「ESG·益起读VOL 20」Thinking about socially responsible investing? Here’s what to know [part I]

朗读者：由金融从业者录制。

导读

[part I]

数十年来，社会责任投资以各种形式出现。这个概念的起源可追述到18到19世纪，从2000年初起越来越多的人提及相关概念，而你现在可能经常听到ESG这个术语。本文将回答一些你会有的问题。

Socially responsible investing has been around in various forms for decades. But since the concept became mainstream in the early 2000s, more and more people each year are aligning their personal values with their portfolios. You may have heard the term ESG (environmental, social, and governance), but how and why did it begin, what are the building blocks, and how are companies measured? And is there more to socially responsible investing than just ticking the ESG boxes?

The origins of socially responsible investing can be traced to the 18th- and 19th-century sugar boycotts by abolitionists. The practice regained popularity in the 1960s and 1970s, when faith-based groups used religious beliefs and ethical codes to define investment parameters, excluding industries such as alcohol, tobacco, weapons, and gambling. In 2006, the United Nations formally codified ESG.

What is socially responsible investing?

ESG investing, socially responsible investing, sustainable investing—they’re all similar terms that boil down to using personal values and beliefs to inform investment decisions. There are subtle differences in their goals.

Much like value stock or growth stock investing, what defines ESG investing is open to interpretation, but the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) plans to create definitions and rules. For now, here’s a breakdown of the differences between ESG investing, socially responsible investing, and sustainable investing:

ESG investing takes a “best-in-class” approach. It compares how a particular company scores on certain environmental, social, and governance pillars versus its industry peers. Third-party scorers such as MSCI and Sustainalytics examine criteria that are financially material to a company’s operations, meaning that a company’s business model may not be compatible with ESG if it scores poorly in some areas. Examples include:

Environmental factors: Carbon emissions, energy efficiency, mitigating pollution

Social factors: Strong worker protections and diversity policies, product safety, protecting consumer privacy

Governance factors: Board composition, board independence, executive compensation

Socially responsible investing, sometimes called SRI, uses exclusionary screens. A fund that practices socially responsible investing won’t own companies in certain industries no matter how good their performance or their ESG scores. Many faith-based mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) use such screens, which may exclude:

Alcohol, tobacco, and firearms

Gambling and adult entertainment

Fossil fuel production

Sustainable investing, sometimes called impact investing, may use ESG scores or exclusionary screens, but it also seeks to invest in companies that make a specific positive societal impact. Sustainable investing may support:

Offering community-development loans

Serving unbanked populations

Bringing digital services to underserved communities

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