What is Sustainable Finance and Why is it More Important than Ever?

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What is Sustainable Finance and Why is it More Important than Ever
In the modern world, sustainability has become more important than ever, and it’s not affecting all major industries. There’s a growing push for companies to take the lead and set an example, changing their business practices to follow a more sustainable model. This includes taking care of environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns, paving the way for a better future.

Sustainable finance is the name given to a type of investing that focuses on the environmental, social and governance factors of a project. This might involve only investing in companies that are committed to sustainable business practices as well as avoiding those that are unsustainable.
You can learn more about this subject with a sustainable finance online course. Exploring the benefits of sustainable finance, this course will give you a greater understanding of how social and environmental challenges affect businesses around the world.

What Are ESG Factors?
Environmental, social and governance, better known as ESG, factors are a set of standards used to measure the sustainability of a company. Specifically, it measures how a company impacts the environment, how socially conscious it is and how transparent it is on how it’s run.
Environmental criteria take into account a company’s environmental protection efforts, such as corporate climate change policies. The management of relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, and the communities in which it operates is examined under social criteria. Leadership, executive compensation, audits, internal controls, and shareholder rights are all topics covered by governance.

In recent years, investors have shown a greater concern over these factors when choosing which companies to invest in. Modern investors are now far more likely to consider how sustainable a company is before investing and this is helping to encourage more companies to adopt sustainable and ethical business practices.

The Advantages of Sustainable Investing
Focusing on sustainable investing can help increase the number of companies with sustainable practices. This will help to create a healthier world and make society fairer and more inclusive. While investing in sustainable companies has moral benefits, it can lead to financial advantages too.
Some studies have shown that investing in sustainable companies can offer higher returns. Half of the ESG investments studied for asset management Fidelity between 1970 and 2014 outperformed the market, according to a study that tracked their performance globally. Meanwhile, only 11% of companies examined had a poor performance.
More than eight out of ten sustainable investment funds outperformed share portfolios not based on ESG criteria during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, according to research by BlackRock, the largest asset management company in the world.

People investing in companies with a focus on ESG factors can expect greater dividends as well as stronger increases in share prices. Because most investment decisions are governed by the potential returns, this bodes well for the future of ESG investing and sustainable companies. If the trend continues, there’s every chance that sustainable factors will be one of the most important things to consider when investing in the future.

Why Sustainable Investing is More Important than Ever
In the modern world, social and environmental issues are more apparent than ever. Climate change, resource depletion, gender inequality and racial discrimination are all in the spotlight and making headlines every day. If we’re to change our world for the better, global companies and organisations need to do more.
Sustainable investing can help reward companies that focus on environmental, social and governance factors, leading to an increased number of sustainable businesses. It has the potential to make the world a better place and leave a future worth investing in.

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Image and article originally from learnbonds.com. Read the original article here.