(David Callaway is founder and Editor-in-Chief of Callaway Climate Insights. He is the former president of the World Editors Forum, Editor-in-Chief of USA Today and MarketWatch, and CEO of TheStreet Inc. His climate columns have appeared in USA Today, The Independent, and New Thinking magazine).
SAN FRANCISCO (Callaway Climate Insights) — An expected narrow win by Republicans for control of the U.S. House of Representatives this month means we’ll still have to endure obnoxious, anti-ESG hearings in the New Year. But for most investors in environmental, social and governance deals, that backlash ship has sailed.
Third-quarter deal flow reports suggest ESG investing has withstood the worst of the bear market and money is still flowing into clean tech despite talk of a recession next year and a further leg down in global markets. Investing in sustainable buildings, so-called energy efficiency, was particularly strong. And despite backlash from some red state officials against large fund managers over their ESG practices, the allure of profit as the economy transitions to renewable energy is too strong to overcome.
“In the past 12 months, we’ve had more than 1,000 new signatories to the PRI,” said David Atkin, CEO of the London-based Principles for Responsible Investment group, which has more than 5,000 total asset owners and managers as members now. “It is now mainstream for investors to believe that environmental strategies are material.”
The numbers tell the story…
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