Marrying economic imperatives with sustainable values

Demand for ethical investments is soaring as they enter the mainstream, but there is confusion about definitions of environmental, social and governance factors. As a result, banks and index providers are moving into the space with the absence of a shared understanding of sustainability. Magda Ali reports

Lost in translation

The global social responsible investing (SRI) market was worth $11 trillion last year, up from $6.8 trillion in 2008 and $3.6 trillion in 2006, according to the European Sustainable Investment Forum’s (Eurosif) 2010 SRI report. There are roughly $100 billion in assets under management tied to mutual funds that use SRI, including exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to indexes that screen for companies committed to environmental standards, social ethics and corporate governance.

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