Over the past two years, countless asset management companies have launched impact funds. The search for impact has undoubtedly become the new frontier of responsible investment. This dynamic is part of a growing demand from investors to better understand the concrete externalities of their investments. It is also marked by the success of new methodological frameworks, led by the Sustainable Development Goals. The numerous works on the definition and methodological harmonization of impact investing (Impact Management Project, Operating Principles for Impact Management, GIIN reports, FIR-France Invest report, etc.) highlight two major trends.
On the one hand, impact investing is no longer confined to a niche in private equity or philanthropy, as it was in the 1980s. Indeed, the new definitions now attempt to cover many asset classes. On the other hand, the constitution of common standards makes it possible to create firewalls for impact washing practices, resulting from the free interpretation and more or less robust practices of each player, in the face of the methodological vagueness that has reigned for several years.
I Care offers you an overview of impact investing, a new frontier of responsible investment, YWCA #12: Impact investing – getting a handle on it.
This expert opinion, written in September 2021 by Emilie Marbot, is part of a series of publications called “Yes We Care About” that is published by I Care, and which you can find in the “Expert Opinions” section by clicking here.
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