Sustainable investment
Table of Contents
Sustainable investment
To ensure financial success, investors can diversify and expand their portfolios using a variety of tactics. The idea of sustainable investing is one trend that is altering how companies and investors view investments. Sustainable investing has influenced positive social change, which has shaped the world. It has also been demonstrated that making investments more sustainable can have a positive financial impact on both individuals and companies. As they tackle the most significant global problems, purpose-driven leaders and organisations can prosper by establishing sustainable business strategies.
What is sustainable investment?
Various strategies are called sustainable investing, in which investors seek to maximise profits while advancing long-term environmental or social benefits. By integrating environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) insights with conventional investment methodologies, investors can provide more thorough evaluations and make better investment decisions.
With sustainable investing, businesses are evaluated on their overall contributions to society rather than just their immediate financial success. Investors must consider how their decisions affect the political, social, and environmental environments.
Understanding sustainable investment
Sustainable investment aims to create positive returns while promoting long-term global sustainability through a strategic approach to financial activity that goes beyond conventional financial measurements. Sustainable investors look for opportunities in businesses and initiatives that highly value social impact, environmental responsibility, and ethical business practices. In addition to addressing urgent social and ecological issues, this investment strategy recognises the connection between financial success and overall global well-being, promoting a more resilient and inclusive economy for both the present and the future. This is achieved by matching capital with sustainability goals.
Strategies for sustainable investment
The various strategies for sustainable investment are as follows:
- Impact investors aim to produce profitable returns and beneficial social and environmental effects. They put money into funds that deal with particular global issues, including healthcare, poverty reduction, and renewable energy.
- Investing in companies more dedicated to environmentally sustainable practices than their rivals is the aim of positive screening. They pick businesses at the forefront of their industry’s sustainability initiatives.
- Negative screening eliminates businesses or sectors of the economy that conflict with the moral principles of the investor. Investors might avoid companies that engage in tobacco or environmentally harmful activities.
- By taking part in proxy voting and having discussions with corporations to promote ethical business practices, you may become an activist shareholder. Keep an eye on prospective investments’ ESG ratings and keep up with worldwide sustainability developments.
- A company’s performance may be impacted by changing rules, so keep a close look at new regulations regarding sustainability. Re-evaluate your portfolio regularly to make sure it reflects changing market conditions and sustainability goals.
Importance of sustainable investment
The growing popularity of sustainable investment can be attributed to the concerns of ethical investing, particularly among millennials and impact investors, who seek to support businesses that uphold core principles and effect good change. Companies that adopt sustainable practices are encouraged by sustainable investing, which can result in long-term financial and social benefits.
Encouraging companies to go green helps create mission-driven companies that influence the community and environment beyond just selling products or services. Sustainable business practices are frequently used to address significant global challenges like climate change. Learning about sustainable investment methods will help you decide where and when to invest based on your values and market trends.
Examples of sustainable investment
Including renewable energy assets in a portfolio is a prime example of sustainable investing. Investors can designate their money to businesses developing and running solar or wind energy projects. Encouraging the use of renewable energy helps environmental sustainability goals and the expansion of sectors that reduce their carbon impact. Investments in renewable energy that are sustainable both financially and environmentally can help the world’s energy transition to one that is more ecologically friendly and sustainable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Sustainable investment offers benefits such as long-term financial performance, reduced risk through ESG factors, alignment with ethical values, positive societal and environmental impact, and fostering responsible business practices. Investors can contribute to a more sustainable and resilient global economy while achieving financial goals.
Sustainable investment principles, guided by Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria, focus on environmental responsibility, social impact, and governance practices. Investors seek companies with favourable environmental practices, promote social responsibility, and consider effective governance structures. These principles align investments with ethical, sustainable, and socially responsible business practices, contributing to a more inclusive and environmentally conscious global economy.
Sustainable investing is a comprehensive approach that incorporates environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations into investment decisions. The objective is to synchronise financial resources with enduringly sustainable methodologies and enterprises that benefit the community and the ecosystem.
The goal of socially responsible investment, or SRI, is to invest exclusively in businesses that meet specified moral or social standards. It seeks to assist companies that uphold socially conscious standards and steer clear of those engaged in actions considered detrimental to the community.
Impact investing actively looks for investments that provide quantifiable, favourable social or environmental effects and financial rewards, going beyond simply considering ethical considerations. Beyond meeting financial targets, the main objective is to effect positive change.
The origins of sustainable investing can be found in the ethical investing practices of the 18th century. Growing social and environmental concerns during the 20th century gave rise to socially responsible investing. After gaining popularity in the late 20th century, the phrase “sustainable investment” now refers to a dynamic field with growing legislative support, worldwide awareness, and various investment products centred around environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors.
Sustainable investment encourages moral and responsible corporate activities by matching investments with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards. Since businesses with good ESG standards are typically more robust, investors in sustainable funds may benefit from possible long-term financial performance. It allows investors to back causes essential to them, improving the social and environmental effects. It also represents an increasing understanding of the relationship between general societal well-being and financial success.
Related Terms
Most Popular Terms
Other Terms
- Floating Dividend Rate
- Flight to Quality
- Real Return
- Protective Put
- Perpetual Bond
- Option Adjusted Spread (OAS)
- Non-Diversifiable Risk
- Merger Arbitrage
- Liability-Driven Investment (LDI)
- Income Bonds
- Guaranteed Investment Contract (GIC)
- Flash Crash
- Equity Carve-Outs
- Cost of Equity
- Cost Basis
- Deferred Annuity
- Cash-on-Cash Return
- Earning Surprise
- Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR)
- Bubble
- Beta Risk
- Bear Spread
- Asset Play
- Accrued Market Discount
- Ladder Strategy
- Junk Status
- Intrinsic Value of Stock
- Interest-Only Bonds (IO)
- Interest Coverage Ratio
- Inflation Hedge
- Industry Groups
- Incremental Yield
- Industrial Bonds
- Income Statement
- Holding Period Return
- Historical Volatility (HV)
- Hedge Effectiveness
- Flat Yield Curve
- Fallen Angel
- Exotic Options
- Execution Risk
- Exchange-Traded Notes
- Event-Driven Strategy
- Eurodollar Bonds
- Enhanced Index Fund
- Embedded Options
- EBITDA Margin
- Dynamic Asset Allocation
- Dual-Currency Bond
- Downside Capture Ratio
Know More about
Tools/Educational Resources
Markets Offered by POEMS
Read the Latest Market Journal

