Now is the time for (re)building bridges, not walls

SUBJECT:
PRI: NORMAL
FROM:
H
heartland@steelvalley.org
DATE:
2017-03-02 20:18:53
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<1127338753168.1107648857781.2094823414.0.341518JL.2002@scheduler.constantcontact.com>
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hbiden@rosemontseneca.com
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PROCESSED
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March 2, 2017
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Now is the time for (re)building bridges, not walls

Dear H,
President Trump, in his address this week to Congress, promised to invest $1 trillion
in rebuilding our nation's infrastructure. After bemoaning our crumbling infrastructure,
which includes falling bridges and dangerous tunnels, Trump said: "To launch our
national rebuilding, I will be asking the Congress to approve legislation that produces
a $1 trillion investment in the infrastructure of the United States -- financed
through both public and private capital -- creating millions of new jobs. This effort
will be guided by two core principles: Buy American, and Hire American."
As a recent Gallup Poll announced, "Two-third of American (69%) say it is "very
important" for President-elect Donald Trump to keep his campaign promise to enact
major spending on infrastructure renew." As we noted in our recent Responsible Investor
Handbook, published by Greenleaf Publishing (2016) infrastructure represents the
"basic physical systems of a business or nation." Infrastructure investments can
be grouped into the following broad categories: energy, transportation, water,
communication, social infrastructure (schools, hospitals, social housing).
We have long advocated for public investments in infrastructure, utilizing the decades-long,
low-cost, reliable infrastructure bonds approach. Aside from fixed-income offerings,
project finance is another strategy for capitalizing long-term infrastructure investments,
including renewable energy and energy retrofit projects. The project finance structure
is "based upon a non-recourse or limited recourse financial structure where project
debt and equity used to finance the project are paid back from the cash flow generated
by the project" (Investopedia, 2015).
Trump's push for public-private partnerships (which might include pension investments)
in infrastructure represents both an opportunity and threat. For one, there are
institutional investors, including CalPERS and Canadian pension plans (such as
the CPPIB, OMERS, and OTPP), which have made many direct infrastructure investments
that also included an assessment of ESG factors during the investment due diligence
and monitoring process. Some institutional investors have incorporated anti-privatization
measures and truly abide by "responsible contractor policies," which ensure that
current and future workers are treated fairly.
A downside of some PPPs (public-private-partnerships) are demonstrated in some of
the privatization horror stories that abound (think Indiana Toll Road, which bankrupted,
and the Chicago parking meters). Infrastructure investments by Wall Street can be
botched by private equity-style high fees and short holding periods that are a mismatch
with the long-term nature of projects (and pension funds). In future editions,
we will highlight successful responsible infrastructure funds in the U.S.A., Australia,
and Canada that have primarily been born out of a demand by pension funds.
The following articles by the Roosevelt Institute CEO Felicia Wong and report by
Damon Silvers, Eric Harris Bernstein, and Dominic Russel, entitled Transformative
Infrastructure and the UN-PRI on their Infrastrcture Workstream provide some important
policy frameworks going forward.
The Heartland Thursday Espresso has been featuring, over the years, a huge number
of stories about renewable energy investments. That's because the energy sector,
especially green energy, has become one of the largest drivers of new infrastructure
investments in this hybrid finance space. Needless to say, if the new Administration's
first idea for infrastructure is building a "Great Wall" dividing our country with
our southern neighbor, then we've failed miserably. Our basic message: repair first,
(re)build bridges not walls, and do it responsibly
Visit our Heartland Network website [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001xuZskdkWfd9GmjFTeD7WHyzrjK5JUZQ4W-jHxMXI0MJhbqlDWw98EV7vBSKOSE9rUpicC_7p7eiSQEP1ChtU-7ywxT1LrSiv-CTBxzPAzh9jZkMU9jjtcv_Kg_4MqX8r_lnHUPRfgt_q0NVjjrqltrtQazfThwRh2UURJU9r2xIyKHCwkEVjUw==&c=wMOCH5fK6MMe0OADW1DSe-gLNdqE-bI8KYvPDZnMXI4UBVnlPntiWg==&ch=GmaJTMKX6U4cF5wIYg76MPOv8w4Z3NOE7Qhyks52xS8fiGO2BVS2Gw==]
to learn more.
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LINKS OF
INTEREST

