Walden Monterey recently hosted a diverse group of individuals who gathered in search of solutions to address climate change through Impact Investing, with a commitment to measuring social and environmental performance, with the same rigor as that applied to financial performance.
Profitability and sustainability are not mutually exclusive. As the concept of impact investing gains wider traction, more people are beginning to realize that the best financial opportunities are often those with a corresponding social benefit.
Just as the formation of the venture capital industry ushered a new approach and mindset toward funding innovation within the private sector, impact investment has started to bring opportunities to harness entrepreneurship and capital markets to drive social improvement. This in time will bring much-needed change to the social sector.
Addressing climate change will require massive flows of capital toward sustainable and impact investments. While estimates of capital required vary, consensus is that several trillion dollars a year will be necessary to prevent exceeding the 2O Celsius temperature increase laid out in the Paris Agreement.
With Impact investing, we’re able to do more than simply avoid companies who do not share our values, we can fund solutions!
