Socially Responsible Investing: Perspectives and Country Experiences

‘Socially Responsible Investing’ (SRI) is an investment process that considers the social and environmental consequences of investments, both positive and negative, within the context of rigorous financial analysis. Conventional investing is chiefly concerned with maximization of financial returns; SRI, on the other hand, operates on a wider canvas-it sees investing as a holistic process, one that holds the societal and environmental good in its ambit as much as it does the financial returns.SRI is variously referred to as ethical investing, socially conscious investing, values-based investing and green investing. SRI investors include individuals, businesses, universities, hospitals, foundations, pension funds, corporations, religious institutions and other non-profit organizations. The significance that SRI holds for the investing community can be gauged from the figures: in the US alone, SRI assets were $2.29 trillion in 2005 – one out of every ten dollars under professional management in the country.The emphasis on delivering on the ‘triple bottom line’-social, economic and environmental returns-has never been more for business. In the era of globalization and global warming, SRI promises to guide individuals and institutions – profit and non-profit – in directing their money and energies towards sustainable development. This book introduces the concept of SRI providing various perspectives on it, and describes SRI experiences and scenarios in different countries.