for interested award candidates is requested by January 10, 2006. When the final prize is awarded in the fall of 2006, the findings will be widely disseminated to the public for dialogue and use.

"We chose a 'loaf of bread' because people around the world eat some form of grain-based staple on a daily basis," said Theo Ferguson, the prize creator, Board Chair and Executive Director of Sustainable Ventures. "Since there are no metrics or frameworks that people can easily understand to make informed choices, this is an innovative way to get the best and the brightest from academia, consulting firms, and a variety of other organizations and industry sectors to create new solutions to an ongoing challenge."

For instance, the research findings - based on revealing the hidden costs of a loaf of bread - could help people understand the effects of oil-based transportation and agricultural production. The energy needed to transport a loaf of bread has significant implications for: the organization of businesses and trade; food and energy policies; individuals' preferences regarding locally produced products; and potential reductions in oil use. Full implications of the findings could be used to influence foreign policy and decrease regional and global conflict.

"This research has the enormously important potential to shift the way we perceive and evaluate some basic activities of government and business," said Dr. Neva Goodwin of the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University. "It is intended to generate frameworks that will help consumers make choices among products and services and will increase awareness and understanding by allowing people to play an active role in determining their future."

Prize benefits will include paid attendance for selected participants at a Candidates' Forum as well as the $10,000 prize to the final winner. To encourage the best thinking and widest possible participation, the award process also includes an online forum for participants to form teams, share materials and initiate and participate in new discussion topics.

The twelve jurors participating in the prize review and selection process bring to the project a breadth of expertise in research, academia, policy and educational activism - and a deep commitment to creating a more sustainable world. They include: systems and sustainable food nutritionists; classical economists; financial professionals; natural systems advocates; and academic researchers from institutions with worldwide reach.

For more information about how to participate in the award program, please visit: http://www.sustainableventures.us or contact:Theo.Ferguson@SustainableVentures.us.

About Sustainable Ventures
Sustainable Ventures is a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring and educating beneficial owners - the people who have pension and trust funds invested in their names - to take an active role in the management of their investments. The outcomes of "Our Daily Bread" will enable beneficial owners - as well as the general public - to have more influence in their financial affairs by enrolling fund managers to use integrated performance for a sustainable "bottom line."

For more information please contact: