How the COVID-19 crisis has so far affected the ESG investing movement, why "Impact" is increasingly coming into focus and whether the investment fund industry could experience its own "Dieselgate" in the next few years was discussed by e-fundresearch.com in an exclusive interview with the Austrian sustainability pioneer Dr. Susanne Lederer-Pabst.

At the moment, it is evident that the coronavirus pandemic is not only causing loss of life and damage to the economy in many areas, but also huge opportunities are opening up. So could now be the time for socially responsible and effective investments to change the global economy sustainably? I say yes!

I am very happy to have been interviewed by "Fondsfrau" Anke Dembowski (who is also an editor at "Institutional Money") ​who let me share about myself and my motivation for my work in the world.
She asked me some questions, like why sustainable investments are important to me, and why I see special opportunities for women in this area. ​Thank you very much for that!

With the words: "Readers of our magazine know your column on the subject of Impact Investing, you are one of the pioneers in this field in this country", we were asked for an interview by Christine Petzwinkler, editor at Börse Social magazine.
We are happy to reveal what we are passionate about and why we are particularly committed to the financial sector.

While the European Commission is still working on a general definition on the topic of "sustainability", and in Austria working groups on the same topic are being convened, the International Finance Corporation published the first market standards for impact investing in April 2019.
The newly created market standard for impact investing by the IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, was able to win well-known signatories right from the start - we think that's quite a good start!

On February 28, Minister of Sustainable Development Köstinger and Finance Minister Löger addressed the public via a press conference. At least by optimists the presentation of concrete measures to achieve the climate goals was expected.

To be honest - we were disappointed because we actually expected more. Instead of presenting the first measures of a Green Finance Agenda, only measures were presented on how to do the same. The press conference presented as a kick-off event was nothing more than a - again - starting signal. But we‘ve already had it – haven‘t we...?!

Even if there is still room for improvement in many respects in Austria, Brussels has recognized that resource-efficient business is a must.

Recycling

Considerations on how private investors can contribute to financing the climate change have been around for some time. Now the EU Commission wants to accelerate the circular economy.

Immer mehr Kunden haben Interesse an einem Anlageansatz, der darauf abzielt, messbare soziale und ökologische Veränderungen zu fördern, und gleichzeitig finanzielle Renditen zu erzielen. Immer wieder werden wir nach den Unterschieden gefragt: Während sich die meisten nachhaltigen Anlagestrategien darauf konzentrieren durch Screening und Aussortieren ‚unliebsamer’ Branchen wie Waffen, Tabak, Asbest, Kohle, Öl, .. keinen Schaden anzurichten, geht Impact-Investing darüber hinaus und beansprucht für sich eine konkrete, greifbare, positive Wirkung zu erzeugen, ein bestimmtes, meist gesellschaftliches Problem zu lösen. Kapital wird als Mittel für einen guten Zweck eingesetzt.

Aus einer vagen Idee wird ein konkretes Projekt. Vor rund einem Jahrzehnt noch ein absolutes Nischenthema, wird Impact Investing zusehends state of the art. Mit den globalen Herausforderungen wächst auch die Bereitschaft von Politik und Investoren diese zu meistern. Die Frage ist nur - wie?

Globale Initiatoreninitiative

Auch die globale Initiatoreninitiative UNPRI (United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment) war noch vor einigen Jahren nur Insidern bekannt. Mittlerweile gehört es schon fast ‚zum guten Ton‘ Unterzeichner dieser Prinzipien zu sein um so zu dokumentieren, dass man verantwortungsvoll investiert.

Das Berlin Tech-Startup eröffnet ein weiteres Betätigungsfeld im Bereich Impact Investing

Heute beleuchten wir ein konkretes Beispiel zum abstrakten Begriff "Impact Investing". Es zeigt auf, welche Möglichkeiten der Beteiligung es gibt, und warum es absolut Sinn macht, sich des Themas aus verschiedenen Perspektiven zu nähern. Bei 4-your-biz reden wir nicht nur über Impact Investing – wir tun es auch.