Recognising Biases in Investing and Tips to Avoid Them
Common biases like overconfidence, herd mentality, and loss aversion influence both risk assessment and decision-making....

What is Money Dysmorphia and How to Overcome it?
Money dysmorphia happens when the way you feel about your finances doesn’t match the reality...

The Employer’s Guide to Domestic Helper Insurance
Domestic Helper insurance may appear to be just another compliance task for employers in Singapore,...

One Stock, Many Prices: Understanding US Markets
Why Isn’t My Order Filled at the Price I See? Have you ever set a...

Why Every Investor Should Understand Put Selling
Introduction Options trading can seem complicated at first, but it offers investors flexible strategies to...

Mastering Stop-Loss Placement: A Guide to Profitability in Forex Trading
Effective stop-loss placement is a cornerstone of prudent risk management in forex trading. It’s not...

Boosting ETF Portfolio Efficiency: Reducing Tax Leakage Through Smarter ETF Selection
Introduction: Why Tax Efficiency Matters in Global ETF Investing Diversification is the foundation of a...

How to Build a Diversified Global ETF Portfolio
Introduction: Why Diversification Is Essential in 2025 In our June edition article (https://www.poems.com.sg/market-journal/the-complete-etf-playbook-for-singapore-investors-from-beginner-to-advanced-strategies/), we introduced...