Rockefeller foundation impact investing reporter

Ethical codes and religious beliefs shaped the earliest instances of sustainable investing; the desire to invest consistently with personal values guides what sustainable investing would eventually become. Shareholders organize letters and resolutions against the production of napalm and Agent Orange.

The anti-war movement further propels practices of sustainable investing, referred to as socially responsible investing and still built on exclusionary principles. Public sentiment leads to the establishment of the first sustainable mutual funds. Strong voices for responsible corporate practices speak up and begin to influence the global discourse. Two United Methodist ministers— Luther Tyson and Jack Corbett —looking to avoid investing church dollars in companies contributing to the Vietnam War, founded the groundbreaking Pax World fund.

They want to align their investments with their values and urge companies to adhere to a standard of social and environmental responsibility. Townsend The Rev. Leon Sullivan, a clergyman and civil rights leader, develops a code of conduct for companies, dubbed the Sullivan Principles. These principles aim to promote corporate social responsibility and to apply economic pressure in South Africa in response to the apartheid system of racial segregation.

Legislating Corporate Responsibility s The anti-apartheid movement advocating for divestment from South Africa gains critical mass. Shareholder activism pressures corporate involvement, and the push reaches the U.

Environmental concerns continue to propel growth for sustainable investing. The establishment of forums and key proclamations in the s help to formalize the process, but the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska puts the U. Sustainable Investing Forum is founded. According to Calvert Investments , it becomes the first investment firm to sponsor a shareholder resolution tied to a social issue. It brings together investors, business leaders, and public-interest groups to speed the adoption of sustainable business practices and the transition to a low-carbon economy.

A Global Call to Action s Awareness of a warming planet continues to grow globally with the signing of the Kyoto Protocol, an agreement among nations to reduce carbon emissions. But sustainable-investment options are growing modestly; the selection of funds is limited. The Education of ESG s Sustainable investing continues to grow globally, propelled by international organizations like the United Nations.

Kofi Annan, then U. The initiative coins the term ESG investing. Later, the intention of sustainable investing would shift again—this time toward focused investments that are aimed at gaining influence or having impact on issues that investors care about. The Global Reporting Initiative launches and provides companies with international, independent standards on how to communicate their impact on issues such as climate change, human rights, and corruption.

Today, more than 12, companies are Global Compact signatories. PRI has at present gained more than 2, signatories from asset managers and institutional investors. Born out of a Rockefeller Foundation meeting, the network spurs the idea of impact investing.

But ever since the release of the groundbreaking report Impact Investments: An Emerging Asset Class by JP Morgan Social Finance in , the idea of impact investing as a new asset class has captivated and also perplexed many investors.

Some argue that impact investments are separated from traditional asset classes by certain characteristics — such as a focus on Base of the Pyramid BoP consumers who are outside of traditional businesses, or activity in industries like Social Housing, which are uncorrelated to the market.

In fact, impact investing refers to capital being distributed across sectors and asset classes public and private debt, public and private equity, real assets, etc. So, clearly, it is not an asset class. As the industry grows, it looks set to present progressively more options for impact investors within all asset classes that exist.

But this trade-off is rooted less in fact than in fear. The truth is, small spenders are finding their way into impact investing through a number of paths. Crowdfunding is available around the world and is a simple way for people to take small-equity stakes in start-ups and companies. Another option is the Calvert Foundation, a non-profit, microfinance fund in the US that uses an amassment of small-scale investments to lend money to social enterprises and non-profits in conservation, job-creation, affordable housing and other development fields.

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