Responsible Investment: A Vehicle for Environmentally Sustainable Economic Growth in South Africa?

This paper explores whether any investment products or strategies in South Africa take environmental sustainability into account. By looking at how environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria are used in investment decision making, we found that most socially-responsible investment products...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Policy File 2010
Main Authors: Giamporcaro, Stephanie, Pretorius, Lise, Visser, Martine
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
Economic policy
Environment
Resources for the Future
Online Access:Request full text
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Summary:This paper explores whether any investment products or strategies in South Africa take environmental sustainability into account. By looking at how environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria are used in investment decision making, we found that most socially-responsible investment products and responsible investment strategies largely focus on infrastructure, development, and black economic empowerment. Environmental criteria do not yet receive comparable attention from South African asset managers and owners. Mainstreaming responsible investment principles will need to come from either an increase in demand for such practices by asset owners or from company positions on ESG issues.