For the longest time, impact investing has been the domain of philanthropists and filthy rich investors. In recent years tables have turned. ESG topics have gained more prominence on the corporate level. As firms seek to profit from the new trend while addressing ESG issues. ESG investment consultants fuelling sustainable investing now appears to have caught government attention.
Governments worldwide have started taking note of ESG investing, and given the synergies. It offers compared to traditional forms of investment. The need to regulate the space to ensure investors are not duped on their hard money. By fictitious ESG companies appear to be fuelling government influence around the growing field.
Additionally, it is the acknowledgment that ESG investing can play a big role in addressing many issues. That appears to have triggered government interest. For the longest time, societies have always looked at the government for solutions on the governance front. Or addressing problems facing the community or the environment.
Fast forward, things are changing, and people increasingly realize that investments can help provide solutions that a government could struggle to offer. ESG consulting services have helped shed more light on underlying ESG issues and provided solutions that have become investment opportunities.
ESG Investment consultants have been at the forefront in directing investor’s capital to projects that address ESG issues. This explains the influx in capital towards renewable energy projects seen as the ultimate solution to combatting the carbon footprint menace. ESG investments towards affordable housing have gone a long way in improving people’s living standards. While allowing investors to generate a fortune.
Growing ESG Government Influence
ESG investing can only continue to grow as governments worldwide pay close watch to sustainability. The US is leading the fray. President Joe Biden has made it clear that clean air, renewable energy. Climate change mitigation and adequate workers’ compensation are among his top priorities.
The net effect has been legislative bodies enacting laws that can only foster ESG reporting and investing. Diversity laws are increasingly coming into play to ensure equal opportunities. For people regardless of age, gender, or race.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is a high-ranking government agency spearheading efforts in addressing ESG issues. The agency has set up a Climate and ESG task force tasked with identifying, analyzing, and reporting compliance issues.
Additionally, increased government involvement around ESG is expected to affect contracting in government projects in the future significantly.
The Altruist League Managing Partner Ekaterina Chernova stated. “It is clear that future government contracting will be heavily influenced by ESG factors. Only entities and contractors depicting the highest levels of ESG compliance will stand a chance of winning government contracts.”
Push For ESG Investment Regulations
Additionally, governments could be the missing piece in the race to addressing some of the issues that have derailed ESG investing growth in recent years. With the race to ESG mainstream adoption appearing to take edges, government policies could help accelerate the transition.
ESG investment consultant’s biggest challenge has always been the quantification of ESG. It has always proved to be a hard nut to crack when it comes to ESG rating and ascertaining what makes a company ESG. How these factors should be measured and weighed has always proved to be a challenge.
However, with increasing government influence and involvement in ESG, a solution might be in sight. Governments worldwide are increasingly being urged to ensure some regulations govern ESG. Advocates are increasingly pushing for a universal measure of reporting ESG information. There are also calls for governments to provide classification systems for ESG investing.
“Regulations governing corporate disclosure of ESG reporting information should be standardized. This is the only way people and investors can compare ESG data across companies, sectors, and countries,” said Milos Maricic, The Altruist League President.
In this case, ESG reporting should be standardized to ensure ESG information is readily available and comparable across companies and national boundaries. Additionally, companies’ claims of ESG status must be backed with verifiable data as a way of fostering credibility.
Standardization will go a long way in ensuring ESG investment consultants have an accurate and effective way of evaluating companies based on ESG factors. It will also ensure precise ESG information is readily available that would-be investors can use to make informed decisions.
