Optimise responsible investments, firm urges businesses
Sycamore Consult Limited has urged local businesses to optimise responsible investments by incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) for broader societal impact.
The firm’s managing director Audrey Mwala said in a telephone interview on Friday after a two-day ESG training it conducted for some parastatal organisations and businesses in Salima.
She said to achieve long-term goals, firms need to start developing policies in line with ESG.
Mwala, who is also a financial and investment training expert, said: “There is a growing interest from various quarters to put their money into businesses responsible for showing signs of resilience through taking care of the environment.
“This is not just about profitability, but thoughts about the future. Organisations are now expected to report their impacts on society through global reporting initiatives to be adopted by firms in Malawi.”
According to the Harvard Business Review, large and growing proportions of global investors are looking for vehicles that take into consideration not only their investments’ financial returns, but also the investment capitals’ ability to have a broader societal impact.
This trend has propelled ESG investing to the forefront of the financial sector, with published data showing that by December 2020, ESG-linked assets had surged to constitute one-third of the $51 trillion US assets under professional management.
ESG encompasses topics related to performance management and the impacts and dependencies of the business on society and the environment, with climate change representing multiple dimensions under the broader ESG umbrella, to Harvard Business Review.
