“Already unpopular with many on Wall Street, technology stocks are starting to lose the support of another group: socially responsible investors,” writes Marcelo Prince in today’s Wall Street Journal.

“Calvert Group, one of the oldest and largest managers of socially screened funds, is considering removing six technology companies from its list of acceptable investments next month. The Bethesda, Md., firm says these companies fail to meet its recently expanded business ethics and corporate-governance criteria.”

“Among those that Calvert wants to remove are Perot Systems Corp. and several large software firms, including Oracle Corp. and Computer Associates International Inc. Calvert, which manages $8 billion in assets, delisted four technology companies in September for similar reasons.”

“Perot Systems declined to comment. Oracle and Computer Associates defended their corporate governance and ethics. An Oracle spokeswoman said the company was ‘disappointed to hear of Calvert’s decision and [believes] it is unjustified.’ “

“A Computer Associates spokesman said it has taken ‘concrete steps to achieve and maintain a high standard of corporate governance and we are in no way finished.’ “

“Other socially responsible managers, including Citizens Funds and Domini Social Investments, say they are also enhancing their criteria for corporate-governance issues.”

“In doing so, they are finding that some technology companies, which have excellent environmental and community records, have poor governance records or have engaged in ethically questionable business practices.”

“Domini, a New York firm that manages $1.2 billion, pulled Computer Associates off its Domini 400 Social Index in October, marking the first company in some time to be removed for corporate-governance issues, a researcher said.”

“None of the companies Calvert is looking to remove are on the index kept by Citizens, a Portsmouth, N.H., firm that manages about $900 million in assets. Citizens, which expanded its corporate-governance criteria in August, reconstituted its 300-stock index last month.”