Global sustainable investment assets worth $30 trillion in 2018

A new sustainability report has found that global sustainable investment is on the rise. 

The Global Sustainable Investment Review 2018, now in its fourth edition, has found that global sustainable investment assets are now worth $30 trillion, a 34 per cent increase from 2016.

The review provides a snapshot of sustainable investing in global markets at the start of 2018, by drawing on the in-depth regional and national reports from GSIA members including Eurosif, and RIA Canada and US SIF.

The review found that globally, Europe accounts for the largest concentration of sustainable investment with just over $14 trillion, with a growth rate of 11 per cent over the last two years.

United States follows closely behind at just under $12 trillion, but experiencing a significant growth of 38 per cent, over the same time period.

Between 2016 and 2018, Japan experienced the biggest growth of over 300 per cent, with their sustainable investment assets totalling just over $2 trillion in 2018.

The largest sustainable investment strategy globally was negative or exclusionary screening, with combined assets worth $19.8 trillion. This is defined as the exclusion from a fund or portfolio of certain sectors, companies or practices based on specific ESG criteria.

This was followed by ESG integration, worth $17.5 trillion in assets, and then by corporate engagement and shareholder action, worth just under $10 trillion.

This follows multinational Spanish banking group BBVA and French electricity group EDF signing a $300 million sustainability-linked revolving credit facility (RCF).

The loan incorporates a pricing adjustment mechanism that is linked to EDF’s three major ‘KPIs’: direct CO2 emissions, the electrification of its vehicle fleet and customers’ use of online consumption monitoring tools.

Read the full sustainable investment report here.

Interested in learning more about the shift towards a sustainable economy? Join us in New York for the Sustainable Investment Forum on the 25th September 2019 for the latest insights from asset owners and managers, banks, development institutions, policymakers, think tanks and NGOs looking to drive the sustainability agenda. 

Click here for further information.