Heartland Capital Strategies [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001xuZskdkWfd9GmjFTeD7WHyzrjK5JUZQ4W-jHxMXI0MJhbqlDWw98ETjEIwFH3Jc6ZEurI89dgjLTF70_Au-NEtYCEz_UkTKAlDazgZkLaQzUvWNiDc5QM7OSsga93KD7YGb3ftFMjxNr3sfCCVj3OAXy9q1OAoRLif96Rgct3GXSmm2lTXJN7w==&c=wMOCH5fK6MMe0OADW1DSe-gLNdqE-bI8KYvPDZnMXI4UBVnlPntiWg==&ch=GmaJTMKX6U4cF5wIYg76MPOv8w4Z3NOE7Qhyks52xS8fiGO2BVS2Gw==]
Responsible Investor Handbook [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001xuZskdkWfd9GmjFTeD7WHyzrjK5JUZQ4W-jHxMXI0MJhbqlDWw98EYqce0Yp22jzkaaVXcOd8akMDTU52kVssd9xkSqYr_xm3PdvyCPGe8diEOJshYk02jYs2JBEQvxXJipOnGbmsZ4kokvUPn5bk52UNSR6hvSBTLqgW3WcvVHbJZsvMRQxkVN-ikVid_2Td24eOI1eGDBlhSGl1fdxCjqD3B2hB3XO&c=wMOCH5fK6MMe0OADW1DSe-gLNdqE-bI8KYvPDZnMXI4UBVnlPntiWg==&ch=GmaJTMKX6U4cF5wIYg76MPOv8w4Z3NOE7Qhyks52xS8fiGO2BVS2Gw==]
HCS Events [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001xuZskdkWfd9GmjFTeD7WHyzrjK5JUZQ4W-jHxMXI0MJhbqlDWw98EUbaOwnv4c4mB8wgPIrBC_iIcfX0VKn-VznrKo7Wdb6-448wqpFFn66CixLRJbl4sSU86is1Qc0bTji6mx0pFGWw5QD4Qr71VY_JySktk4N5I0UUJHDRcK-tkhchzE9mrQ==&c=wMOCH5fK6MMe0OADW1DSe-gLNdqE-bI8KYvPDZnMXI4UBVnlPntiWg==&ch=GmaJTMKX6U4cF5wIYg76MPOv8w4Z3NOE7Qhyks52xS8fiGO2BVS2Gw==]
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ECOSYSTEM PARTNERS

