Summary: More and more, companies are investing based around the buzzword of ESG. That stands for Environmental, Social, Governance, which broadly describes the non-financial factors that are increasingly important to investors. These can include incorporating gender diversity in a company board, to not supporting carbon emitting investments or other such ethical commitments. As the European Union and the United States take steps to regulate the ESG investing industry, the question is whether Australia can match up in a socially conscious manner. Cassandra Williams, Certification and Ratings Manager at the Responsible Investment Association Australiasia and Danielle Logue, Associate Professor and Director of the Centre for Business and Sustainable Development at the UTS Business School joined me to discuss this further.
