Most people today are increasingly concerned about sustainability. The United Nations has identified 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that help countries across the world collaborate on and address difficulties related to global sustainable development.
The use of sustainable business practices without harming the environment is growing in importance. Further, investing sustainably in ESG funds has grown significantly as more and more investors recognise the importance of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) aspects in determining a company’s performance and market value. It is also viewed that an investor should know what sustainable financing is and how to integrate it into his/her portfolio.
Know what sustainable investing is
Environmental, Social, and Governance or ESG factors are incorporated into investment decisions today through sustainable investing in order to increase long-term profits. Traditional investing generally provides investment options in well-known assets such as equity, treasury bills, fixed deposits, and bonds with likely returns, while sustainable investing is known to balance traditional investing.
Investing in businesses or organisations that have a verifiable positive influence on the environment while still providing a financial return is known as making sustainable investments. Both individual and institutional investors can make investment decisions depending on their own interests and market values.
Contrary to earlier times, sustainable investing today adopts the best investment strategy that maximises returns while taking into account the ESG aspects and business financial performance.
Why is it crucial to make sustainable investing?
Sustainable investing is critical for the sustainable future of the world. Institutional or individual investors should make an effort to create investments that benefit society through positive environmental impact.
Climate change, air and water pollution, deforestation, and energy concerns are some of the problems we currently face. Industries, businesses, and governments can try to solve them by making significant changes in their operations. They are influenced by investors who consider applying ESG factors when investing.
Sustainability is essential to a company’s success. Businesses that provide sustainable investment opportunities stand to gain financial and intrinsic benefits. Investing in ESG funds is gaining a lot of significance among investors who look beyond monetary rewards. They seek to invest in businesses with a clear mission and sustainable solutions.
Studies held in this area by the University of Cambridge and MSCI Inc. revealed that the organisations that gave greater consideration to ESG aspects outperformed their competitors in terms of a higher return on assets and profitability and lower tail risk. Instead, investors, as well as shareholders, ignore companies that violate ESG laws, which has a long-term negative impact on their profitability, reputation, and branding.
The growing number of millennials and changing macroeconomic trends have led to continuous growth in sustainable investing. By 2050, the population is expected to increase by two billion people. Demand for water, food and energy will increase, which calls for new and innovative infrastructure upgrades.
You have enough options for sustainable investing as companies have several environmentally-friendly projects that support producing clean water, providing improved healthcare and sanitation, generating energy from renewable resources, and applying effective transportation systems.
For instance, the FSSA Dividend Advantage Fund comes under the category of ESG funds focusing on ESG integration into the investment process. Socially responsible investing (SRI), with several opportunities in the environmental space, is also gaining much importance these days.