Sleigh Strategy, LLC
Robert Samuel
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Transformative Infrastructure Investment and American Competitiveness
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A note from Roosevelt Institute President and CEO Felicia Wong:
America needs genuine infrastructure investment now more than ever-and that means
more than just filling potholes. It means building the foundation for 21st century
commerce, which is a long-term strategic necessity. It includes public investments
in high-speed rail, universal broadband, and a carbon-reducing power grid, all of
which will drive growth and help usher in shared prosperity for millions of Americans.
The 2016 election results show that this is the will of the American people: According
to a recent poll [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001xuZskdkWfd9GmjFTeD7WHyzrjK5JUZQ4W-jHxMXI0MJhbqlDWw98EdQVfvM-547XKJK8CT-l3DwzZJ18IEdRqUVnABhj9INN6WAGm9gVovejIIT2-WUePQjJJsbVeBKxgOHV3wWY_A4GOHizIwZYs_aSu2Ef_fx7qpd2R3Rz_j0jmIVXuWuBTKMKRhjZhHexqfOBRuowKhuaRDZ8Ijjt1pjKchqvBraj8-Asa0ga5ASGRkvXEve4QJq6FgByeLowltZoWGwI0co=&c=wMOCH5fK6MMe0OADW1DSe-gLNdqE-bI8KYvPDZnMXI4UBVnlPntiWg==&ch=GmaJTMKX6U4cF5wIYg76MPOv8w4Z3NOE7Qhyks52xS8fiGO2BVS2Gw==]
by the Roosevelt Institute and Democracy Corps, 70 percent of voters support commitments
to transformational infrastructure investments that will grow our economy, create
jobs, and transform our nation to meet the demands of the 21st century. However,
we must be wary. Infrastructure's ability to bring true growth and opportunity
depends on how we finance it. [READ MORE] [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001xuZskdkWfd9GmjFTeD7WHyzrjK5JUZQ4W-jHxMXI0MJhbqlDWw98EdQVfvM-547XvKlxmGh-0S4TX19snHqacgh7p_TRx8sS7sIjyY0QEk0fqm2A_dnqPzJswAp8qbWaOuU34mtx3k0t-J9Mvws9PBcjS_YETRm_Iyt75DBZzdsO5KxM_v00ok7lkytQAw2o0GKYPPKxdsizRBAMu_g0-IvaISwAU67arK0bgFSttwcBH5quvqmhGf7Ki41RDVTphInUP-iQydg21D2n_DGs6hwTSGMFjNVFqgtah4m7y0bc9jnjdvxM6ei-DXWNMPTA&c=wMOCH5fK6MMe0OADW1DSe-gLNdqE-bI8KYvPDZnMXI4UBVnlPntiWg==&ch=GmaJTMKX6U4cF5wIYg76MPOv8w4Z3NOE7Qhyks52xS8fiGO2BVS2Gw==]
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PRI Launches New Infrastructure Workstream
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LONDON, 23 February 2017 - The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) today
announced that it has developed a new infrastructure workstream in response to
the growing demand for sustainable infrastructure solutions in both developed and
emerging markets.
According to a 2016 study by McKinsey, governments and private investors need to
fill a $90 trillion infrastructure funding gap to meet the world's development
needs over the next 15 years. The new US administration has committed to investing
heavily in renewing its infrastructure while the UK has positioned infrastructure
as a key pillar of its post-Brexit plans. [READ MORE] [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001xuZskdkWfd9GmjFTeD7WHyzrjK5JUZQ4W-jHxMXI0MJhbqlDWw98EdQVfvM-547XJ9KYUBjj9kxLX08b_zwMPsGipRGBoWHUdJ8k9VXWHIVRQULG59To1rdmMWTbP0zg9KHjlauXjvAWz0FAaBJphqkZW7spZZk-31y9ViVRFv46GZjYNvBnoWVmk5R3ZBGO-Ym_gQsXgjpdmOndaHdtcYiyYWmVQ34cNJ5hxxEowEHmZV_t9MDYDEcJpwXnG70yXjAC69hYsOUJFyVG48rURw==&c=wMOCH5fK6MMe0OADW1DSe-gLNdqE-bI8KYvPDZnMXI4UBVnlPntiWg==&ch=GmaJTMKX6U4cF5wIYg76MPOv8w4Z3NOE7Qhyks52xS8fiGO2BVS2Gw==]
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Heartland Capital Strategies [http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001xuZskdkWfd9GmjFTeD7WHyzrjK5JUZQ4W-jHxMXI0MJhbqlDWw98EXpnRDoEHsFGHscr0aEj9_2xLYSMYT-z9rK-3vTOXq3IXoa8dRc5N0r9G1pkHd67i26erm9I_ZluiOblUaj5Isyb0bEBozBvX2gAuAYkgSaIv32QIcfkYPB1Uc-Jst7e2A==&c=wMOCH5fK6MMe0OADW1DSe-gLNdqE-bI8KYvPDZnMXI4UBVnlPntiWg==&ch=GmaJTMKX6U4cF5wIYg76MPOv8w4Z3NOE7Qhyks52xS8fiGO2BVS2Gw==]
fosters a "Community of Practice" for responsible economic impact investments. Heartland
promotes strategic responsible investments to rebuild the rebuilt environment, renew
the industrial commons, grow the clean economy, and make the boss more accountable.
Inspired by the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), Heartland
Capital Strategies (HCS) promotes investments and projects essential for revitalizing
our productive economy and community prosperity.

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